A look at life of BTK killer; A look at New Face of al Qaeda Movment

Aired May 4, 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: I found myself on an airplane today and I was reading a junk paperback about a serial killer on the loose. It was one of those guys that was smarter than everybody, somebody making the FBI look bad.

And the story we begin with tonight is similar. It has a serial killer, at least an accused one. It has victims who may have been alive but for -- the "but for" is the story. How police, with the help of a flaw in the FBI's fingerprint system, let an accused killer go free again and again to, it is alleged, kill again and again.

We begin tonight with Kelli Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was in custody in Georgia for a minor crime, public indecency. He told investigators his name was John Paul Chapman. To make sure he wasn't wanted for anything worse, the sheriff's office ran his fingerprints through the FBI's computer system, and it was then the saga began. The computer missed something very important. This wasn't Chapman, but Jeremy Jones, and he was wanted, in Oklahoma, for sexual assault. It's rare, but the FBI computer sometimes fails to match new fingerprints with those already in the system, and this was one of those times.

STAN COPELAND, DOUGLAS COUNTY CHIEF SHERIFF'S DEPUTY: I know for a fact that this system works, much, much more than it fails. So, you know, when you have humans, humans design these computers, you know, things are going to happen.

ARENA: A new computer file was created and, from then on, Jeremy Jones was officially John Paul Chapman, fingerprints and all. Georgia officials released him, but he didn't avoid run-ins with the law and was arrested twice after that, once for criminal trespassing, and again for drug possession, his fake alias and computer file allowing him to bail out and get released each time.

COPELAND: Nothing seemed amiss. He gave the information that we needed -- Social Security number, date of birth, things like that. He was fingerprinted promptly. Those were submitted. They came back clear. So there was no reason -- we book, in and out, approximately 12,000 people a year, so he was just one of the many that came through here for charges similar to that.

ARENA: The FBI and local officials say it was a technical, not human, error, but prosecutors say the glitch allowed Jones to go on a murder spree. Less than a month after he was released for the second time, police in New Orleans discovered the body of Katherine Collins (ph). She had been raped and brutally beaten. A month later, 16- year-old Amanda Greenwell (ph) disappeared, only to turn up dead in the woods not far from his home. Jones has been charged with both murders, and he told investigators that he killed a third person, Patrice Endres (ph). Her body is still missing. Her husband says he doesn't buy the FBI's explanation.

ROB ENDRES, VICTIM'S HUSBAND: I don't believe it is technological. It is human as well or protocol or SOP's, however they want to term them, they didn't do their job appropriately. To me, it's as simple as that.

ARENA: In a statement, the FBI says it regrets the "incident" and is conducting "regular audits to avoid a repeat." Officials realize nothing they say can change what happen, but want the public to know that it's computer successfully I.D.s thousands of fugitives each month. Endres says it would have been nice if he'd heard that in person.

ENDRES: Once they realized that they have this problem in the system that ultimately caused the death of four women, why wouldn't they have contacted the husbands and the parents and the daughters of the people involved?

ARENA: Jones' true identity was not discovered until September of 2004 after being taken into custody in Alabama in connection to the rape and murder of Lisa Nichols.

(on camera)

: After his arrest, Alabama authorities issued a national bulletin asking for more information about John Paul Chapman -- Jones was still using the alias at the time -- and found out that the real Chapman was sitting in a Missouri jail cell, an apparent victim of identity theft. As for Jeremy Jones, police say their investigation continues, and that he could be charged in even more killings. Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Seem to have a lot of crime stories tonight. Most criminals, when they're caught, say they didn't do it. We offer that as a caveat to our next story, a story full of drama, stemming from an alleged crime and its possible punishment, which is severe -- life in prison. At the center of the drama, a young Australian woman and her family. On the periphery, a Hollywood star. Here's CNN's Atika Shubert.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Schapelle Corby wanted a holiday, so the 27-year-old Australian beauty school student packed a surf bag and, with her brother and two friends, headed to the island of Bali in Indonesia. Her mother snapped this happy photo just before she boarded the flight. Corby got as far as Bali's airport. That's where her nightmare began. Police arrested her after finding roughly nine pounds of marijuana in her surf bag. Indonesia has stiff penalties for drug smuggling, death penalty or life imprisonment.

SCHAPELLE CORBY, DEFENDANT: I swear, by God as my witness, I did not know the marijuana was in my bag.

SHUBERT: Corby says she experimented with drugs as a kid, but does not now use drugs. She insists the drugs were planted in Australia without her knowledge. Corby says, by a smuggling net network. Proving it is another matter.

Under Bali law, the drugs are considered hers unless Corby proves somebody else put them there. Corby's lawyers say it is an open secret that Australian drug rings hide contraband in the unlocked bags of travelers.

The defense's star witness is an Australian facing sexual assault charges at home. He testified to overhearing whispered conversations about a smuggling plot while in an Australian prison. Indonesia has no jury system and the final decision rests with these three judges. They seemed less-than-impressed with the defense witness, nor are they happy with her repeated fainting spells in court. An Indonesian doctor said she was under extreme stress, but the judges warned Corby not to fake illness, provoking an angry response from family members.

The trial has become a media circus, cameras and microphones posted around the court. Indonesian anti-drug campaigners loudly demand her execution one day, while Australian supporters staunchly insist upon her innocence the next.

Corby's case struck a sympathetic chord in Australia. Websites have sprung up in her defense, selling "Free Schapelle" t-shirts. Even actor Russell Crowe called into a local radio show demanding government intervention.

RUSSELL CROWE, ACTOR: When there is such doubt, how we can as a country, stand by and let a young lady, as an Australian, rot away in a foreign prison? That is ridiculous.

SHUBERT: But Corby must prove her innocence to Indonesia's courts, a burden that has taken its toll.

CORBY: I believe seven months which I've already been imprisoned, is severe enough punishment for not putting locks on my bag. And my heart and my family has been painfully burdened by all these accusations and rumors about me. I don't know how long I can survive in here.

SHUBERT: Prosecutors asked for life imprisonment, sparing Corby the death penalty. Her family says a life in a Bali prison is no life at all, something she may contemplate awaiting a verdict. Atika Shubert, CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: In a moment, you'll hear a California highway patrolman say, this happens all the time. He's not talking about speeding. People have been getting shot on the freeways of southern California and people have been dying -- at least four since March. Whether that's normal in a place where millions of drivers and millions of handguns share the same territory, or whether it's something else, we don't yet know. We can tell you that police are taking it seriously, and people are seriously scared. Reporting from Los Angeles tonight, CNN's Kareen Wynter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is just after 5:00 a.m. and this mother of two is already behind schedule. A quick goodbye for her six-month-old daughter, then into the next room and a kiss for her 2-year-old son. Then she's off. Until recently, the most grueling part of her day was dodging traffic on the 40-mile drive to work along southern California's famously congested freeways. Now Nichelle Riggs has a new concern, dodging bullets.

NICHELLE RIGGS, COMMUTER: I don't feel safe knowing that there's someone out there that could just pull up on the side of me at any given moment and change my life.

WYNTER: Since March 12th, when a man was shot and killed driving in Orange County, a rash of unsolved shootings has rattled much of southern California. That, even though police insist the number of freeway shootings isn't on the rise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've had some tragedies, but compared to last year we're actually on pace to have fewer incidents this year.

WYNTER: But public fears have forced the creation of a special task force to stop the shootings. We were allowed to ride along on one of the first undercover patrols.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we just had shots fired.

WYNTER: The undercover investigator begins chasing a report of what sounds like another freeway shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The victim is actually at the New Law (ph) office. They advise that they were shot at -- at the exact same, or near the same 10-20 as the shooting from yesterday. WYNTER: We were asked not to reveal the identity of the officer, but this call and the next one he recieves...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Party that said that their windshield was shot...

WYNTER: ...turn out to be false alarms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was a good day, because there was no shootings, and maybe a bad day for leads, but tomorrow's another day. We'll get 'em.

WYNTER: But, who are they going to get?(on camera): There are no leads so far in these cases. You have you no suspect's description. So what are you looking for?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm looking for cars or drivers that are exceptionally aggressive. Highway violence incidents. Things that usually an officer in a black and white wouldn't usually see.

