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ANDERSON COOPER 360 DEGREES
Kobe's Accuser Begs For Trial Date; Condoleezza Rice Requests Closed Door Meeting With 9/11 Commission; Alleged Zawahiri Voice Calls For Revolt Against Pakistan
Aired March 25, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): New reports al-Zawahiri has resurfaced. A reported tape from al Qaeda number two urges the Pakistani people to revolt.
Fresh from vacation, a recharged Kerry returns to Washington. What's next in his bid to cast Bush from the White House?
Clever comedy or Oval Office overkill, were the president's remarks just in jest or did he try to wring laughs from a deadly situation?
Forced to quit school and plagued by death threats, Kobe's accuser begs for a trial date.
Sexual fantasy gone seriously awry, a photographer is charged with a porn actress' murder.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COLLINS: Good evening everybody and welcome to 360. Anderson is off tonight. I'm Heidi Collins.
We have this just in tonight. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is requesting another closed door meeting with the commission and we will have a live report from the White House on that in just a moment.
But first tonight, a chilling new message believed to be from al Qaeda. As an audio tape surfaces attributed to Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's second in command, thousands more Marines are being sent to Afghanistan to fight the war on terror.
Full coverage tonight Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson live in Islamabad, Pakistan and Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon.
We begin tonight with Nic in Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ayman al-Zawahiri, the man Pakistani officials thought a week ago they might have holed up on their border, is now believed to be on an audio tape calling for the overthrow of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
PURPORTED VOICE OF AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI (through translator): Every Muslim in Pakistan must do his or her best to get rid of this government which cooperates with the enemy. This government will continue to surrender to the Americans until it destroys Pakistan.
ROBERTSON: Not clear if the recording was made since Pakistan's army began its military offensive in the tribal region of Waziristan a week and a half ago but the message seems intent to build local resistance against the army operation.
AL-ZAWAHIRI (through translator): The United States has told Musharraf to seek revenge from the border tribes, especially the honorable Pashtun tribes, that is to defeat the grassroots efforts to support jihad against its crusader movement, so he began by destroying houses, jailing many, and killing people in markets.
ROBERTSON: As the Pakistani offensive has fizzled into stalled negotiations and newly-discovered tunnels hint whatever high value targets may have been holed up in the border region have escaped, anti-government protests, particularly in the intensely independent tribal regions near the Afghan border have been picking up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And, Nic joins us now live. Nic, you know, there are reports that Zawahiri was cornered last week, just wondering if the Pakistanis still believe that.
ROBERTSON: Heidi, they don't. Officials now saying they never had any concrete evidence or concrete proof that Ayman al-Zawahiri or anyone of his stature within al Qaeda was actually in that area. They've said now perhaps it could be an Uzbek commander. It seems very much whoever was there has escaped.
COLLINS: All right. Nic Robertson live tonight from Islamabad, Nic thanks so much.
And the number of U.S. troops searching for bin Laden and al Qaeda fighters will be getting bigger. An estimated 2,000 U.S. Marines will soon be deployed to Afghanistan.
Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Marines, now on a strike force of ships led by the USS Wasp will move from the Persian Gulf region to Afghanistan by next month, sources tell CNN. The Pentagon says the Marines, while trained for special operations, may be used to beef up security for Afghan elections. GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: As you know, they're going to elections sometime this summer, perhaps late summer. The date I think is still being negotiated between the U.N. and the Afghan population or national community and we want to make sure that event goes well.
MCINTYRE: But the Pentagon acknowledges the Marines may also play a role in the hunt for Osama bin Laden and his top deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri along Afghanistan's southern border.
And with Pakistan engaged in pitched battles with al Qaeda forces on its side of the border, the U.S. is expressing cautious confidence in the operation code named Mountain Storm.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: It's going well. There's just no question but that added pressure is being put on the al Qaeda network in Afghanistan, in Pakistan and elsewhere around the world and that's a good thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: The U.S. already has some 2,000 Marines, other Marines, in Afghanistan but for a time there will be an overlap and that will bring the total U.S. force to nearly 14,000 troops in Afghanistan -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, Jamie thanks.
Back home though there is a potential new terror threat to oil refineries in Texas. The FBI is sending out a threat advisory warning police agencies in the state that refineries may be possible targets but sources tell CNN the report of a possible attack is unconfirmed and uncorroborated.
