The Web      Powered by
powered by Yahoo!


Return to Transcripts main page


Arrests in Pakistan Lead to Security Clampdown Stateside; Kerry: Bush's Policies Encourage Recruitment of Terrorists; Hacking Charged With Wife's Murder

Aired August 2, 2004 - 19:00   ET


ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening, I'm Anderson Cooper in New York, where financial markets seemed to take a new terror threat in stride.
360 starts now.

Al Qaeda arrests in Pakistan lead to security clampdowns in New York, New Jersey, and D.C. Is there a new plot to paralyze the U.S. economy?

John Kerry talks tough on terror and throws down the gauntlet to the president, saying some of Bush's policies encourage the recruitment of terrorists.

From missing to murder. Lori Hacking's husband charged with killing his pregnant wife. Police make an arrest but still search for a body.

And Carmela Soprano, forget about it. Daughter of a real mob boss, Victoria Gotti stops by to talk about the Mob, her family, and her new reality TV show.


COOPER: Well, for many today was not your typical laid-back summer day at the office. Instead, workers at some of America's financial landmarks faced stepped-up security and the dark reality that their office may be the next al Qaeda target.

According to the Bush administration, intelligence suggests that terrorists have scoped out the stock exchange and Citigroup in lower Manhattan, plus the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in the nation's capital, and Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. At all five locations, nerves are on edge, but business is business, and work went on today amid the fears.

With a look at just what led to those new terror warnings, tonight CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena is tracking the intel. CNN's Deborah Feyerick shows us how New Yorkers are coping. And CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House, where President Bush has given his backing to an intelligence overhaul. All ahead.

But first, an overview on the new terror threat. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): The heavily armed police outside the buildings named as targets served a variety of purposes, to prevent a possible attack, reassure employees, and perhaps most importantly, reassure international investors.

JOHN SNOW, TREASURY SECRETARY: It's awfully important that, you know, we not be cowed by the terrorist acts or the terrorist threats. We have the most resilient and strongest financial markets in the world. The steps that have been taken have made them safer.

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We had very specific information about these locations and thought it was very important to relate that to the people that work there, to the community leaders and the like.

COOPER: New York, which has remained on a heightened state of alert since September 11, tightened security even further, banning trucks from certain bridges and tunnels and closing some streets, yet remained defiant.

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK CITY: New York City is not going to be cowed by the terrorists. Make no mistake about that. We're not going to spare any expense in protecting us, but also the people of New York City know that giving in to terrorism is exactly the wrong thing to do.

COOPER: In Washington, D.C., the mayor placed the entire city on orange alert, a move beyond what the Department of Homeland Security recommended.

And the president defended releasing the information.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we were just silent on the subject, I think, I think it, people would be a lot more nervous. They would say, What is government withholding? Why weren't they sharing stuff with the people responsible, Commissioner Kelly or Mayor Bloomberg?

So our attitude is, try to be as transparent as possible with the affected sites so that people can then take responses necessary to better protect the people.


COOPER: And there are strong indications that recent arrests in Pakistan, including one in particular, may have led to the new terror warning.

Tracking what's known, and, more worrisome, what is not known, CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena in Washington. Kelli, I understand you've just received some new information. What can you tell us?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Anderson. Senior government sources tell CNN that the stream of intelligence actually revealed more than the five targets that we've heard about. Sources describe them as financial targets. A Homeland Security official acknowledges there were a number of what he calls minute mentions without any details, but he would not elaborate.


ARENA (voice-over): With enhanced security in place around the named targets, counterterrorism officials believe al Qaeda conducted surveillance inside the five buildings, some of it done within the last few months.

RIDGE: (audio interrupt) at several sites.

ARENA: Sources say there are event and date references in the material confiscated in Pakistan, along with about 500 computer images including photographs, drawings, and layouts. These are helping investigators determine precisely when the surveillance was conducted.

RAY KELLY, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: This is an intelligence report by the enemy, you might say, but not tied at this moment in time, to any operational plan that we're aware of.

ARENA: Investigators are also trying to find out who carried out the surveillance by scanning employee and visitor records from the various sites, and to determine whether those individuals are still in the United States.

But officials say there has been no headway made concerning the timing of a possible attack.

CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE: Although I don't have any real concrete information around how long this is going to last.

ARENA: But the fact that the new intelligence was found in connection with the arrests of an alleged al Qaeda computer expert, an accused operative, Ahmed Ghailani, is very troubling to some experts.

MICHAEL HERSCHMAN, HOMELAND SECURITY EXPERT: I think it's an imminent threat, because the individual, Ghailani, who was arrested two weeks ago in Pakistan had the documents with him, had over $5 million, and was known to be training agents in Pakistan to carry out suicide missions in the United States and the U.K.


ARENA: Officials say the FBI is involved in several investigations as a result of the new intelligence, and the FBI just last night issued a new advisory warning about the potential use of truck or car bombs, which could include limousines, large vans, and oil tankers, Anderson.