WYNTER (voice-over): The problem is, victims and witnesses haven't provided any solid leads. Even sophisticated network of video cameras on every freeway fail to offer police a clue. Law enforcement suggests shootings could be anything from gang activity to road rage. They have no idea if it's a single shooter or isolated incidents. With so many law enforcement agencies involved, no one has kept a precise count on how many shootings have occurred. Police do agree that since March there have been at least eight freeway shootings. Four of them fatal. LAPD Chief William Bratton called in to a radio talk show to calm nerves.

CHIEF WILLIAM BRATTON, LAPD: The chances, statistically, of being a victim of one of these shootings, you're much more likely to be injured or killed by a drunk driver or debris flying into your car. That's the reality.

WYNTER: Perhaps only in Los Angeles could that be seen as a reassuring statement. But even here, the perception is that the freeways have become more dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another freeway shooting is creating fear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A driver escaped unhurt this time when he came under fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fear on the freeways tonight after yet another shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a wave of shootings...

WYNTER: KTLA's Desiree Horton has spent 15 years flying over the streets of Los Angeles. She says the only thing that's gotten worse is the traffic.

DESIREE HORTON, KTLA TRAFFIC REPORTER: Some people say that a lot of people are scared, maybe they won't be taking the freeways as much. But I haven't noticed less volume.

WYNTER: Most people like Michelle Riggs don't have any choice. At the end of the day, she still has an hour long drive back home.

MICHELLE RIGGS, COMMUTER: Each time I get in the car, I have to pray that I'll make it to my destination and make it back home safely to my family.

WYNTER: A long hour to worry. Kareen Wynter, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Still ahead tonight, we'll hear from a woman who says her boss was the worse kind of boss. That was years before he was charged with the BTK killings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He would say mean, hateful things to people. He would send them to me. And sometimes I think he thought he was God.

BROWN (voice-over): She didn't know then that Dennis Rader may have been the BTK Killer. Looking back, were there clues at the office? Nearly a decade after a fire left him brain damaged and mute, a firefighter speaks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As you can imagine for us, to speak to and to be recognized by my husband, their father, after 9 1/2 years, was completely overwhelming.

BROWN: Adding estrogen to a high testosterone sport.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the difference between my team and a male team is we reek sex appeal and men just reek. BROWN: These women have the scars and the sponsors to prove they're in the fight. Safe on the sidelines and from New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: In just a moment a woman who worked for the man now accused of being the BTK Killer tells what he was like as a boss, not exactly a flattering portrayal. A little past a quarter after the hour, Erica Hill joins us with what has been a busy day in the world. Erica, good evening.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS: Busy indeed, Aaron.

We start off with word from the Pentagon, a conclusion here that a U.S. marine who shot an unarmed Iraqi inside a Fallujah mosque last fall acted in self-defense. And we are told will not be charged.

Meantime, yet another deadly attack in Iraq. At least 60 people killed when a bomber blew himself up at a police recruitment center in the city of Erbil (ph). A

military judge, meantime, at Ft. Hood in Texas, today, threw out Lynndie England's plea that she's guilty of abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib and declared a mistrial. Now all this happened after new testimony revealed England may have not realized that what she was doing was illegal. Military prosecutors must now decide whether to refile the charges against her.

A Pentagon analyst accused of being a spy. Larry Franklin is charged with providing classified information about possible attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq. The Justice Department says he gave the information to members of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee.

And Michael Jackson's defense team is expected to begin calling witnesses tomorrow. The prosecution rested its case today, wrapping up two months of testimony with a witness who told jurors that Jackson's associates made up stories to convince the family of his accuser that they were in danger. That supports earlier testimony by the boy's mother. And that is a look at the headlines at this hour.

Aaron, back to you.

BROWN: Erica, thank you. We'll see you in a half our or so. Thank you.

Prosecutors in Wichita, Kansas, say there will be no deal, no plea bargain the case against Dennis Rader, the man accused of being the serial killer known as BTK. He's charged with ten counts of murder that date back to the '70s. What makes this case so extraordinary and different for from most serial killer cases is that Mr. Rader, if he is in fact guilty, was such a part of the community he terrorized. He worked for the city. He organized the scouts. Led the church. Was a friend and neighbor. And for our purposes tonight, a boss.

From Wichita, here's CNN's David Mattingly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Wichita residents hear the accusations against Dennis Rader and shudder to think that the serial killer BTK may have lived among them, few are as personally involved in following the case as Mary Capps who for six years had Dennis Rader as her boss.

MARY CAPPS, CO-WORKER OF DENNIS RADER: I sensed and had seen a very evil side to Dennis. And he was a very hateful person. He would say mean, hateful things to people. He would send them -- he has said them to me. And sometimes I think he thought he was God.

MATTINGLY: A Park City, Kansas compliance officer, Capps can be seen in this video with her supervisor Rader. She says they clashed frequently on the job. And describes him as moody, often angry and volatile. (on camera): Were you worried the he might get physically violent in the work place?

CAPPS: I cannot answer that at this time.

MATTINGLY: But you were afraid of him?

CAPPS: Yes, I was. It was at a point where I would come into the office, say good morning to him, if he didn't answer, I hurried up, got my ride log together, I got my check-on list together. And would pick up my coat. And it's like a nylon coat. Pick it out and carry it out in front of me so as to not make any noise, so he couldn't hear me getting out of the office.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Capps confirms previously reported descriptions of Rader as a stickler for detail. But she goes further to say he enjoyed the power he had as a compliance officer, enforcing local property regulations and controlling stray animals.

CAPPS: Oh, absolutely huge ego. Sometimes, I wonder how he got it through the door. So...

MATTINGLY (on camera): Give me an example.

CAPPS: He never makes mistakes. I got that told to me on a regular basis. And if I did find one...

MATTINGLY: He told you this.

CAPPS: Yes, that he never makes mistakes. And if I found a mistake and pointed it out to him, maybe it was something he was jumping me about, and I pointed out that he made the same mistake, I better be heading for the door, because the rest of the day is going to be miserable.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Capps says she filed two grievances with Park City about Rader's behavior. City officials confirm Capps was a compliance officer and Rader was her supervisor. They declined to comment further and will not confirm Capps' allegations.She says she recalls vividly the day of Rader's arrest and, in spite of her problems with him, the initial surprise of his alleged connection to BTK murders.

CAPPS: First, I thought maybe something happened to Dennis. Maybe a citizen had done something to him. And then...

MATTINGLY (on camera): Why would you think that?

CAPPS: Why would I think that? Because of his attitude towards them as well. I figured, one of these days, one of them is just going to haul off and just lay him out.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): But the arrest was due to something far more serious. And as investigators collected evidence at Rader's Park City home, Capps began to reexamine Rader's recent behavior.

CAPPS: He changed a lot. The only word I could put in it is, he became very dark and kind of evil. And he was just a whole lot different.

MATTINGLY (on camera): Capps describes a personality completely different from the loving and doting husband and the devout church leader that so many in Wichita claimed to know. In 2004, after BTK reemerged, she also says that Rader became enthralled with news coverage of the case.

CAPPS: I remember one time when I was looking at the Internet and I seen where Larry King was going to talk about BTK.

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, after 25 years of silence, a notorious serial killer resurfaces.

CAPPS: And I kind of mentioned it in passing to him. This was just a couple weeks before his arrest. And Dennis ran from his office to my desk, and he goes, you got to be kidding. It was on a Friday. And he goes, well, I'm going to have to watch that tonight. I'm thinking, dang, if anything can make that guy happy, he must be really into this BTK story stuff.

WILLIAMS: BTK is arrested.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

MATTINGLY (voice-over): It wasn't until after the extraordinary announcement by police that Capps says the realization hit home that she had been working for and frequently arguing with the man accused of murdering 10 people.

CAPPS: I believe I really am very lucky.

MATTINGLY: So, as Rader's arraignment began, Capps watched closely, hoping to hear the word guilty and was almost immediately disappointed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The court will enter a plea of not guilty. I will set this matter for a jury trial on June.

CAPPS: I can't believe it. His ego really is that big.

MATTINGLY: It was a moment leaving her more anxious than ever to see this case ended.

CAPPS: I definitely need to move on. And I need a lot of questions answered for me, too.