Tonight the White House is requesting a private meeting between National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and the commission looking into the September 11th terror attacks.
White House Correspondent Dana Bash is live at the White House now with the latest developments on this story, Dana good evening.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Heidi.
And the White House released just a short while ago this letter. It is from White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and it's written to the chair and vice-chair of the 9/11 commission and, as you said, it is requesting a private meeting for Dr. Condoleezza Rice, the National Security Adviser and members of the 9/11 commission.
It reads: "In light of yesterday's hearings in which there were a number of mischaracterizations of Dr. Rice's statements and positions" they want to have a meeting.
Clearly, Dr. Rice wants to be able to combat some of the allegations that we heard from Richard Clarke, somebody who used to work for her and for the president, who obviously made charges that the president was not adequately ready for the al Qaeda and terrorist attacks.
But also, it's important to note here that Dr. Rice has met with commissioners before privately. She met here for about four hours back in February. But what commission members have been asking for is a public hearing. They want her to testify in public. They voted unanimously to do so.
And what we heard from Democrats today, including Senator Tom Daschle, the Minority Leader, is questions of why Dr. Rice has been able to be on television, why she has met with reporters privately and not in public.
The White House says tonight again in this letter that it's not about that. It's about principle. It's about executive privilege. They don't want somebody who is not confirmed by the Senate to go before Congress or, at least a body that is legislated by Congress -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Of course we will continue to follow this story as it develops. Dana Bash from Washington thanks.
Here now a quick summary of today's key developments out of Iraq. Militants in the hotbed of Fallujah attacked a U.S. military convoy leaving this Humvee in flames. A U.S. Marine was killed there today, as was an Army soldier in Baquba.
Meanwhile today, the coalition announced the formation of Iraq's interim defense ministry. It's responsible for national security, establishing a national security advisor and creating an anti-terror force.
And the U.S. Army says at least 24 soldiers serving in Iraq or Kuwait killed themselves last year, producing a suicide rate four and a half percent higher than the Army's rate overall. The new report released today says soldiers in Iraq were plagued by low morale and lacked access to some medications needed to treat emotional problems.
Happening right now, two Democratic presidents and the party's presumed nominee sharing the same room in Washington. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and John Kerry are all being honored at a party unity dinner. That's been the theme of the day for Kerry's campaign, which won the backing of a former rival.
CNN's Kelly Wallace has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A photo op that has the Kerry campaign beaming, bitter rivals last month, now joining forces to win back the White House.
HOWARD DEAN (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I know who I trust. I trust John Kerry and that's who I'm voting for and that's who I'm working for.
WALLACE: The hope in the words of one Kerry adviser that this public backing validates John Kerry with Howard Dean's base now hundreds of thousands strong.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have, who am I quoting, you have the power. The truth is that you do and this is where change does begin.
WALLACE: Kerry's first post-vacation challenge raising cash. His camp trails the Bush team by more than $100 million that Bush war chest paying for a nonstop ad blitz. The latest...
ANNOUNCER: John Kerry's economic record troubling.
WALLACE: ...painting the Senator from Massachusetts as a tax raiser. Kerry's strategy, aides say, focus on the positive and on his plan to create jobs. He's been noticeably silent on the growing feud between the White House and its former terrorism adviser Richard Clarke but his campaign blasted President Bush for his comedy sketch Wednesday night at a Washington dinner.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Those weapons of mass destruction got to be somewhere.
WALLACE: In a statement, the Kerry camp said: "If George Bush thinks his deceptive rationale for going to war is a laughing matter, then he's even more out of touch than we thought."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And, at this hour, Democrats are gathering for this dinner that will feature a who's who of the Democratic Party. The goal, Democrats say, to show a united front in the battle this year against President Bush. They also say they hope to raise more than $10 million tonight -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Kelly Wallace thanks so much.
And coming up a little bit later on 360, former presidential hopeful Howard Dean. Dean will join us to talk about today's endorsement of Senator John Kerry and much, much more.
We're also following a number of developing stories right now "Cross Country." Washington, Senate votes for fetus-rights, the Senate passed a fetus-rights bill this afternoon. It makes it a separate federal offense to harm a woman's fetus during the commission of a federal crime. The House passed similar legislation last month.