COOPER: Kelli Arena, thanks very much from Washington.

We're also going to talk with CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen, who is in Islamabad tonight, a little bit later on 360.

The headline in editorial in today's "New York Daily News" summed up the sentiments of many New Yorkers, "Don't Let the Bastards Get Us Down." Not always an easy thing to do for workers at potential targets.

Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.


DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tracy Williams made his way to a Wall Street firm as he does every day, the investment banker unfazed, even in the face of the newest target intelligence.

TRACY WILLIAMS, INVESTMENT BANKER: I like to think that we are much more prepared today than we were three years ago.

FEYERICK: For this financial consultant, a new dad, going to work was a little harder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you know, it was a little difficult this morning, you know, giving a kiss goodbye. But I'm confident that nothing will happen.

FEYERICK: At the New York Stock Exchange, on the list of terror targets, the head of the Big Board tried calming global markets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are open for business...

FEYERICK: Inside the exchange, cheers. Outside, a show of force, a scene repeated at Citigroup offices in midtown and Prudential Financial in northern New Jersey. At points in Manhattan, police searched trucks, rerouting commercial vehicles away from certain bridges and tunnels leading into lower Manhattan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got to do what you got to do. We're sitting three hours on the highway.

FEYERICK: The new sense of urgency did put some people on edge.

KEVIN FLANDERS, TRADER: It puts us under a lot more pressure than we're already under.

FEYERICK: But streets that could have been deserted were anything but. Even the first lady, scheduled to be in New York anyway, stopped in to Citigroup to get coffee and give comfort, New York City's mayor reminding everyone the new warning doesn't mean a strike is imminent.

BLOOMBERG: It is certainly a good wakeup call to everybody in every building. Just because your name wasn't on the list doesn't mean you shouldn't take precautions. And the more precautions you take, the safer you will be.

(END VIDEOTAPE) FEYERICK: One law enforcement source says that rather than feel scared by the new information, people should feel reassured the system's working, Anderson.

COOPER: Deborah Feyerick, thanks from New York.

The markets seem pretty unfazed by today's increased threat warnings. Here's a quick fast fact for you. The Dow closed up almost 40 points, and both the Nasdaq and S&P were up slightly. Analysts say if investors considered an attack inevitable, the risk may already be included in the prices of stocks, or maybe that increased security alerts are so common that the markets are no longer impressed.

The threat of new terror certainly having an impact on the political landscape. The president announced his decision to overhaul the nation's intelligence community today. Questions immediately began. Was it too little, too late? Was it motivated by political pressure? Any change was bound to trigger criticism from all directions, but then, so would not doing anything.

With that as a backdrop, the president appeared in the Rose Garden this morning to make his next move in the war against terror.

Here is CNN's Elaine Quijano with the plan.


ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Less than two weeks after the September 11 commission released its report, President Bush asked Congress to create a new national intelligence director and called for establishing a national counterterrorism center as the panel recommended.

BUSH: When we are a nation in danger, we're doing everything we can in our power to confront the danger.

QUIJANO: Senior administration officials say the new director would coordinate 15 intelligence agencies, now a job handled by the head of the CIA.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: So I'm hopeful that this will actually be helpful and unifying, allowing one person to supervise the whole intelligence community, but also allowing debate within that community.

QUIJANO: But in a departure from the commission's recommendation, Mr. Bush said that new position should remain outside the White House, in part to ensure autonomy. Nine-eleven commission member Tim Roemer said the director position might be too weak.

TIMOTHY ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSIONER: We need to make sure that the national intelligence director is a director with strength and authority and presidential access, not a czar.

QUIJANO: The president's announcements come against the backdrop of increasing criticism by his Democratic opponent, John Kerry, who says the White House has not moved quickly enough to reform the intelligence community.

Kerry also says the administration's actions in carrying out the war on terror have focused animosity and anger against the U.S., an idea the president rejects.



QUIJANO: Now, earlier today, White House chief of staff Andy Card was asked about what role politics played in the president's decisions. The answer, according to Card, this had nothing to do with politics and had to do with making sure that intelligence resources are well coordinated, Anderson.

COOPER: Elaine Quijano, thanks for that.

John Kerry and his running mate received a classified briefing this morning about the increased threat of a terror attack. Now, the Democratic presidential candidate later said he did not agree with comments made by Howard Dean here on CNN that politics may have played a role in the change in the security alert. That was the limit of any professional courtesy.

CNN's Candy Crowley has more on the reaction from the Kerry campaign trail.


CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Busing through the Midwest, John Kerry acknowledged the seriousness of the new intelligence threat, noted several times that he called for an intelligence czar nine months ago, and then upped the ante.


CROWLEY: Kerry has returned to the Senate for official business only twice since March, but he says he'll come back for an important debate and votes on terrorism. The Democratic nominee is dancing on the head of a pin, trying not to look like he's exploiting a terrorist threat for campaign purposes without ceding the issue.