MATTINGLY: Answers, that may now have to wait for a court date in June.David Mattingly, CNN, Wichita, Kansas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Tonight, a big catch in the war on terror. But does jailing one of top men in al Qaeda mean that much anymore or has the threat evolved into something a lot tougher to stop? And later healthy aggression -- paintball for women on the rise. Take a break first, this is "NEWSNIGHT."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: With all the talk of a culture of life, in a large part of the world there is instead a culture of death.

Tonight one of the leaders in that cause, a third ranking member of al Qaeda is in custody arrested in that nearly lawless land at the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. Abu Faraj al-Libbi was picked up some days ago.

It appears on Monday, though Pakistanis aren't saying. He's believed to have been in charge of operations for al Qaeda. But does a culture of death once it gets going really need to have someone in charge? Have we entered an entirely new chapter in the war on terrorism? It's one of the things we talked about earlier today with Terry McDermott, terrific reporter for "The Los Angeles Times" and now author of a book "Perfect Soldiers," a detailed look inside the attacks of 9/11. Not so much what happened, but how it happened and who made it happen. But we begin our conversation with the news of the day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We should probably start by talking about the news of the day and the relevance or importance of the news of the day. The government announces they have captured the number three al Qaeda guy. Big deal, certainly not a bad deal. But is it a big deal?

TERRY MCDERMOTT, AUTHOR, "PERFECT SOLDIER": Yes, certainly not a bad deal. But I don't think there are any big deals left in terms of capturing people. I mean, I don't even think if you capture bin Laden at this point it's a huge deal. I think the sad part of it is that al Qaeda has metastasized. It is this big ugly thing that's everywhere now in a way that it never was. It's still very diffuse network of network kind of thing. But cutting off one portion of it doesn't seem to matter.

BROWN: Is it -- I want to talk about the characters that created 9/11. But is al Qaeda capable today in your view -- you spent three and half years reporting on all this -- of pulling off the big attack, a big moment or can they only do small moments?

MCDERMOTT: I think they can still do big things. I think it would be -- they weren't ever able to do really big ones until 9/11. I mean, they did a few -- but the other ones were truck bombs, which have big effects, but it's basically a guy in a pickup truck or a step van. That could happen tonight. And it wouldn't necessarily have to be al Qaeda. I mean, Madrid wasn't al Qaeda.

BROWN: All right.

MCDERMOTT: Casablanca wasn't al Qaeda. This thing is broadened its reach. And the breath of it is what I find most frightening. BROWN: Let me ask you a couple other things. There's a couple piece of video that you have that was -- we talked about. The Ayman.

MCDERMOTT: Ayman al Zawahiri is the mans name and he was a Moroccan from Tangiers (ph), who was an established preacher there. Who visited -- there was a regular circuit of these preachers throughout Europe in the '90s. And the -- one of the striking aspects of Islam the degree to which each preacher does whatever he wants, there's no hierarchy. When you start a church, you do what you want. You start a mosque, and the more fierce you are, the more apt you are to be successful in some -- among some groups.

And these really radical preachers compete with one another for congregants. And they're like circuit riders in Europe, they went around. And Pizzazi (ph) preached often in Hamburg, and preached often and preached especially harshly. I mean, the video, in it, it's actually taken (INAUDIBLE). It's one of his sermons, and some of it is from after the sermon when he would gather the other, the younger men, who were most interested, around and answer their questions. And in it, he's saying things like, you know, it is our duty to kill all the infidels, anyone who is doing anything we don't agree with, man, woman or child.

BROWN: Didn't matter.

MCDERMOTT: Didn't matter. They are all soldiers. It was being willing to get rid of those ideas and seeing that this thing succeeded largely through our haplessness, not through their brilliance. I mean, we did almost nothing to stop them. There were times it seemed like they were willing to deliver themselves to capture. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was indicted in the United States in 1998 for attempting to blow up a dozen 747s over the Pacific Ocean full of Americans. He's under indictment. Up until the summer of 2001, he was not on the FAA's no-fly list. Who was? I mean, why have one if this guy -- he's under indictment! Could there be a bigger threat to American aviation?

BROWN: There is, I think, in some of us, an almost insatiable desire to understand every detail about what happened that day, what led up to the day and the book -- and congratulations for it...

MCDERMOTT: Yes.

BROWN: ...is a nice chunk of detail in that regard. It is good to see you. We've known each other a long time.

Nice to see you.

Congratulations.

MCDERMOTT: Thanks a lot.

BROWN: Thank you.

MCDERMOTT: Appreciate it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Terry McDermott. Now, Donald Herbert, the injured fireman who hadn't spoken for nearly a decade, and his gift, if only a temporary one, of speech. And a little bit later, we're joined by Montel Williams and his crusade to get medicine he and many others feel they need. The medicine is pot. And this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Imagine waking up from what was essentially a coma that lasted nearly a decade to find that your toddler is now a teenager. This is pretty much what happened to Don Herbert, a father of four. Nine-and-a-half years ago, a burning roof fell on Mr. Herbert, then a firefighter up in Buffalo, New York. The accident damaged his brain, left him mute, until four days ago when he astounded the staff at his nursing home by asking for his wife, and for the next 14 hours or so, he didn't stop talking, talking to his wife, his kids, other family members and friends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA HERBERT, WIFE: Don has made advances but there is still a long way to go. As you can imagine, for us, to speak to and to be recognized by my husband, their father, after nine-and-a-half years, was completely overwhelming. We are still trying to cope with this incredible experience. When Don spoke, he was under the impression he was only away for three months. He was very surprised to find out it was nine-and-a- half years.

My son Nicholas, who had just turned four at the time of the accident, is just thrilled to have his father call him by name, hug him, and speak with him. As you were told previously, my husband did not believe that it was Nicholas at first, because he thought nick was still three years old. Since Saturday, when Don stopped speaking, he has had several infrequent moments of lucidity, which has given us much hope for further recovery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: It's an incredible story. If you think about it, it has all sorts of implications. One of Mr. Herbert's doctors said today that he was put on a new medication three months ago, a combination of medicines used to treat Parkinson's, attention deficit disorder and depression. That said, doctors can't explain what exactly caused Mr. Herbert to finally speak again, and it's not clear how much progress he'll make, but he has made this much. And it's something.

Congress is once again taking up the issue of medical marijuana, whether it is a drug that should be available to patients whose doctors say they could be helped by it. Today Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank re-introduced a bill that has some bipartisan support that would prevent federal prosecution of people using pot with the approval of state authorities. The administration, as we've reported, has gone to the U.S. Supreme Court to try and overrule those state laws. Among those speaking on the issue outside of the Congress today, television personality Montel Williams, who has multiple sclerosis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONTEL WILLIAMS, TALK SHOW HOST: There's over 195 different pain medications out there. Why? Because doctors understand that they don't all work for everyone. Some of us have receptors that are more capable of picking up barbiturates, amphetamines -- some of us don't. And in some cases -- I'll tell you something -- we might pick 1,000 people and probably only 250 of them will get any benefit from medicinal marijuana. But why doesn't that -- why's that not put in the arsenal -- the doctor, to make the choice? If I have a doctor that's smart enough to put me on morphine and that same doctor says, Montell, I'm telling you, you need to you smoke this instead, why can't we believe that that man is capable of making that decision?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Mr. Williams was diagnosed, as many of you know, with M.S. back in 1989, and he joins us from Washington tonight. It's nice to see you. What is -- you know, you get a lot of this -- some conflict here about what the science says on this. To your knowledge, what is the science on medical marijuana, whether it actually works or whether it is a placebo effect?

WILLIAMS: Aaron, that's really the core of the issue right here, and why it's so egregiously wrong and so ignorant that we're having this conversation.

Let me explain something to you.

I stood on the steps today of Congress and told them the fact that I bet a lot of your viewers don't know. For the last 25 years in this country, the United States government has been dispensing marijuana to -- it started off as 13 patients, it's now down to seven patients. Those seven patients receive a canister of marijuana from the United States government every single month.

The last was sent out on April 17th.

One of those patients was on the Capitol steps today with me. The United States government has already determined that marijuana works because, for 25 years, through a program at the University of Mississippi, they've been dispensing it. So, what's so ridiculous is that they'll turn around and say that it doesn't work or there's a question -- they've been providing it under USDA stamp of approval for the last 25 years and studying it.