Atlanta, Georgia, overdosed deaths jump, the CDC is reporting that illegal drug use has caused a tremendous jump in the number of poisoning deaths over the last ten years. There was a 145 percent increase in deaths by poisoning from 1990 to 2001.
Anchorage, Alaska, no new pipeline, an Iowa-based group has withdrawn its application to build a national gas pipeline across Alaska (unintelligible) cost of $6 billion and would have transported natural gas more than 700 miles.
Miami, Florida, desperate measures to be free, Cuban refugees struggled through the surf on a Florida coast after they were swept off their raft by rough seas. Three people were rescued. Five others apparently still missing.
New York City Harbor, open doors again, the National Park Service says the Statue of Liberty will soon reopen. It has been closed to tourists since the 9/11 attacks. No word on exactly when the Park Service will allow trips out to the statue.
And in the night sky look to the west just after sunset and you'll be able to catch a rare sight, five planets seemingly all in a row. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter are all visible. They'll all be on display for the rest of the month and then we won't see this type of formation in the evening for another 32 years or so, and that is a look at stories "Cross Country" tonight.
Kobe Bryant's accuser says she's living in fear from death threats and a media barrage. Find out why she's asking the judge for help.
Plus, the Michael Jackson grand jury, secret evidence and secret testimony, find out who might take that stand.
And, presidential humor, are jokes about WMD out of bounds?
But first let's take a look "Inside the Box" for the top stories on tonight's network newscasts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: To the Kobe Bryant case now where the basketball star's accuser says she's been living a nightmare and today told the judge he can help end it by getting the trial going as soon as possible.
CNN's Gary Tuchman has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kobe Bryant knows this courthouse well with eight pretrial hearings in his sexual assault case but still no trial date after nearly nine months. Now the accuser's attorney being frisked, her father in the blue shirt and her mother behind the plant say they've had it.
The lawyer has filed legal papers saying: "She has been forced to quit school. She cannot live at home. She cannot talk to her friends and she has received literally hundreds of phone calls and e- mails threatening death or mutilation." Lawyer John Clune is calling on the judge to swiftly set a trial date.
CRAIG SILVERMAN, COLORADO ATTORNEY: This clearly puts the ball in Judge Ruckriegle's court. The motion was real and heartfelt. I think he'll seriously consider it and he might expedite proceedings from here on out.
TUCHMAN: The alleged victim's parents, whose faces CNN has decided not to show, have written a letter to the judge saying in part: "We are constantly worried about her safety. My daughter has lived in four different states in the past six months. Her safety is at risk and she has to move again."
The letter comes after a hearing on the alleged victim's sexual past with testimony from a slew of her friends, alleged sexual partners, and herself.
CYNTHIA STONE, COLORADO COMMISSION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT: It strikes us as a circus. It also strikes us as sort of a show, a deliberate show by the defense to say, this woman has had lots of different sex with different men in her life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: The judge has not issued any response to the swift trial request as of yet. Meanwhile, the two day proceedings are now over. The ended 30 minutes ago. Kobe Bryant is on his way back to Los Angeles.
The hearing about the accuser's sexual past though is not over. It will be continued in four weeks. A hearing about statements Kobe Bryant made to police that were secretly recorded, that's not over. It will be continued in one week and that gives you an idea of why things are taking so long -- Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: It's going to be a while. All right, Gary Tuchman live in Eagle, Colorado tonight thanks.
Potential grand jurors are beginning to report for duty in Santa Barbara County, California. They are likely to be the ones to hear the prosecution's case against pop star Michael Jackson. Grand juries usually meet in secret and this one will be no exception.
CNN's Miguel Marquez has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a jury assembly room in Santa Barbara Superior Court it's a new phase in the child molestation case against Michael Jackson.
DAVID GUTHMAN, FMR. LA COUNTY GRAND JURY SUPERVISOR: The grand jury has the discretion to indict or not indict as it sees fit.
MARQUEZ: David Guthman was a grand jury supervisor for Los Angeles County. He says prosecutors usually decide to go the grand jury route when it looks like a trial may suffer delays, when witnesses may be reluctant to testify in open court or...
GUTHMAN: Another would be if you're involving a case with public officials or high profile individuals.