KERRY: I believe this administration and its policies is actually encouraging the recruitment of terrorists. We haven't done the work necessary to reach out to other countries.

CROWLEY: The 9/11 commission has said the United States is safer now than before the attacks, and shortly after his CNN interview, Kerry reworded his charge.

KERRY: The intelligence agencies of our country will tell you and can tell you, it's not classified, that the madrasas, the schools that are teaching terror, the people who are training terror, are using our actions as a means of recruitment.

CROWLEY: The Bush campaign says the Democratic challenger has a bad case of me-tooism, pointing out even before today, the president was already implementing 31 of 33 of the reforms Kerry is proposing.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Grand Rapids, Michigan.


COOPER: Well, today's buzz question is this. If you worked in one of the buildings targeted by terrorists, would you have gone to work today? Log on to, cast your vote, results at the end of the program.

360 next, from missing to murdered. The husband of a missing jogger arrested. Find out why police believe he killed her.

Plus, Saddam's cool cell. Find out why Iraq's human rights minister thinks he's being treated a little bit too well. Air condition? Find out the details.

And growing up Gotti, a look inside the life of a mobster's daughter. My live interview with Vanessa Gotti.

First, your picks, the most popular stories on right now.


COOPER: Well, in the end, police say Lori Hacking never went jogging the morning of July 19. In the end, they believe, she never left her home alive. And her husband, who seems to have built a life out of lies, stands accused of the one thing everyone was hoping wasn't true.

CNN's Miguel Marquez reports.


MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police believe the mystery surrounding Lori Hacking is solved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe that Mark Hacking is responsible for her disappearance and death.

MARQUEZ: Police believe that she was murdered in their apartment, and they say evidence seized there, a nearby dumpster, Lori Hacking's car, and testimony from witnesses led to a single charge of aggravated murder. But the question of where Lori Hacking's body is remains a mystery.

Police have been combing a two-acre plot in the city landfill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thought that her last resting place is a landfill is not a pleasant thought, and the thought that she may have to stay there is something else that we don't like to think about.

MARQUEZ: Chief Dinse says even though Lori Hacking's family knew the outcome was grim, the official charging of Mark Hacking brought a new round of grief.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're devastated, both sides of that family, both Hackings and the Suarez (ph) family are visibly upset over this.

MARQUEZ: Mark Hacking's mug shot is a contrast to the Mark Hacking who pled his case publicly just days after he reported that his wife never returned from an early morning jog.

MARK HACKING, LORI HACKING'S HUSBAND: She never made it in this morning. And I panicked. I called the police and I raced over here and found her car.

MARQUEZ: Police say Mark Hacking was the focus of the investigation from the start. And even if they don't find Lori Hacking's body, they believe their case is solid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're hopeful that we will find the body, obviously, but we believe this case is strong enough that we could prosecute without that.


MARQUEZ: Police say that on Wednesday, they will restart the search of a local landfill here, hoping to find Lori Hacking's body using cadaver dogs. They also say that the arraignment of Mr. Hacking will hopefully happen before the weekend, Anderson.

COOPER: Miguel Marquez in Salt Lake City, thanks, Miguel.

A little later on 360, we're going to have the latest details on the case from a Salt Lake City police officer. We'll also talk about the case with a defense attorney.

A growling storm off the U.S. coast, that story tops our look at what's going on cross-country right now. Off the North Carolina coast, tropical storm Alex could become a hurricane within the next 24 hours. The National Hurricane Center says the storm's center will pass close to the Outer Banks tomorrow. Hurricane warnings have been posted for the region.

Netherland (ph), Texas, oil spill closes part of a ship channel leading to the Gulf. This morning, a Danish tanker dumped about 25,000 gallons into the Nachez (ph) River after a barge punctured its starboard fuel tank. Some oil has stained the river shore.

Orlando, Florida, Tigger on trial. A Walt Disney World employee accused of fondling a 13-year-old while wearing a Tigger costume has rejected a plea agreement that would have spared him prison time. Thirty-six-year-old Michael Chartrand (ph) faces up to 15 years if convicted. Midway, Kentucky, now, Smarty Jones retires. The 3-year-old chestnut colt is leaving racing because of a chronic hoof injury. In his short career, Smarty Jones was undefeated until his loss at this year's Belmont Stakes, which denied him the coveted Triple Crown.

That's a quick look at what's going on cross-country right now.

360 next, Christians targeted in Iraq. A top Muslim leader condemns a string of church bombings.

Also tonight, al Qaeda in America. Can the terrorists be stopped before they strike? I'll ask CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.

And a little later, air conditioning for Saddam Hussein? Find out how the fallen dictator is living now.


COOPER: Well, a top Shi'ite Muslim cleric condemns attacks on Christian churches. That tops our look at global stories right now in tonight's uplink around the world.

In Baghdad, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most powerful religious cleric in Iraq today, says the rights of Christians and other religious groups in Iraq need to be respected. At least seven people were killed yesterday in coordinated bombings near four churches in Baghdad, one in Mosul. Sistani says the attacks, quote, "targeted Iraq's unity, stability, and independence."