So, obviously our government believes it works or it would not be putting it in patients and American citizens. And all I'm asking for is that same government that says that one patient is ill enough to be able to use this, why can't I?

BROWN: Let's try a couple things that they also say. One of the things they say is that the smoking of marijuana itself is, is dangerous. I mean, I don't -- I'm not talking about -- I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. They're talking about all the junk that you get in your lungs when you smoke it that makes it dangerous.

WILLIAMS: And I understand that, Aaron. But we have a policy when it comes to drugs that we utilize drugs that can be the most efficas (ph) against illness. Look, chemotherapy we know and radiation destroys non-ill cells, but at the same time we still put in it people to save their lives. There are 150, 160 pain medications out there. Not all of them work for individuals. But even with that said, what you just questioned why is our government dispensing something that they claim is wrong? Hear me, Aaron. There's a program that the United States government has had for 25 years.

BROWN: I know this. I really do.

WILLIAMS: Last month they just distributed marijuana. So if you don't think it's right why is our government saying that the patient that they are giving it to, his pain is worse than mine?

BROWN: Well, without taking the government's position here -- I don't take anybody's position here, they're just arguing this part of the testing process. Let me just ask one more thing that the government argues here. And I'm not sure -- it's interesting to me that...

WILLIAMS: I got to laugh on that one, though. The testing process is 25 years.

BROWN: Where this stuff is voted on -- people may be smarter than the government here in some respects, because where this stuff is voted on, I think Montana just passed it 60-some percent. People have sort of figured this out in their own way. But one of the arguments the government makes is that Marinol, the kind of -- the active -- in their view, the active ingredient, the THC extracted in artificial THC, whatever it is -- that Marinol does the job, so why not just take Marinol?

WILLIAMS: So false a claim. And they know it. All the studies have been done with Marinol have proven that its effects are so varied that you can't even come up with a consensus.

And number two, if that were the case, I get you. If our government believed that, then our government would be dispensing Marinol, but it's not. It is dispensing marijuana in the form of 50 marijuana cigarettes a month to seven patients.

In addition to that, right now, the UK and Canada have already approved a brand new drug that is made from marijuana. Is it a Mucosal spray. It can be sprayed if the mouth, subliminally taken and it is made from the real product. Our biggest ally in the war against terrorism has approved it for their country and it's going to be approved in Canada.

So, all we're is that if in fact, a doctor is smart enough to be able to prescribe for me or anybody else morphine or any other one of the drugs and that same doctor says to me, Montel, I think this will work, why do we not think that that doctor's smart enough to be able to prescribe it? And let's just make it for prescription use only. Easy, schedule one and schedule two, you take care of the problem.

BROWN: We -- actually, we'll watch this one pretty carefully. This is -- there are lots of good issues here that are medical issues, that are state's rights issues, there are individual rights issues. Lots of stuff and a reason for people to be interested in this. Good to meet you, if only electronically. We've watched you for a long time. It's nice to see you.

WILLIAMS: Thanks so much, Aaron.And let me just say -- the last thing -- it is also about compassion. There are a lot of people in this country who are ill, and are hurting. And this is an opportunity for a doctor-prescribed medication to relieve some of our pain. I don't understand where the question is.

BROWN: Good to meet you, sir. Thanks a lot.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

BROWN: And ahead on the program tonight, was there a third man in the Oklahoma City bombing? And a check of the headlines. Also, a look at a he man who once called -- who was once called Washington's mayor for life. What's Marion Berry up to? And he's had more lives than a cat here. We'll take a break first. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Still ahead on the program tonight, an all-female paintball team, very much on the rise. But as we led towards a quarter to the hour, Erica Hill is in Atlanta with another look at the day's headlines. Hey, Erica.

HILL: I got you here with the all-female news team, Aaron.

We'll get started with the news that tomorrow we're going to get Jennifer Wilbanks' side of the story. Something many people have been waiting for. The attorney for the runaway bride will release to the public what she calls a comprehensive statement with respect to Jennifer Wilbanks' circumstances during the past week.

And Terry Nichols who is serving a life sentence for the Oklahoma City bombing claims in a letter that an Arkansas gun collector provided some of the explosives used in the 1995 attack. The letter was sent to a woman who lost two grandchildren. The FBI said there is no indication the accusation is true.

Tonight, our anniversary series "Then & Now" profiles a man who has long been identified with local politics in Washington, D.C. Both the positive and the negative sides.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARION BARRY, FRM. D.C. MAYOR: Marion Barry is the best and brightest for Washington, D.C.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As Washington, D.C.'s self-proclaimed mayor for life, Marion Barry has known fame, fall from grace.

BARRY: While I wish I could trade this hour.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And political redemption. Born in Mississippi, Barry came to Washington in the '60s as a civil rights activist and never left. Barry was elected mayor of D.C. in 1978. And held that office for 12 years. But in 1990, Barry's reign ended with a cocaine arrest in an FBI sting operation. After searching six months in prison, he returned as a city council member, then reclaimed the mayor's office in 1994. But his fourth term was overshadowed with allegations of financial wrongdoing. But now, Marion Barry is back on the city council once again.

BARRY: I've been knocked down. Some say you fell down, put yourself down, but I got up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; He captured 96 percent of the vote in Washington's 8th ward, an area with the city's highest rates of poverty and unemployment.

BARRY: I ought to be tired by now after 40-some years of public service, 68 years of age. But I'm not. I just got my second wind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As for his issues with drugs, Barry says it's all in the past and prefers not to talk about it. Married four times, he has one son, 24-year-old Marion Christopher Barry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Paintball, we're told it is one of the fastest growing extreme sports, 10 million players, most of them men. Most but not all. You're about to meet a group of women who got tired of sitting on the sidelines. And now they're on the rise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the left! On the left!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're in (INAUDIBLE) Park in Ft. Myers, Florida, and we're having tryouts for our team.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Watch your backs. Watch your back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Femme Fatal is an all female paintball team. Out of all the other women teams we're number one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ready or not, here we come.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pretty much every team that we play an all- male team. And they really don't like to get shot by a woman at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to do one more snap shooting drill.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the difference between my team and a male team is we reek sex appeal, and men just reek. Paint is pretty much a (INAUDIBLE) that you played as a child. You need to eliminate all your players that are coming at your form the opposing team.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you this one shot, (INAUDIBLE), you don't get another chance.

Paintball's growing by leaps and bounds by the day.

In the past couple months we have gotten a lot of media attention. And it's good because women can see, hey, these chicks are doing it, they're moms, you know they're wives. You have to train. You have to get your body in shape. You can get very hurt in this sport. We've had people blow out their knees, bust their faces wide open.

You know when you run, you're diving into bunkers. You're sacrificing your limbs that god gave you.

I have a lot of battle wounds let me show you. And then you can see on the backside over on the arm. We play every three weeks in tournaments from February until November. And in that time is where we have to fit in our practices. There's the hard part, it's finding when to practice in between flying to and from tournaments. It's such an adrenaline rush that you can't get anywhere else. You go out there and your are allowed to shoot at people with markers and not go to jail for it, and not really hurt somebody.

That's fun.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Quick morning papers after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: OK. Time to check morning papers from around the country, around the world. Going to go really quickly tonight. "

The Guardian," British paper, "Poll says Labour," that's how they spell labor over there, "Will Win Historic Third Term. And Tony Blair will be prime minister again." A couple of scandals.

The "New Orleans Times Picayune," I had love that name. "Justice on Call: Judge Allen Green could be counted on to set bonds that would guarantee Bail Bonds Unlimited fat fees government wire taps show."

Ouch.

While on the other hand out west in Oregon, it wasn't a totally bad day for public officials. Former prosecutor receives verdict of his own -- not guilty. A jury acquits Randy Ray Richardson of bribery and jury tampering. So a 50-50 day for public officials in court.

"Newsday," "Try, Try Again." Pataki says architects will redesign Freedom Tower to fix security flaws.

My daughter will be anchoring the program by the time that is built.

The weather tomorrow in Chicago, quintessential. Figure out why.

We'll tell you tomorrow. 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 "Pussifying" of NewsNight

Today is a landmark for NewsNight.

To begin they have given up the segment "Morning Papers."

I have respect FINALLY for a segment that was developed by David Bohrman to honor the journalism profession.