MARQUEZ: And few individuals are as high profile as Michael Jackson. Nineteen grand jurors will consider evidence for approximately two weeks starting as soon as Monday. They will then decide exactly what if any charges Jackson should face. If the grand jury does indict Jackson, he will likely have to be arraigned again. That means another court appearance by the King of Pop.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Miguel joining us live now and, Miguel, you know, there's been a lot of speculation about the boy who brought the case against Jackson back in 1993 that he might testify now in this trial. What's the latest on that?
MARQUEZ: A couple of things. Our defense or our grand jury expert tells us that any witness can be subpoenaed by a grand jury, including those from previous cases and, certainly, Mr. Jackson's defense team has an ear on this and is concerned about it.
Benjamin Bratman, one of Mr. Jackson's lawyers, told CNN that in an upcoming hearing on April 2nd they are going to bring up just what the prosecution intends to do with all that information in evidence from the '93 case -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Miguel Marquez in Santa Barbara tonight thanks.
We're tracking a number of stories around the globe right now. Let's check the "Up Link."
United Nations, American veto, just hours ago the U.S. blocked a Security Council resolution that would have condemned Israel's killing of this man, Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin. Critics say the veto condones the killing. The U.S. says the motion failed to condemn all violence, including attacks by Hamas.
Tripoli, Libya, an historic meeting, British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets with leader Moammar Gadhafi, the first visit by a British leader in 60 years. Blair praised Gadhafi for giving up weapons of mass destruction and renouncing terror. British firms are also hoping the visit will lead to increased trade with the oil rich country.
Paris, tensions, protests, French police fire teargas to break up a protest by, get this, angry firefighters. Thousands of firemen were on a one day strike for the right to retire at age 50.
Cuetzalan, Mexico, faith above ground, five British explorers rescued from the underground cave. They are all said to be in good health. One man is still trapped below ground. Mexico still wants to know what the explorers were doing there in the first place.
Olympia, Greece, let the flames begin, the torch for the 2004 Olympic games is lit and the relay has begun. It is the first time the torch will be carried around the world. The summer games begin in Athens on August 13th.
Sechuan Province, China, hungry for a record, a Chinese man who wants to beat the 45-day fasting record set by magician David Blaine. This man has sealed himself in a glass box and plans to survive on nothing but water for 49 days, and we wish him well. That's tonight's "Up Link."
Jokes about missing WMD, President Bush raises eyebrows with his humor but some people are taking it dead seriously. Do we all need to lighten up a bit? I'll ask a former presidential speechwriter.
Also tonight, al Qaeda rears its ugly head, bin Laden's number two man purportedly issues more threats. Can the U.S. forces stop him first?
Plus, Howard Dean throwing his weight behind his former rival but did he let his own campaign slip away? I'll ask him.
And a little later, porn star murder, the last man who took her pictures accused in her brutal murder.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: At a black tie dinner with journalists last night, President Bush got some laughs when he poked fun at himself and his Democratic rival. But when he also made light of the search for WMDs, some people didn't see the humor in that. An unimpeachable wit, that's just raw politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): Presidents and presidential hopefuls have long been fodder for late night comics.
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": The Secret Service announced today they are doubling its protection for John Kerry. Well you can understand why. I mean with two positions on every issue he's got twice as many people mad at him, you know.
DAVID LETTERMAN, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": We have a new favorite presidential moment with George Bush. This is a new favorite presidential moment with George Bush, watch.
COLLINS: But between January and April in what Washington calls the silly season, the president has to face the crowd and give as good as he gets, poking fun at himself.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The jogging track is coming along nicely and we expect our own McDonald's to be completed by fall.
COLLINS: And his friends.
BUSH: In fact, I'm going to have the Fab Five do a makeover on Ashcroft.
COLLINS: The laugh fests are carefully scripted by a team of presidential joke writers and, as every comic knows, everyone's a critic, so the political fallout when jokes go wrong can be swift.
Take last night's Radio and Television Correspondents' Dinner. President Bush took aim at himself, at Dick Cheney, at John Kerry and then there was this.
BUSH: Those weapons of mass destruction got to be somewhere.
COLLINS: And that didn't sit well with some morning show viewers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fran in Burlington, Massachusetts writes: "Seeing our president joke about WMDs at a comedy function was terrible. How can a thinking, caring human being joke about the lies that led to body bags and broken young men and women. I was appalled."