Asuncion, Paraguay, did locked doors kill shoppers? More than 300 people died when a supermarket caught fire yesterday. Hard to believe. Some witnesses say the building's doors were locked, perhaps to prevent shoppers from looting. One of the supermarket's owners denies that.

Narida (ph), Japan, Fischer seeks asylum. Former world chess champion Bobby Fischer has applied for political asylum in Japan. Fischer wants asylum while he appeals the Japanese government's decision to deport him to the U.S. He's been wanted for defying U.S. sanctions by playing chess in Yugoslavia in 1992.

And Jinola (ph), Finland, strike up the karaoke machine. That's right, they're the best of the best in karaoke, darn it, and for four days they belted out tunes in hopes of winning the world championship and the equivalent of $1,200. An Austrian man and a Lebanese woman earned top prizes. I understand "Fame" was one of the top winning songs. (UNINTELLIGIBLE), very proud.

That's tonight's uplink.

Periscevidecatriaphobia (ph), that's the Greek word for fear of Friday the 13th. And whether you're Greek or not, there's good reason to know it. Next week, on Friday the 13, the Olympics kicks off in Athens, Greece, and there are plenty of potential nightmares for everyone, from the Greek government to NBC, which is televising the games. That aside, there are still plenty of unsung athletes trying to live their Olympic dreams.

CNN's Jason Bellini introduces you now to two of them.


JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet the Dumais brothers. Justin, 25, is often outshined by his younger brother, Troy, who's 24. In the air, they try to act like identical twins. On the ground, they have two very different personalities.



KENNY ARMSTRONG, COACH: And they know one another very well.

BELLINI: An advantage when they're feeling the brotherly love, which isn't always.

(on camera): Have you ever seen them when they're not talking to one another?

ARMSTRONG: Yah, that's yes, that's a definite. That's why they don't live together

BELLINI: Troy admits he's tired of teammates scrutinizing their relationship.

TROY DUMAIS: And then we ask them the same question, so what if your sister was standing here? I wouldn't like it. So, I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) then why are you giving us crap about it? I mean, we deal with it, and we don't cause that much problem.

BELLINI: Athens will be Troy's second Olympics. In 2000, his best individual effort was sixth in the three-meter springboard. Justin didn't make the team.

TROY DUMAIS: I think it was a difficult thing for my brother to handle, because that was his dream too, to go to the Olympics and win a medal.

BELLINI: At this year's trial, the same thing happened, Troy qualified in his individual event, Justin did not. But Justin made the team with the help of his brother in synchronized diving.

TROY DUMAIS: That's all she wrote, basically. I mean, that was his last chance, was synchro.

BELLINI: Synchronized diving became an Olympic event in 2000.

(on camera): Judges review the execution of the individual diver, but more importantly the synchronization of the duo, from takeoff, to the height of the dive, to the angle they hit the water. JUSTIN DUMAIS: Synchro is kind of -- put two competitors together, and, I mean, it's always say, Oh, it was his fault, or it was his fault. And during synchro, you can't have that. It's a team event. It's our fault, it's not his or mine.

BELLINI: After Athens, Justin wants to join the Air National Guard. Troy plans to continue diving. Both say the time for sibling rivalry is over. In Athens, they have to be in sync like never before.

Jason Bellini, CNN, Houston.


COOPER: From missing to murdered, Lori Hacking's husband charged with killing his pregnant wife. Police make an arrest but still search for a body.

And Carmela Soprano? Forget about it. Daughter of a real Mob boss, Victoria Gotti stops by to talk about the Mob, her family, and her new reality TV show.

360 continues.


COOPER: 360 next, a husband arrested for murder. Find out why police think Mark Hacking killed his pregnant wife.

First, today's top stories in the reset.

Conflicting polls tonight on whether Senator John Kerry got a bounce from the Democratic convention. The latest poll from the "Washington Post"-ABC News shows Kerry leading President Bush by 6 points among registered voters. It says on the eve of the convention, Bush had led Kerry by 2 points.

But the latest CNN-"USA Today-Gallup poll tells a different story, gives Kerry no bounce, and suggests the two candidates are in a dead heat. Choose for yourself.

If Saddam Hussein is sweating in prison, it is not because of the temperature. Iraq's human rights minister says Saddam has an air- conditioned cell unlike other detainees. He says Saddam is also able to enjoy gardening a few hours every day.

In Fort Bragg, North Carolina, lawyers for a sergeant accused of killing two fellow troops in Iraq say their client's admission shouldn't be used against him. They say Sergeant Hassan Akhbar wasn't read his rights before he allegedly told the officer who caught him that he had bombed the troops' tent with a grenade.

And across America, gas pumps are squeezing a little less out of the wallet. Government says gas prices have dropped to their lowest level since early May. However, the average price for regular unleaded, $1.89 a gallon, is up 35 cents from a year ago. That's quick look at tonight's reset.