I have respect FINALLY for a segment endeared to my heart for the ending of that segment whereby David applied a 'chime' to the reading of the 'weather' as reported by Chicago Sun Times.

CNN no longer is a reliable source of news. They play prepared film loops whereby 'social issues' are discussed in an 'infomercial' format. It is my observation these segments are intended to scare women as the majority of time on the aire CNN is pressing images of women. As usual there are no minorities on this editon of NewsNight. The program tonight was regarding Teen Car Drivers. Not one young black person was included in any aspect of this hour program.

Sharon 'the bigot/racist' von Zwieten continues to be subversive to the health of this society. And to think she actually is 'aiming' her programming at women. Who can trust her to address any wholesome issues if this cable network can't 'get beyond' it's issues of racism.

For tonight, I feel victorious. "Morning Papers" is retired and I have the dignity back that David and Aaron first intended for it.

Thank you, Aaron.

Thank you, David.

Love you both and miss David terribly.

I will not abandon Aaron, regardless of the retiring of the segment. I didn't attend Aaron's hour every night for serving my ego, I did and do it to honor his continued desire to report the news and NOT A MANUFACTURED MESSAGES and underlying subliminal messages to undo the emotional well being of women.

Your Kid Behind the Wheel

Aired May 3, 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: Good evening again. This year, four million girls and boys in the country will turn 16, which means millions of moms and dads will be very proud indeed when they're not worried sick. Sixteen is when most young adults in most states become young drivers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, teenagers are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in crashes. Motor vehicle accidents are, by a factor of three, the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 16 and 20. Tonight, the stories behind those numbers, and some ways to turn those numbers around. By the time most teens begin learning to drive, they've already learned in physics class that force equals mass times acceleration. Well, they should have learned that already. Here's another law of physics just as important on the road: All other things being equal, a high center of gravity means a greater risk of tipping over. It is a simple fact. But not all lessons make it out of the classroom. We begin tonight with CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA VICKREY, SUV ROLLOVER SURVIVOR: I think I picked it because it was more durable and it was more girlie than a truck. And it was big, that's what I liked. It was real big and it wasn't low to the ground.

KANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A champagne colored 2001 Ford Explorer Sport, a gift from dad for Amanda Vickrey's 16th birthday. She couldn't wait to get behind the wheel. But just a year and a half after she got it, she almost died in it.

VICKREY: I just don't remember anything that was said. I just remember thinking, oh, God, oh God, I'm about to die, I'm about to die.

KAYE: It was a Thursday night last October, about 10:30 p.m. Amanda and a friend had been at a high school football game in Midland, Texas, about 15 miles from her hometown of Odessa. On their way back, Amanda came up on something unexpected in the road.

VICKREY: I thought it was a deer at first. Everybody makes fun of me because there's no deers in West Texas.

KAYE: It was a roll of carpet about 20 feet long, right in the middle of the highway. Amanda swerved to avoid it, but the SUV spun out.

VICKREY: I remember trying to regain control. And then I just remember like feeling it start to roll, and then like a blur until we landed.

KAYE (on camera): So you were originally going this way? VICKREY: Uh-huh. KAYE: But then you overcorrected.

VICKREY: And flipped and turned and rolled and everything else. Ended up facing this way, yeah.

KAYE (voice-over): Amanda jerked the SUV from the right lane into the left lane, then back again. The SUV fishtailed, rolled twice, and landed right side up in the grassy median.

VICKREY: I just remember looking at my car, and it was just completely gone. Like when you turned around, it looked like there was nothing there. There was no windows. And the windshield was caved in a lot. So like you could touch it, and it was just real close to your face. And the radio was on, and it was blaring. I don't know how it happened, but it was on. My lights were on. And I just remember like hyperventilating, and I couldn't catch my breath. And I was in shock, and I started shaking.

KAYE: Amanda was trapped. Police used a crowbar to get her out. Her friend got out on his own, with just cuts on his knuckles. Amanda escaped with cuts, bruises and injured ribs. (on camera): Just how lucky is Amanda to be alive? The latest federal government statistics, including all passenger vehicles, show in 2002, about one-quarter of the people killed in rollover crashes were driving SUVs. That's up 14 percent from the previous year. (voice-over): That, even though in 2002, SUVs accounted for only one-eighth of vehicles on the road. Just two days before the accident, Amanda started wearing her seatbelt. She never had before, but a driver safety presentation at school changed her mind.

VICKREY: If they wouldn't have came and talked to us, I don't think I would have had my seatbelt on. And it makes me think of, like, what could have happened. Like I could have went through the windshield or I could be dead, basically.

KAYE: It's been six months since Amanda's accident. She's back behind the wheel, a Ford Mustang this time. Dad said no to another SUV. He wanted something closer to the ground, with less rollover risk. Amanda's spirit is renewed. Not a day goes by where she doesn't marvel at her brush with death and her good fortune. But whatever went wrong on the road that October night wasn't enough to scare the SUV out of this high school senior.

VICKREY: I still wouldn't mind driving one, because I feel safer when I'm up tall and stuff.

KAYE: She hopes to be behind the wheel of another SUV some day soon. Randi Kaye, CNN, Odessa, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So what should a teen driver drive? One of our producers, a parent, of course, suggests a car without an engine. For those willing to consider a car that will actually move, "Consumer Reports" magazine has come up with some recommendations. Nothing to make your heart skip a beat, which is probably the point.

The Honda Accord and the Subaru Forester come out on top. Also in the running, the Honda Civic, the VW Passat and the Buick Park Avenue. More broadly speaking, the editors say too much horsepower is dangerous in young hands, but so, too, is too little.

Look for zero to 60 between eight and 11 seconds. Look for advanced safety features and good results on government crash tests. Common sense. And to get a break on insurance, the editors recommend shopping for discontinued or not very popular models, the kind that thieves don't want to steal and kids don't want to race.

Sometimes stating the obvious helps. In this case, we think it does. Teenagers are not adults. Their bodies are different. So it turns out, are their minds. The fact that teens think differently explains a lot about why they don't act like adults, not in the classroom or at the mall, and certainly not when they get behind the wheel. Here's medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a country road in the state of Maine, a teenage brain makes the wrong choice. A 16-year-old boy blows through a stop sign, and then leads police on a high-speed chase that reaches 120 miles an hour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roll over. Roll over.

COHEN: We'll show you what happens next in a moment. Now, obviously, this is an extreme case, but here's the question: What's going on in a teenager's brain that could lead to such a bad decision? Dr. Laurence Steinberg studies teens and decision-making.

LAURENCE STEINBERG, TEMPLE UNIV.: So there are changes in our brains around the time of puberty that make us want to take more risks, that make us want to seek higher and higher levels of stimulation. COHEN (on camera): Their brains are just different from adult brains?

STEINBERG: Right. Their brains are changing.

COHEN (voice-over): New research from the National Institutes of Health shows teen brains have extra synapses in the areas responsible for assessing risks and making decisions. Many of these synapses are useless and actually get in the way of clear thinking. These extra synapses die off as teens become adults. (on camera): So fewer synapses make things more efficient.

STEINBERG: Exactly.

COHEN: And that's a good thing.

STEINBERG: That's a good thing. That's a very good thing.

COHEN (voice-over): Dr. Steinberg is trying to understand how teens like the one we saw in Maine make decisions. So he's developed a test.

STEINBERG: Let's start the game by hitting

G. COHEN: Seventeen-year-old Justin Sloan (ph) has to decide if he can make it through an intersection before the yellow light turns to red. When teens play this game without their friends watching, they actually perform quite well. But put other kids in the virtual car with them, and look what happens. Alex Weinberg (ph) turned around and looked at his friends as he drove. Then he did it again and again. Three times, his friends diverted his attention. And -- he crashed. Dr. Steinberg's studies have found teens are much more likely to be distracted than adults are. (on camera): What's going on in this 16-year-old cerebral cortex right here?

STEINBERG: Let's hope it's developing.

COHEN (voice-over): As for that 16-year-old fleeing from police, he was lucky. He wasn't hurt. The teen didn't appear to be drunk or on drugs. He told the trooper he sped away simply because he didn't want to get a ticket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you running for? You almost hit me head on!