COLLINS: It's unlikely that say George Washington or Abraham Lincoln ever had to hire a joke writer but for today's president humor is an essential ingredient of raw politics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Our next guest knows a thing or two about political one-liners. Mark Katz, he was a humor writer for President Clinton. He also has a new book called "Clinton and Me, a Real Life Political Comedy." I asked him what he thought about President Bush's jokes last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK KATZ, AUTHOR, "CLINTON AND ME": Well, you know, as a topic, weapons of mass destruction is nuclear or at the very least nucular (sic) to quote a president.
But, no, there are lines you cannot cross, I think, when you do a political joke and I don't -- I think I might have written that joke but just to get the laughs to the people in the White House but I never would expect it would ever get through.
COLLINS: All right. What makes a political joke then succeed and what makes one backfire?
KATZ: Well, one of the reasons why political humor is so cautious usually by nature is that politicians know that a good joke will last a week and a bad joke will be reprinted in your obituary and there's a chance that that joke will kind of last a long time and haunt President Bush for at least until the election.
COLLINS: All right. Now we have a clip of a joke that you wrote for President Clinton during the height of the Monica Lewinsky troubles and we want to go ahead and listen to this. It's about the Lincoln bedroom. I'm sure you remember it. Let's listen for a moment and I'll get your reaction.
CLINTON: The bad news is our only child is going off to college. The good news is it opens up another bedroom.
COLLINS: So how did that play and what sort of a joke like that what makes it work? KATZ: Well, that was a very daring joke because, you know, at that moment the Clinton White House was at a moment of great peril but really just kind of on their own peril. No other lives were at stake.
You know with regard to going to war, sending American troops to war to find weapons of mass destruction that's a joke that's playing out on the world stage and is at our expense.
You know President Clinton told that joke at his own expense and showed courage really to kind of be willing to joke about a very sensitive topic and people in the room when he told that joke were, I can't believe he just told that joke.
COLLINS: Was that before or after he lied under oath?
KATZ: That was before. That was 1997 that joke and this was, of course, you know, President Clinton had his own thermonuclear crisis and that was tricky too and part of, you know, the hard part about doing humor in the political arena is figuring out, you know, how to make jokes politics by other means.
COLLINS: Who else is good at this? What presidents are really good with humor?
KATZ: You know John Kennedy did that famous joke in 1958 about how he's going to run for president. His father was bankrolling his campaign. He read a famous telegram allegedly from his dad that says: "Dear Jack, Don't spend a dime more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a landslide."
COLLINS: All right, Mark Katz we certainly appreciate your time tonight.
KATZ: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: I want to let you know we did contact the White House for a response to the criticism of President Bush's jokes at last night's dinner. Our phone calls were not returned.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): Day two of the Kobe Bryant hearings his accuser says she's desperate to get on with her life.
Rivals no more, former Democratic Party frontrunner Howard Dean gives John Kerry his spirited endorsement at a D.C. rally. 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Time now for tonight's "Reset." New terror tape. It aired on the Arabic network al Jazeera and is said to be the voice of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The speaker calls for the Pakistanis to overthrow their President Pervez Musharraf. Washington. Senate vote. Victory for those seeking more legal rights for the unborn. The Senate passes a measure by 61-38 making it a separate crime to harm a fetus while committing a violent federal crime. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act now goes to President Bush for his signature. The bill already passed in the House last month.
In New York, dispute in the jury room. Jurors in the corruption trial of two former Tyco International executives are in a bitter fight. So bad the atmosphere was poisonous, called poisonous and triggered the defense team to ask for a mistrial. The judge refused. Jurors were ordered to go home, relax and return tomorrow for deliberations.
Washington. Congress can keep praying. Atheist Michael Newdow who is trying to get the words "under God" removed from the Pledge of Allegiance has lost a separate case. This one involves the daily legislative prayer that opens each congressional session. A U.S. district judge dismissed that lawsuit today. That's tonight's "Reset."
Turning now to politics. Coming back from vacation today, Senator John Kerry picked up a key endorsement from former rival Howard Dean. The two pledged to put their bitter primary fight behind them. I spoke to the former governor as he arrived for the Democrats unity dinner in Washington.
COLLINS: Governor Dean, you came out very hard against John Kerry during the primaries. Just wondering if you would listen in for a moment to some sound that you gave on January 29 in Greenville, South Carolina.