Word that Mark Hacking was arrested today for the murder of his pregnant wife, Lori, didn't come as a surprise to many in Salt Lake City. Since she disappeared two weeks ago, his story about his life and their life and what he did the day she vanished seemed to fall apart. And tonight, while Hacking is on a suicide watch and being held without bail, police continue searching a landfill where they believe, amid the garbage, lies the body of Lori Hacking.

Earlier I spoke about the case with Salt Lake City Police Detective Dwayne Baird.


COOPER: Detective Baird, on Sunday you issued a statement saying that a Hacking family member had provided police with substantial new information. Is it that information which led to this arrest today?

DWAYNE BAIRD, DETECTIVE, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: I can't talk specifically about that information, but it was something that was a catalyst in helping us in this case. It actually verified what we had already gotten from other tips.

COOPER: Can you tell us at this point what you think happened to Lori Hacking?

BAIRD: You know, I can't tell you specifically. We do think that she was murdered and according to the chief, what he had released earlier, that she was in fact murdered in her apartment and that she is in the landfill, according to some information that we have. We're going to continue that search this Wednesday evening.

COOPER: You said you're going to continue the search Wednesday evening. Why not start it right away?

BAIRD: We have the search dogs that have been assisting us and frankly they need some rest. We had initially prolonged the search until Friday but we understand those dogs will be ready sooner than that and we want to get this taken care of as soon as possible.

COOPER: How big an area in this landfill is it that you're searching?

BAIRD: Well, it's a couple of acres just on the surface. However, it is about 25 to 45 feet deep. And it's compressed garbage and it's just a long arduous process. We're looking at 3,000 tons of garbage. We've gone through about 500 tons of garbage at this point and we've been out there several days.

COOPER: Are you asking for volunteers or is this all being handled by trained professionals?

BAIRD: These are trained professionals. We are not asking for volunteers, and no volunteer that I know of would want to go out there. This is a horrible, filthy situation where it's just basically sewage that you're walking around in and it's not comfortable by any means.

COOPER: I know you can't talk about details of what you think happened. Do you feel that you have all the information you need about what happened or are there still blank spaces?

BAIRD: We have enough of the information that we believe we can charge him. We have the probable cause to charge him for the murder. Are there still some pieces of this puzzle we would like to have, certainly. The body is a big one. But it's not necessary. We don't believe it's necessary in filing the charges in this case. We believe that he is responsible for her disappearance and murder. And so we're making sure we go forward with these charges. There are some things that will come in through the state crime lab and testing and so on, but understand that we feel that we've got a case that's worth pursuing and we're planning to take it to the district attorney's office in that regard.

COOPER: And he's going to be charged with aggravated murder rather than first-degree murder. Why?

BAIRD: You know, I'm not certain exactly why those charges are the way they are. There was some speculation about the fact that she, his wife, was pregnant. However, that can't be substantiated or has not been substantiated medically at this point.

COOPER: And if that is substantiated and she is found to be pregnant, would there be an additional murder charge?

BAIRD: There certainly could be in this case, absolutely. That wouldn't be out of the question.

COOPER: Detective Dwayne Baird, appreciate you joining us.

BAIRD: Thank you. Thanks very much.


The search for Lori Hacking continues. Covering the case for us tonight in "Justice Served" is Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom and attorney Gary Casimir. Thanks for being with us, both of you.

Lisa, let me start off with you. As we said in that interview, Mark Hacking has been charged with aggravated murder. What does that tell us about the case?

LISA BLOOM, ANCHOR, COURT TV: Well, the aggravated murder statute in Utah is the worst type of murder, it's murder in connection with a rape, a kidnapping, extreme and egregious circumstances or two or more people being killed at once. So while we don't know exactly what the evidence in the case is, that charge gives us a little bit of a clue of what might be going on behind closed doors.

COOPER: Gary, obviously there are a lot of details we don't know. How do you start defending? As a defense attorney, how would you start defending this guy? GARY CASIMIR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This case right now is only with the police department. As you can tell the detective indicated they're going to bring the case to the district attorney's office. These charges may change. They haven't been able to establish, as the first count, aggravated murder, whether or not she was really pregnant yet. The question is whether or not that was done medically, whether there was a doctor that tested it and proof positive. Once they can establish that by the time of indictment, that charge will be reduced to simply the first-degree murder charge.

COOPER: Now, this guy lied about going to college. He lied about going to medical school. How important to establish is it whether or not his wife knew about these lies.

BLOOM: You know, we may never know if she knew. Probably the prosecution theory will be that he disclosed it to her, they had a big fight about it, she threatened to divulge it. But Anderson, this isn't just a lie. This is a colossal lie about his entire life, about his entire future.

COOPER: Creating a false identity.

BLOOM: That's right, about the core of his being, who he is. He lied not only to his wife, but to his family, to her family for a period of 18 months. This is enough of a motivation for murder. I think what's that the prosecutor is going to argue.

COOPER: Do they need a motive for murder?