COHEN: The decision of a 16-year-old driver with too many synapses cluttering his brain. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So at this point, you might be furiously thinking of ways to keep your child from getting behind the wheel. Any (INAUDIBLE) wheel until she's, oh, let's say, 30 or 40. Short of that, what's a worried parent to do? What's to prevent your teenager from making bad decisions on the road when you're not in the car? Some parents are taking drastic measures.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): Keeping track of things is very important to John Jacobson.

JOHN JACOBSON, JOE'S DAD: This shows right here is right now in Columbus, North Carolina.

BROWN: And any time he has thousands of trucks out on the highway and with a satellite mapping system, he knows where each and every one is. And that's not all he keeps track of.

JOHN JACOBSON: Hi, Joe just left school. He'll be home in just a little bit. BROWN: Joe is his 16-year-old son. Using a device called All-Track, John and his wife Trudy can track Joe's car's every move.

JOHN JACOBSON: If you can imagine an electronic fence around his school, around our house, and around a 15-mile radius from our house, those are the boundaries that we've set. Once his car crosses any of these boundaries, we get an automated call.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Boundary. Fifth violation.

JOHN JACOBSON: We also have the ability to go on to the All- Track website. We can pull up Joe's car, get a location, get his speed, get the direction he's going. We can lock or unlock the car from home. We can shut the car on or off, and we have a speed limitation on the car also. If the car goes over a certain speed, we get an automated call.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On April 26th, 2005...

BROWN: There are fans of this approach.

JOHN JACOBSON: I've never talked to anybody that didn't think this was a great idea.

TRUDY JACOBSON, JOE'S MOM: The adults.

JOHN JACOBSON: I'm talking adults.

BROWN: And it does have its critics.

JOE JACOBSON, SON: It's kind of a neat feature, but kind of a pain. Getting your license has a sense of freedom, I suppose, responsibility. It's just really a way to get out of having your parents on you all the time, and them questioning you constantly, why you are going here? What are you doing? And more of just, all right, we trust you, go do something.

T. JACOBSON: We've learned and are still learning to allow Joey the freedom to mature and make decisions on his own and make mistakes. But you know, when it comes to safety, when it comes to reading about statistics with teenage drivers dying, I don't -- I don't apologize for trying to be more controlling in that area for now.

BROWN: By tracking Joe, the Jacobsons hope it will teach him to think before he acts.

JOHN JACOBSON: I think it makes him a safer driver. It helps him make better decisions because hopefully, from time to time, when he -- before he makes a decision, he might say, what will mom and dad think of this decision that I'm making?

BROWN: It might be working.

JOE JACOBSON: When I'm in a hurry and I'm on the highways, more or less, and there's always that slow guy keeping you down, you just want to pass him. And you normally have to speed up a bit, and that's when I mostly really think about it.

BROWN: In the end, like so many other things in life, it's a trade-off.

T. JACOBSON: We don't want our son to die, and we don't want anyone else to. For us, it gives us the confidence that our son is safe.

JOE JACOBSON: Mom, I'm home!

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Later in the program, we'll talk with a man who spent the last 20 years trying to keep teenage drivers safe. He says there are other things parents can do, short of putting chips in their cars, other ways to decrease the odds that your child will be in a fatal accident. We'll hear his advice coming up tonight. And straight ahead, making young drivers safer by teaching them to let it all hang out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: It only looks dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't just take your child in the parking lot and show them defensive maneuvers.

BROWN: But it's helping teach kids to be safer drivers. Really, it is. Taking lessons from a different country where the driving is fast and the learning ain't easy. How many of those tests did you pass?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I don't remember, like, 20. Then did I them all over again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twenty out of 60, that's not very good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to fail this class.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

BROWN: Does the home of the Autobahn have the right answer? Also tonight, a Cinderella story.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't drive between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. I wasn't going to anyway because I'm sleeping.

BROWN: A driver's license with limits. Should teens work their way up to full driving privileges? And young or old, now and forever, our love affair with the automobile, in stills. Because this is NEWSNIGHT.

ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS: I'm Erica Hill. Here's the latest now, from Headline News.

The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff has told Congress the continuing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan may affect the military's ability to do battle on other fronts. A senior Pentagon official tells CNN General Richard Myers made that assessment in a classified report, but just last week President Bush said that Pentagon officials told him the military is prepared for any confrontation.

Iraq has a new prime minister. Ibrahim al Jaafari was sworn in today as were members of the new cabinet. But this historic day was marred by the continuing violence, at least 18 people were killed.

And, back stateside, the Air Force will investigate allegations of religious intolerance at its academy in Colorado. This follows a report by a Washington-based group that details what it says are dozens of complaints by Jewish cadets and Christian cadets who are not evangelical Christians. They claim there's an atmosphere of intimidation on the part of some evangelical students and staff members. And, that is the latest from Headline News. NEWSNIGHT continues right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Remember Driver's Ed in high school? Have a little trouble parallel parking, did you? Some things never change. Others do. In this case, big time: Driver's Ed. Not your dad's, not your mom's, not even yours. From Charlotte, North Carolina, tonight, here's CNN's Sharon Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHARON COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Elizabeth Graper is leaving school early. It is one of those red letter days on any teenager's calendar, Elizabeth is on her way to take her driving test. She hopes to get her license today.

ELIZABETH GRAPER, TEEN DRIVER: A little nervous. But a lot of my friends have already done it.

COLLINS: Elizabeth took Driver's Ed at her high school, and she spent time driving with her mom at her side.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lizzie, you need to pay attention, honey.

GRAPER: It's 25.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and how fast are you going?

GRAPER: 40. COLLINS: But Elizabeth also did a little something extra. Something that would ordinarily horrify any parent.

GRAPER: That's what you do!

COLLINS: It's called "Xtreme Measures," a new breed of driving schools springing up around the country. Today's class is held at a race track in Charlotte, North Carolina. Karl Kutcher started Extreme Measures six years ago after an accident that still haunts him today.

CARL KIRCHER, XTREME MEASURES: One of my older daughter's best friends got killed. She got two wheels off the side of the road, over-corrected, hit a tree. And I knew right then that there had to be something that I could do that was going to help you guys get through. Get the car to slide. Get it to slide. Get it to slide.

COLLINS; Kricher has worked around auto racing all of his life. His classes apply lessons learned on the racetrack to emergencies encountered in everyday driving situations.

KIRCHER: You can't just take your child in a parking lot and show them defensive maneuvers, car control maneuvers as they did when I grew up. You can't do that anymore. So we provide them a place to learn how to do that at our expense in an oops-free environment so that they can learn what we've learn over 30 years of driving.

COLLINS: The teens practice recovering from skids. Handling the car when it runs off the road. And avoiding obstacles. His course is not a replacement for the basics of driver's ed, but it does teach students skills they wouldn't learn in a typical course.

SHARON GRAPER, ELIZABETH GRAPER'S MOTHER: I felt like I wanted Elizabeth to have some experience in extreme conditions so that she would know what to do if she was in that circumstance.

COLLINS: After a day of driving on the Xtreme course, Elizabeth felt pretty good about what she'd learned. (on camera): So you think you got it down?

ELIZABETH GRAPER: Yes.

COLLINS (voice-over): But would it help her get a license? After her driving test, she feels pretty confident. (on camera): How did you do?

ELIZABETH GRAPER: I think I did OK.

COLLINS: Did you? Well, good. (voice-over): But the news is disappointing.

ELIZABETH GRAPER: I didn't get it.

COLLINS: Twice Elizabeth turned into the wrong lane. A relatively minor mistake, but one that could easily cause an accident. And a reminder of how even the best prepared teenager won't always make the right call. Sharon Collins, CNN, Charlotte, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So lets talk about some ways that we all can improve the odds that our kids will make smart decisions behind the wheel. And perhaps ways the states around the country can help us. We're joined by Bill Bronrott, a delegate at the Maryland legislature, who spent two decades trying to keep teen drivers safe. Nice to see you. Generally, are states smarter about this than they were five years ago?

WILLIAM A. BRONROTT (D), MARYLAND STATE DELEGATE: The states are coming along, but far too slow a pace. We need parents to get involved in giving our kids more behind the wheel experience with fewer distractions. And one thing parents can do as voters and as community activists is to product states to pass strong comprehensive, what are called graduated drivers licensing laws. That, again, give our kids more behind the wheel experience with fewer distractions and phase in the full driving privilege.