HOWARD DEAN (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, Senator Kerry is the front-runner. I mean him no insult but in 19 years in the Senate, Senator Kerry sponsored 11 bills that had anything to do with healthcare. Not one of them passed. If you want a president that's going to get results, I suggest that you look at somebody who did get results in my state.
COLLINS: What makes you think he can get results now?
DEAN: That's one of the things John and I talked about three weeks or so ago when we last met. I'm endorsing John Kerry with the full belief that health insurance will, as he said, be the first bill in Congress when he becomes president. The issue here is not the difference between John Kerry and I. We had those differences, we fought over them, John Kerry won this election fair and square. Now, the question is, who is going to be a better president, George W. Bush or John Kerry. Who do you trust in the defense of the United States. The president and vice president who have never served a day overseas in their life or a guy who served in Vietnam with three purple hearts and a silver star.
Who do you trust the economy to, an administration that's lost 2 million jobs or a guy in the Senate who is committed to balancing the budget. I have no problem endorsing John Kerry for president of the United States because I think the country will be better off both in terms of safety and in terms of our economy with the President Kerry rather than a President Bush.
COLLINS: That being said, Governor, just last week John Kerry said publicly that he did not share your views with President Bush's decision to send troops to Iraq and the fact that that may have contributed to the bombings in Madrid. If you differ on important issues like these, and I'm referring to the war and to terrorism, how can you endorse John Kerry now?
DEAN: Actually, John Kerry said no such thing. That was a silly story concocted by inside the beltway folks who then continued to blow it out of proportion. What I had said was the terrorists who bombed Spain said that they were doing it in order to get back at them for sending their troops to Iraq. The White House put out some press release that said -- that claimed I said something different. You all got Senator Kerry to react to that. There is no daylight between Senator Kerry and I on any of the major issues. I intend to do everything I can to see him get elected as president.
COLLINS: Do you like John Kerry?
DEAN: I do like John Kerry. I think he's a thoughtful guy. He has a deep understanding of the issues, and he's very interested in hearing information leading up to his decisions on those issues. I've been appalled this week by the testimony of Richard Clarke which indicated that the president of the United States ignored information that said that Iraq was the wrong target and went to Iraq anyway costing us 560 lives of brave American soldiers and countless wounded people. I prefer a president who listens to information, if I may.
COLLINS: Howard Dean, we appreciate your time tonight. Thanks very much.
DEAN: Thanks very much. I appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: A look now at the Democratic unity dinner we were just talking about. You see Mr. Gore, Mr. Kerry -- Senator Kerry, that is, former president Bill Clinton, former president Jimmy Carter standing there and Howard Dean who we did just speak with. John Edwards as well in there.
All right. Live from Washington. The Democratic unity dinner. More now about one of our top stories today. al Qaeda's No. 2 lashing out. The new audiotape attributed to Ayman al-Zawahiri aired on the Arabic network al Jazeera today. On it, the speaker calls on Pakistanis to overthrow their president. Is it authentic? Joining me now with his assessment is our terrorism analyst, Peter Bergen. Peter, thanks for being here tonight.
This is not the first audiotape we've seen thought to be from al- Zawahiri. What stuck in your mind about this one?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: It is similar to one he released late last year calling for attacks on General Musharraf, the leader of Pakistan. Following that tape last year, there were two very serious assassination attempts against General Musharraf. This tape basically reprises those themes, talks about the need to attack President Musharraf for his role in the war on terrorism and, also, is addressed to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) tribesmen who are on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan urging them not to cooperate with the ongoing military mission that the Pakistani army is conducting there, which has been going on for about a month now. The tape does not mention the recent offensive in Waziristan, the particularly intense fighting that's been going on there for the past week or so. Btu it does mention the larger military offensive in the tribal areas.
COLLINS: As you know, in the past, on at least five separate occasions, there have been statement that have come from al-Zawahiri preceding terrorist attack. As an example, the U.S. embassy bombings in 1998, the attack on the USS Cole in 2000 and also the Bali bombing in 2002. Could this be a signal for some new attacks?
BERGEN: Certainly, it could be a signal for a new attack within Pakistan because it is clearly aimed at inciting the Pakistani people against Musharraf and very clearly aimed at inciting attacks perhaps against the Pakistani army. Might it lead to another attack against an American target? I don't know. We have actually seen a lot of tapes from Osama bin Laden and al-Zawahiri at this point. I think there is pattern of tapes followed by attacks. It's maybe a little hard to follow that. There was definitely a period when these tapes signaled new attacks. At this point attacks are happening so often between the attacks in Istanbul and Iraq, it is hard to make that link.