CASIMIR: They don't need a motive for murder. But I don't know if it's about motivation for murder. These two went to college together. Married husband and wife, you start to know. Medical school is not something you just say I'm going to. You start early on applying for it in college. You know what kind of guy, you know what kind of student, you know what the applications are. There's some indication that your wife would know if you were really going to medical school or not. So I don't know if they're going to be able to substantiate a case based only on that. But motive is not necessary. If they have evidence in the house, this guy may have a lot to defend. You don't have to worry about motive.

COOPER: There are those who say look, he's already going for some sort of insanity defense. He was running around naked. Picked up by police. He went to a psychiatric ward.

BLOOM: But that's not enough. Running around naked, and even going to a psychiatric hospital, that's nowhere near the standard for competency. He's going to probably argue he's incompetent to stand trial, but more importantly, he may argue insanity at trial. Basically he has to show he didn't know the difference between right and wrong. If that's so, why did he dispose of the body? That's probably what prosecutors are going to argue. He did he know the difference, even if he did have some level of emotional disturbance?

COOPER: Lisa Bloom, good to talk to you. Gary Casimir, thanks very much. Cracking the Al Qaeda computer. Next on 360, a report from Peter Bergen, who's in Pakistan, on the possible source of the increased terror alert and what the source is telling authorities about exactly how Al Qaeda is now communicating. Interesting stuff.

And a little later, Victoria Gotti, daughter of the mob godfather stops by to talk about her new reality show.


COOPER: The increased security alert this weekend is said to be based on specific intelligence captured when Pakistani officials arrested an Al Qaeda computer mastermind. Peter Bergen is in Islamabad. We talked earlier about what may have been found and how reliable it is.


COOPER: Peter, according to what I read in the "Times" and other places, the arrest of this Al Qaeda member, Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, in Pakistan, it seems significant. A Pakistani intelligence official told the "New York Times" that he was officially a treasure trove of information. Why is it so important?

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: A couple of things. On the Pakistan side of things over here, Anderson, this guy apparently went by a number of aliases. So it's not really clear what his real name is. Pakistani officials say that this computer expert may have been one of the components that led to this heightened alert.

COOPER: Yet, what seems so important about him, according at least to what I've read in the "Times," is that he, since he was a computer expert, he was sort of at the hub of a lot of the communication. What do we now know or what are we hearing about the communication of Al Qaeda today?

BERGEN: Well, the leaders of Al Qaeda, Osama bin laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri, haven't used satellite phones, cell phones, radios, anything that could be intercepted by electronic intercepts for some period of time, even before 9/11. They're communicating by couriers. So the top echelon is communicating by couriers, according to U.S. officials, and the people like the person, the computer expert is obviously communicating on the internet.

COOPER: Apparently they don't use any one Web site or any one e- mail address for very long.

BERGEN: No, often these Web sites will squat on unsuspecting addresses. For instance, a soccer club in Holland had one of Al Qaeda's main web sites squatting on its site for a few days before it was taken down, so they move around.

COOPER: And also, it seems like even, according to what I read in the "Times," this computer expert claims he doesn't know the location of Osama Bin Laden and claims that really, most of the members in Al Qaeda that, at least, he was in contact with do not know where Osama Bin Laden is.

BERGEN: I think that is absolutely right. Al Qaeda operates on a cellular basis. A good example of this is the 9/11 attacks. Even the spokesman of Al Qaeda wasn't clued into that attack, according to a videotape discovered after the fall of the Taliban where Osama Bin Laden points to his spokesman and says, we didn't even tell him about that. We also know that the muscle in the hijacked planes knew they were on a suicide mission but they didn't know where the suicide mission was going. Only the four pilots knew. So a very limited number of people knew about the 9/11 plan in any detail, and I think a very limited number of people know where Ayman Al Zawahiri or Osama Bin Laden is.

COOPER: Is there a danger relying too much on the information from this one computer expert? I bring this up because Pakistan had arrested someone else a while back and the U.S. really relied heavily on this guy's information, he making the claim that there was a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda. He has since, apparently, according to the "Times," recanted that.

BERGEN: But the most reliable information is not what people tell you, but what is found in the computers, cell phones, documents, these kinds of things, that's really hard information. And it may well be that this computer expert and also somebody arrested earlier this week in Pakistan, it's not what they're saying, but what was found when they were captured. That's the critical thing, I think. I think that information is ultimately more useful than what people say.

COOPER: Peter Bergen, thanks very much.

BERGEN: Thank you.


COOPER: Politics had nothing to do with it. Presidents always say that, don't they? Whether you believe it or not usually depends on what side you're on to begin with. That's "Raw Politics."

Each time the republican administration raises the terror alert, some democrats respond by raising the timing alert.


HOWARD DEAN (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am concerned every time something happens which is not good for President Bush, he plays his trump card which is terrorism.


COOPER: This terror alert came just three days after the Democratic Convention, and last month's well publicized terror warning was announced just one day after John Kerry picked John Edwards as his running mate. Pure coincidence, say the republicans; not so, say some democrats.