BROWN: And what those generally -- I mean, here in New York, there's a series of things that happen and in Maryland and other places too, I gather. How many kids can be in the car. Because there's a tremendous relationship between the number of kids in the car and the likelihood of an accident for one thing.

BRONROTT: Absolutely. We know that with each passenger in the car with a young driver, the chance of a fatal crash nearly doubles. And so that's why we're asking parents to get involved in this. And in the meantime until states take this important action, they can lay down the law in their own households by telling their teens no other teen passengers or limiting it to no more than one. And also to restrict any cell phone use during the learner's permit phase, during the provisional license phase. Also spend more time behind -- more time with their teen during the learner's permit period to give their kids more behind the wheel practice time. And to give them a chance to experience driving at night and during different types of weather conditions.

BROWN: Some of this stuff, to me -- and I claim no objectivity here. I'm the father of a 16-year-old -- are slam dunk obvious. Not talking on a cell phone. I mean, we know that adults, experienced drivers talking on a cell phone, have high rate of accidents. Why not -- where's the resistance to just passing a law that says between the ages of 16 and fill in the blank you can't talk on a cell phone while you're driving?

BRONROTT: A number of these laws have been trying to make their way through state legislatures, and there's been a lot of resistance to that. But I think there's a certain amount of sympathy when it comes to our least experienced drivers, because highway crashes are the number one cause of death and disabling injury of teens. They make up only about 7 percent of licensed drivers, but they're involved in 14 percent of fatal crashes. And so there's this disproportionate over involvement that is very easy to focus on. And with this new research talking about the so-called immature brain, I think that there's a lot more political will to pass these kinds of strong graduated driver's licensing laws that includes the cell phone restriction. That's what we did in Maryland this year.

BROWN: Back -- I'm sorry, back in ancient times when I was 15, the state of Minnesota was discussing whether to raise the driving age to 16. And the battle essentially came down to the city and the rural areas. Rural areas wanted a younger driving age than I think city legislators did, by and large. Is that still the case?

BRONROTT: Well, I think it's still an issue. But a lot of parents say to me in Maryland, in a very suburban area outside of Washington, D.C. raise the driving age to 18. And the plain answer is, it already is 18. And that's the way it is in many states. It's only when a parent decides perhaps under duress to sign on the dotted line to allow their 15 half or 16-year-old to go after that learner's permit that their young teenager can do that. They can delay by simply saying no for a year or two, and let their child gain more maturity and use their own power to phase in the full driving privilege.

BROWN: Oh, if it were so easy. Thank you. It's good to talk to you. Thank you for your work on this.

BRONROTT: My pleasure. Thank you, Aaron.

BROWN: In a moment, we'll have more on the graduated licenses that Mr. Bronrott has been talking about. A look at a young driver in a state where the laws are among the toughest in the country. And what can we learn from driver's ed in a country that allows drivers to cruise along at over 100 miles an hour. The Germans have a better idea. We'll take a break first. From New York, and on the interstate, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The good thing about being young and inexperienced is it doesn't last forever. The bad thing is, you have to survive it. In recognition as we've been talking about tonight, slowly but surely, states have made it so very few teenagers can go straight from 16 candles to four on the floor. The journey now more and more takes time. And it comes with a catch, sometimes more than one. Reporting for us tonight, here's CNN's Alina Cho.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sarah Davie is a new driver.

SARAH DAVIE, TEENAGE DRIVER: I love driving. It's amazing.

CHO: After six months of a learner's permit, where she could only drive with an adult in the car, Sarah at age 17 now has a license, but only a provisional one. First, there's a curfew.

S. DAVIE: I can't drive between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. I wasn't going to anyway because I'm sleeping. CHO: The so-called Cinderella license also prohibits Sarah from driving with more than one friend in the car, something her dad thinks is an excellent idea.

KEN DAVIE, SARAH'S FATHER: When you have three or four friends, then the natural tendency to talk to someone, is to go like this, go like that, and that could be a little distracting.

CHO: Mom worries that Sarah still has a lot to learn.

EDNA DAVIE, SARAH'S MOTHER: She's brand new, brand new at it. And so her senses aren't tuned.

CHO (on camera): Graduated licensing programs which put restrictions on teen drivers have become the norm across the U.S. Maryland adopted the first such program in 1979, and, since then, 47 states have followed. (voice-over): New Jersey is among the strictest. One of only a handful of states that requires teens, like Sarah, to wait until their 18th birthday to get an unrestricted license, and even then, only if they have a clean driving record. The National Safety Council says the graduated licensing program is having an impact, that teen crash rates in states with tough teen licensing laws have declined by as much as 60 percent. Another finding -- that real enforcement begins in the home.

K. DAVIE: You just can't let the kid -- let the child just have the license and then just go carte blanche and just go from there. You have to have a certain type of restriction on them in order for them to be able to learn responsibility themselves.

CHO: In the Davie household, Sarah's curfew is 11:30, a half hour earlier than New Jersey's.

E. DAVIE: So the number of times that she goes out and comes back all in one piece with no scratches or dents, the more we trust her.

CHO: Her parents admit Sarah's ability to drive on her own with her busy schedule is convenient.

K. DAVIE: I can sleep a little bit later. CHO: She studies dance and theater. She's also captain of the boys soccer team. When she gets her unrestricted license, her parents say they'll give her a little more freedom. The whole family agrees driving...

S. DAVIE: (INAUDIBLE).

CHO: ... is a privilege, not a right. Alina Cho, CNN, Carnie (ph), New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We turn now to a simple question: Does how and where you learn to drive make a difference? If an American teenager were to learn to drive in another country, where the rules are different, what kind of driver would he or she be? We wondered, and our wondering took us to Germany. Here's CNN's Chris Burns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eighteen-year-old Alan Look, an American born in Berlin, takes the hot seat, going through a German meat grinder, driving school. This is only one of at least 40 required hours behind the wheel at this school, (INAUDIBLE). Plus, 14 hours of theory classes, eight hours of first aid classes, and all those signs to remember. While most Americans get a driver's license at age 16, Germans must wait until they're 18. That, along with tougher driving instruction, contributes to safer driving and less bloodshed on German roadways. The traffic death rate here is about half of what it is in the United States. Consider that Germany's freeways, or autobahns, have no speed limit, and the statistic is even more remarkable. (on camera): First time on the autobahn, Alan?

ALAN LOOK, DRIVING STUDENT: Second time.

BURNS: How does it feel, though?

LOOK: Well, I have to say the first time I was pretty nervous, but now it's -- I'm getting more used to it. It doesn't even seem that fast.

BURNS: Wait until you have to go about 180 miles an hour. (voice-over): Alan also has 60 practice tests to bone up for the written exam. (on camera): Look at number 30 here. Are you allowed to overtake the black car on this autobahn on the right?

LOOK: No, in Germany, you are not allowed to overtake any cars on the autobahn from the right.

BURNS (voice-over): Rules, rules, rules. It's enough to make you scream. It's no cakewalk either for 18-year-old German Antonia Brosch. She got her California driver's license when she was 16. Now she's going for the German one.

ANTONIA BROSCH, DRIVING STUDENT: We have to learn how long it will take us to stop if we're like 100 kilometers an hour, or we have to know how long it takes us to react when we're driving like 16 kilometers an hour. Or -- and we have to know how much weight you can put on your car.

BURNS (on camera): How many of those tests did you pass?

BROSCH: Oh, I don't remember. Like 20. And then I did them all over again...

BURNS: Twenty out of 60, that's not very good.

BROSCH: No, I know.

BURNS: You're going to fail this class.

BROSCH: I know.

BURNS (voice-over): Night driving is also required instruction here in Germany. What's more, driving school here can run into the thousands of dollars. (on camera): You don't think it's really worth the money?

BROSCH: No. I would like to pay $350 like I did in America.