COLLINS: Peter Bergen, thanks so much tonight, our CNN terrorism analyst.
BERGEN: Thank you.
More on the surprise request today from the alleged victim at the Kobe Bryant case.
Coming up, the letter at the center of today's hearings and what it might mean for Kobe's defense team.
Also tonight, the mystery of a murdered porn star who police say may have killed her.
And a little later, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, drugs, jail, tonight, it's "Overkill."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Now, for "justice Served." Again today the sexual history of Kobe Bryant's accuser the focus in court. It has been eight months since Bryant was charged with sexual assault. There have been eight separate hearings. Still no trial date set for the case. Today the 19-year-old alleged victim has asked the judge to said an early date for this case to go to trial, saying, she needs to get on with her life.
With me now is Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom. I want to talk about this letter for a minute. The alleged victim's mother wrote, quote, "No one else involved in this case has had to make the life changes and compromise that has my daughter has had to make and will need to continue to make until the case is over. Even the defendant is able to continue living in his home and continue with his employment. Just hours after yesterday's hearing, Kobe Bryant was on the basketball court.
So, what do you make of that?
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: This letter is a real reality check for us to know what's going on with this 19-year-old's girl life. She's living a life between J. Lo and Dick Cheney. Tons of media reporters following where ever she goes. One secret location to the next. She doesn't have the resources that super stars have. She can't hire bodyguards. She goes to lives with different family members, the media find out where she is. The defense attorneys want to talk to anybody she converses with. It's very tough for her. She says, look, set a trial date, please. Let's get it resolved.
COLLINS: Why hasn't it been set yet?
BLOOM: This judge has moved slowly. We've had three months, eight dates, six more dates set. I think it is a very slow calendar. I think it's great crime victims have rights they didn't used to have and she can now bring this letter to the attention saying, I'm the crime victim, I'm not technically a party to this case, but I have rights, too. Please, let's get this thing over with.
COLLINS: All right, we know she testified yesterday more than three hours.
What do you think defense attorneys learned about her?
BLOOM: Probably everything about her sex life that they asked about. We know the judge set no limit on that questioning. She showed up, we know, very dignified in her demeanor and she left in a very similar way. Thank goodness, I think for her at least, that that part of the case is over.
COLLINS: How will that information be used in court?
BLOOM: Well, the judge will decide, now that he has the facts about her sexual history the defense wanted to elicit, he will now decide what come in at trial. And at trial that standard will be relevance. I doubt we'll get more than about a week before the incident with Kobe.
COLLINS: Quickly before we let you go, there's been talk about trying to make an ex-boyfriend jealous. As you know that's what the defense is contending here.
What were they hoping that he'd say. This ex-boyfriend took the stand.
BLOOM: Yes. He took the stand and he testified, again, behind closed doors. So, we don't know exactly what he said. I'm sure the defense is going to hope that he would say something like she's engaged in all kinds of attention behavior in the past, suicide attempts, checking herself into mental hospitals. This was just the latest in that behavior.
COLLINS: All right, Court TV anchor, Lisa Bloom, thank you so much.
A Canadian porn actress is dead, a Pennsylvania man has charged with her murder. 23-year-old Natel King, was apparently hired for a photo shoot. Her body was found with multiple stab wounds near a river on Tuesday.
CNN's Alina Cho has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her agent, 23-year- old Natel King worked in the porn business to pay for college, but it may have led to her death. Prosecutors say the Canadian born King, stage name Taylor Summers, was brutally stabbed to death and have charged a photographer Anthony Frederick with murder.
A lawyer for Frederick has not been identified. Prosecutors say he hired King late last month for two photo shoots. She was reported missing a few days later. On Tuesday, her body was found in a wooded area, allegedly face down with a gag device and cuts on her hands consistent with a struggle.
BRUCE CANTON, MONTGOMERY COUNTY D.A.: You cannot rule out that this is a snuff film.
CHO (on camera): A snuff film is when actresses are supposedly killed on scene. Legal experts say they exist, but one adult entertainment group says there is no evidence of an active snuff film industry in the U.S.