But the truth is, the timing question has been used in the past by both sides. In August 1998, some republicans questioned the timing of President Clinton's strike against suspected terror targets in Afghanistan and Sudan, just three days after he apologized to the nation for having lied about his sexual relationship with an intern.


SEN. DAN COATS (R), INDIANA: The timing here is so extraordinary. The reaction of the president is so uncharacteristic to anything he has done in his six years of a presidency, that it raises legitimate questions.


COOPER: Why do opponents often question the timing of a president's decisions? Perhaps because it helps shift the debate from policy to character, experts say, which makes an attack much more effective. Especially during this election campaign.


JIM WALSH, FELLOW, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Politics in America is not only about policy choices, it's about people. We have two parties that don't like each other and two candidates who don't like each other. And when you have personality and politics all wrapped into together, inevitably, I think you're going to have people questioning one another's motives.


COOPER: In the world of raw politics, timing really is of the essence.

And today's buzz is this, if you worked in one of the buildings targeted by terrorists, would you have gone to work today? Log on to; cast your vote. We'll have results at the end of the program tonight.

Some TV critics are calling it a combination of "The Sopranos" with "All My Children." It's "Growing Up Gotti," a new reality show starring Victoria Gotti. She joins me next.

Also tonight on display, a history of the gadgets and gizmos sold to spark up the sex life. Yikes, what is that? Find out ahead.


COOPER: Well, her ex-husband's in prison for racketeering, her brother was just indicted for attempted murder, and her dad was godfather for the Gambino crime family. Given all this, you might think that Victoria Gotti would want to stay out of the limelight. Not a chance. She's already a gossip columnist, and now A&E has made her an offer she couldn't refuse, her own reality show. "Growing Up Gotti" premiers tonight. Here's a clip of Victoria talking about her sons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VICTORIA GOTTI, STAR, "GROWING UP GOTTI": It seems to bother everybody when it comes to that, because then they want to be - and listen to me - they want to be the men of the house. And they want to protect me. And everything else, but Peter, you know what? Monday to Friday, 24/7, I'm the man of the house.


COOPER: Yikes. Victoria Gotti joins me now.

Why did you do this? I mean, when people hear the name Gotti, they're going to think this is a show about the mob. Is it?

GOTTI: No, quite the contrary. And that's actually why I did it. I have been approached for well over a year from Judith Regan, and she just kept -- she saw something in my life that I probably wasn't getting or didn't see or didn't care to see.

It wasn't to me anything entertaining, but aside from that, we had numerous conversations and at one point she turned to me and said, you know, I had all the, I won't do it because of, and I think one of my reasons was you know, the world has these preconceived notions about me as it is. I'm not going to pay attention anymore. She said well then, that's a good enough reason to do it, do it and show them who you are, who your children are.

The part about show them who I am really didn't gel with me. I didn't care that the point. I've done it, used to it, I deal with it. The boys, that was a whole different story and I thought this is a good idea.

COOPER: How is your life different than most people probably think? People know who your dad was, know what he went to jail for, your family's associations with organized crime over the years. How is your life different now than people might think?

GOTTI: The world thinks that I'm privy to this world, that I'm in the middle of sit-downs or you know, or ride around with guys by the name of Lefty Louie in cars with bulletproof windows.

COOPER: Do you know anyone named Lefty Louie?

GOTTI: No, I don't. I was always kept very sheltered. If that went on, I didn't see it. It wasn't around me and certainly not around my kids. So you know, you get to the point where you resent it. You resent people pointing fingers and telling you that this is the way you live your life, and watching "The Sopranos" every week and telling you again, we know that's your life. It's not my life.

I've been working since I'm 15 years old. I was an honor student in school. Does any of it count? No, it doesn't count. I don't want praise for it. I'm just saying I raised three boys to the best that I could, the best of my ability, no different from Carol down the block, but yet...

COOPER: But you also, you are profiting from that association. GOTTI: How am I profiting?

COOPER: No offense, you wouldn't have a show probably without the association.

GOTTI: Why is that? I wrote five novels. Didn't I earn my celebrity?

COOPER: Perhaps.

GOTTI: I worked for a major newspaper, didn't I earn? Hurt me, sometimes it did. It could hurt. It could hinder, help, depends on how you look at it. What I'm trying to say is people cannot sit there and say, you know, well, you profited from that. I did not profit from it. Everything I owned that nice big white house is mine because I built it and bought it, every little brick. Not from any ill-gotten gains. And they say now with the show, would you have gotten the show? I think I paid my dues for ten years. I've been out there promoting books.

COOPER: Would you do this again? They've shot over 20 episodes.

GOTTI: I don't know. Yeah, we've got 20, signed for 20. I think we've got ten in the can. I don't know if I would do it again. It was a really big undertaking. I think I did what I set out to do, and I think anything more, I can't do. So.

COOPER: We'll watch tonight. Victoria Gotti, good to meet you.