BURNS (voice-over): So getting a driver's license in Germany is much tougher than in the U.S., on several counts. Not only is the minimum driving age 18, but driving school includes up to 24 hours of theory, plus about 40 hours of driving instruction, including four hours on the freeway and three at night. There's also an eight-hour first aid course. And the classes are only offered in privately run driving schools that can cost thousands of dollars. But if the traffic death rate here is any indication, driving school that's more like a college course and tougher rules seem to be producing results, helping teens like Alan and Antonia become better drivers, eventually. Chris Burns, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, making sure teens don't drive drunk. One teenager's life-saving solution, and how she got it off the ground. Also ahead, we switch gears to the other side of driving. The sheer joy it brings when you're 16. We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Nearly two years ago Mallory Jones experienced something that high schoolers should never experience, but unfortunately, too many of them do. A friend was out drinking, got behind the wheel of a pickup truck and died when he crashed into a tree. She and two friends then started a designated driver program for kids at Gulfport High School in Mississippi. Mallory joins us. Nice to see you.

MALLORY JONES, FNDR DESIGNATED DRIVER SERVICE: Thanks.

BROWN: Is it simply not practical, even after you have this terrible experience, to say to kids, just don't drink?

JONES: I would say it is, yes. Drinking is not necessarily something that is new. I think it's been going on throughout the ages.

BROWN: Oh, I can assure you of that. Yes. So they're going to drink, even -- and so, you're -- as you approach this and as you talk to teachers and adults, you said we need to do something that acknowledges that they're going to drink?

JONES: Exactly. I went to a teacher sponsor, Coach Campbell, who was wonderful and encouraging us to do this and helping us with the legalities of the situation, and we've had an enormously positive response to the program.

BROWN: Let's talk about how it works. Kids are out at a party and they're drinking.

JONES: Right.

BROWN: What happens?

JONES: Well, the program runs from 8:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m., and two volunteer teenagers are on call, and they have a cell phone that we've designated and all the student body knows the number, and they can call and confidentially get a ride home. It has worked out really well.

BROWN: And I have two questions about that. Is it the same kids every weekend who are the designated drivers?

JONES: We have 30 volunteers. So, it's split up pretty fairly.

BROWN: And are they considered, like, the town geeks or not?

JONES: No. Not at all. They're kids from every group, kids of all different kinds, so...

BROWN: Every parent, or most every parent, I think, will say to their kid at some point, look, I'm not going to be happy if you're drinking, but I don't want you driving, because I don't want you dead, so call me. That doesn't work.

JONES: Right. I think it's unrealistic to ask kids to call their parents, because even if a parent is not -- says that they're going to be okay with it and that it's OK to call them, typically you're going to get a lecture, you're going to get -- maybe some form of punishment, even. So, I don't think kids -- and I don't hink anybody wants their parents showing up at a party saying, hey, we're here to pick you up.

BROWN: So, where are the kids dropped off then?

JONES: At a house.

BROWN: At a house or at their house?

JONES: Right. Typically at their house. There have been situations where they might be staying with fraend.

BROWN: But their parents aren't told.

JONES: No. It's confidential. Their parents are not told that this service picked them up.

BROWN: So the parents might not know they were drinking?

JONES: No, sir.

BROWN: Does that bother you at all? Maybe I should ask your dad if that bothers him.

JONES: It doesn't bother me because the way for teenagers to respond to a program like this, you can't let them think that in any way their parents are going to find out what they've been doing because, our policy is that we don't condone or condemn underage drinking, and really, this program doesn't deal with underage drinking. It deals with drinking and driving, because there are other programs like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Students Against Drunk Driving, that deal with underage drinking.

BROWN: You're just trying to get them home.

JONES: Right. We just don't want them driving.

BROWN: Are there costs involved here?

JONES: It is relatively a low-cost organization, because the only thing you mainly have to pay for is the cell phone. So, but, to honor the businesses who have so graciously donated money, our program is called Businesses United to Save Youth.

BROWN: So, you call businesses, you say we need $39 a month or whatever it is for the cell phone?

JONES: Yes. Well, we just went out at the beginning and asked for donations, and we had a good response to that. And we haven't really had to go any further with it, because the cost of the cell phone is not that expensive. It is about $50 a month, ours is.

BROWN: Do people know you're doing this, outside of your town and your high school?

JONES: We had a lady from California that called after seeing the article in "People," and she's going to set up a website for us, so that's really exciting.

BROWN: It's a terrific idea. As a parent -- and I think in truth I want to know if my kid's been drinking -- but I hear what you're saying.

JONES: But the kids don't want you to know that they've been drinking.

BROWN: Well, among other things they don't want me to know. You think you've saved a life?

JOENS: You know, even if we prevent someone from getting a DUI or prevented somebody from getting into an accident or just, you know, it's not a good situation to be in at all, I don't think. So maybe we've saved a life.

BROWN: Nice going.

JONES: Thank you.

BROWN: Nice going. You know, people all the time saying these kids today this and these kids today that. You did great.

JONES: Thanks.

BROWN: Nicely done.

JONES: And so did all the volunteers that helped me, too. Because it was a team effort.

BROWN: Nicely done. Thanks for coming in tonight. Thank you. Ahead on the program, the romance of driving. We'll take a break first, from New York. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: I'm Erica Hill. Here's the latest at this hour from Headline News.

The man accused of being the BTK serial killer sat in silence at a Wichita, Kansas, courtroom as the judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The trial date for Dennis Raider is set for June 27th. He was arrested earlier this year and charged with 10 murders, some committed 30 years ago.

Prosecutors in the Michael Jackson trial are expected to wrap up their case tomorrow. Then the defense takes over. Jackson's attorneys are expected to call actor Macaulay Culkin as one of their first witnesses. Culkin denies old allegations that Jackson sexually abused him.

And former president Bill Clinton is joining the fight against obesity amongst children. His foundation is launching a program to improve the quality of food in school cafeterias and in restaurants. He also says children need to be more physically active both in and out of school. That's a look at the headlines.

We'll return to NEWSNIGHT after the break. But first, a look for you at the day on Wall Street.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, so far we've devoted the better part of the hour to the perils of driving. Now a bit on the joy, a bit on the freedom, and a whole lot on the nostalgia and the chrome. Cindy Lewis is a photographer with a love for the automobile that is matched only by our love for still photos. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CINDY LEWIS, AUTHOR, "ROADSIDE AMERICA": America definitely has a love affair for cars. I mean, after all, this country was founded on the premise of freedom, and what better expression of freedom than the automobile?

Cars define us. Cars show our position in life, our wealth or lack thereof. Our idea of what is cool, what is hip, what is unique about the particular person driving it. I can think of no greater influence on American culture than the automobile.

Orson Welles made a prophetic statement. He spoke about automobiles, and he said something to the effect that they will alter war, they will alter peace, and they will change men's minds in subtle ways. And what a statement, how true it has become. We've all been changed by the automobile. We remember the first car we learned to drive in. We remember the car we dated in. We remember the car we were married in, and the car we brought our first child home from the hospital in. We define our lives by the automobile.

The evolution of the automobile was initially deemed as the devil's work by religious entities in America. No longer were couples courting in the parlor under the watchful eye of mom and dad. They had a living room on wheels, and they were hitting the road. And mom and dad could not watch. It changed everything. I'm sure everyone has experienced the transforming power of a two-lane road driving through the sunset. What could be better? I know for myself, when I was learning to drive, the automobile was my ticket to ride. As long as I had four wheels, a full tank of gas, anything was possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A new feature tonight. A new way of looking at the news. But we'll take a break first.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: This week, we begin a new feature which may grow into a tradition, one that springs from an age-old premise, the making of a story can be just as interesting as the telling of it. So, too, are the impressions and the perspectives a correspondent gathers along the way. So a few of each now. We'll call the segment "Newsbeat." And tonight, CNN's Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: We went out driving with a teenager, a young girl named Tanesia Gallett (ph), who had never driven before. She was very confident, she got behind the wheel, she drove on the highway, she drove on the sidestreet, but she really wasn't scared.

And apparently that's part of what a teen's brain is all about. They don't have the same kind of fear that adults do. Teens are different from adults for some really basic physiological decisions. Their brains are simply different. They are wired differently. And we're not sure that everybody realizes that.

So we wanted to share that with people. This story is important because car accidents are a leading cause of death for teenagers. And so it's important to figure out how do we make teen drivers better. There is an interesting intersection between science and public policy. States have to decide how are they going to regulate teen driving, and really, they can look at the science to help them make rules.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: CNN's Elizabeth Cohen. Good to have you with us tonight. We'll see you again tomorrow, 10:00 Eastern time. Until then, good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.

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