Time to check on pop news, some lighter stuff, in tonight's "Current." Let's take a look.

Toyota is working on a new car that has some facial expressions. The design calls for the vehicle to have eyes, a nose, even a mouth, we're told. Though Toyota is keeping the design of the car very top secret, we were able to get a picture of the prototype, I'm told. That is not it. Try another one. Nope, that's not it either. Maybe we lost it. Let's move on.

Roger Clemens got into trouble watching his son play in a 10 and under game when he contested a call and spit at the umpire's legs. The rocket was ejected from the game and, in accordance with 10 and under rules, must write I will act my age 100 times on the blackboard.

NBC is nervous about its Olympic coverage. Seems there was concern people won't tune into the games. To boost ratings, we suggest executives consider making athletes live together, swap spouses, and undergo extreme makeovers.

And New York is considering using company sponsors for its subway system. We think it's a great idea. New Yorkers get ready for the Ford "flasher" express. The Chase "crazy man" local. That's not me. That is me. And the Dominoes "don't stare at me or I'll kill you" number 9.

Long before the first sex-selling spam hit the Internet or Viagra ever solved ED, there existed a plethora of potions, lotions, herbs and tonics claiming to lift the libido. A few of these laughable remedies are now on display at a museum, believe it or not, and CNN's Jeanne Moos has a look what's been sold to spice up sex lives.


JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These days the come-ons come in e-mail, promising bigger, longer, stronger, but what's really long is the history of quackery.

To spark up your sex life, there have been gizmos ranging from the vibrating chair for women to the unisex violet ray machine with attachment that go places best left to your imagination.

DR. REINER ENGEL, AMERICAN UROLOGICAL MUSEUM: We haven't had any volunteer who is willing to have those sparks delivered.

MOOS: Here at the American Urological Association headquarters near Baltimore, even the flags are limp. The urological museum features head shakers like a kidney stone so big doctors had to take out the kidney.

At the just-opened quackery exhibit, you can find items like the Heidelberg belt. Guys, you can imagine where the loop goes. The belt delivers a small electrical charge that promises quick relief of all weaknesses.

MOOS (on camera): What is the most sort of blatant, dumbest piece of quackery you ever saw?

ENGEL: Probably a rectal dilator.

MOOS (voice-over): Yikes. Dr. Young's perfection comes in ever- larger sizes, guaranteed to cure ills ranging from insomnia to impotence.

ENGEL: Try one.

MOOS (on camera): Not on camera.

MOOS (voice-over): Here's a charmer intended to discourage nighttime arousal.

ENGEL: The teeth would dig in there and (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

MOOS (on camera): The Spermataria (ph) ring was sold in a Sears catalogue in 1903 for 25 cents.

MOOS (voice-over): As for the violet ray machine that delivers a tiny charge, it came with attachments to improve your eyesight, grow hair, fix your thyroid.

And then there's the infamous device even Austin Powers disowned. The exhibit's curator says it might work, but only if you used it all the time risking tissue damage. ENGEL: If I take your tongue and put a couple of weights on it, and if you do it for a year, you have a tongue that hangs down to here.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, Baltimore.


COOPER: Oh, Jeanne.

360 next. Ringing and singing all-in-one cell phones. We take that to the Nth degree.

Plus, released from prison this week, Mary Kay Letourneau, the teacher who had an affair with one of her students. Tomorrow we'll talk with one of her prison mates about her life behind bars and what she plans to do now.

First, today's buzz. If you worked in one of the buildings targeted by terrorists would you have gone to work today? Log on to; cast your vote. We'll have results in a few moments.


COOPER: Time now for the buzz. Earlier we asked you if you worked in one of the buildings targeted by terrorists, would you have gone to work today? More than 14,000 of you voted. 79 percent of you said yes. 21 no. Not a scientific poll but it is your buzz. Thanks for voting.

Tonight, taking all in one to the Nth degree. While physicists are working on the only explanation that you'll ever need, the so- called unifying theory that explains everything, marketers are working on the only product you'll ever need.

The current front-runner is the cell phone. It's already a phone, of course, and answering machine and a camera and a receiver and sender of e-mail and a web browser and a GPS widget and some other things. Now it's going to be a jukebox as well. Apple and Motorola are working on a cell phone that can download and save music.

Now this is a really good idea. If you're stuck in the middle of a boring call, you can say hey, hang on, Andre 3000 is on the other line, or can't talk now, I'm holding for Springsteen. Not that we really understand how it's supposed to work. I mean, do you walk around with your cell phone clapped to the side of your head all day so you'll look busy?

Would it be greedy of us to ask for one more feature? Let's put it this way. In between phone calls and e-mails and mp3s and web pages, wouldn't it be swell to have a nice fresh slice of warm toast?

I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching. Coming up next, "Paula Zahn Now."


International Edition
CNN TV CNN International Headline News Transcripts Advertise With Us About Us
   The Web     
Powered by
© 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
 Premium content icon Denotes premium content.
Add RSS headlines.