JEFFREY DOUGLAS, ADULT ENTERTAINMENT ADVOCATE: You don't need to worry about being killed in the adult business anymore than you do in any other business.
CHO (voice-over): Model Stacy Sinn says she knew King and says she often traveled alone.
STACY SINN, FRIEND OF VICTIM: I always go with taking somebody with me, a male companion to make sure I'm safe and also for the photographer's safety so they can't go back and say, well this girl said this about me or this and that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of the people that are engaged in the business are extremely happy doing it.
CHO: A business that claims to be about love, not violence.
Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Doesn't get any more bizarre than that.
Well, the saga of Whitney and Bobby. Coming up, media "Overkill" of the troubled couple.
Also tonight, had dinner yet?
How about a little tarantula tempora, cockroach kabob?
It's on the menu for a very unique feast, that's for sure.
And a little "The Current." Did Richard Simmons get slap happy at an airport?
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COLLINS: Every Thursday we look at a story that's been done and done and done. We call it "Overkill." Tonight we call it Bobby and Whitney.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): Remember when it used to be all about the music? That seems like a long, long time ago. Now, every little step Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston are taking these days is being followed inch by inch by the media. But keeping track of their problems is getting pretty confusing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That there's a new chapter in the life of singer Whitney Houston. The fantastically talented Grammy-award winner has checked into drug rehabilitation.
COLLINS: Wait, didn't she just check out? Reportedly, the troubled singer left drug rehab just after five days. Just the latest dependency trouble for Houston who admitted two years ago to abusing drugs, but said no more.
Meanwhile, the news hasn't been any better for her husband. Singer Bobby Brown is out of jail. He was freed after serving less than half of a 60-day sentence for breaking his probation.
But isn't he back in jail? Indeed, he is. Just a few days after that aired, a Massachusetts judge sentenced brown to 90 days behind bars for failing to pay more than $63,000 in child support.
The media continues to hound the couple. According to the video monitoring service, they were talked about more than 1,800 times on television and radio over the past week.
And we're guilty, too. Many speakers offering their insight into what's wrong.
Isn't this enough? Haven't we heard all we need to hear about them? When it comes down to it, they are two people dealing with hurt and pain, and maybe it is just best that they be left alone. But until that day comes, they'll be fodder for "Overkill."
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COLLINS; Time to check on pop news in tonight's "Current." Richard Simmons in trouble with the law. The exercise guru is accused of slapping a man at an airport in Phoenix. Simmons is charged with assault, though, we think the fashion police should have thrown the book for him for that tank top and shorts.
A new documentary about the Red Sox is coming out soon. It will chronicle Boston's 2003 season. But producers say the film still doesn't have a title, which is fitting because neither has the team since 1918.
The daughter of late mob boss John Gotti is getting her own TV series. Victoria Gotti will star in "Growing Up Gotti" for A&E. It is being billed as some sort of reality show where perhaps contestants don't just get eliminated, they get whacked.
A group in England has come out with a annoying cliche in the world. The winner is: at the end of the day. It's an awesome selection, though, like, with all due respect, the fact of the matter is, maybe they could have been thinking outside the box and push the envelope a little bit further, been a bit proactive, man.
Well, there's a place where a fly in a soup is part of a meal. Coming up, not for the faint of heart, food you eat before it eats you.
Plus, tomorrow, an interview with Karenna Gore. The outspoken daughter of the former presidential candidate joins us for a very important health issue for millions of people.
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COLLINS: Most banquets feature chicken or roast beef, but when a group of explorers gather for their meeting the menu is enough to give Indiana Jones indigestion. Jeanne Moos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Instead of getting by then, take a bite of tarantula tempura.
(on camera): A little chewy but great. This one is hairier.
(voice-over): Or maybe you'd prefer succulent, roasted beaver or steamed and roasted rattlesnake.
(on camera): If you get the rattle from the snake it is like the happy meal.
(voice-over): Forget a Big Mac attack, these appetizers really could attack, from Louisiana alligator to...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meal worms, scorpions on a puff pastry.
MOOS: What better way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Explorers' Club.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to explore quite a bit tonight.
MOOS: Maybe the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach kabob would go down better with a cocktail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A martini with the eyeball in here.
MOOS: Hog eyeball, or cow eyeball fritters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're trying to do here is not be gross.
MOOS: Could have fooled her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is the shrimp
MOOS: The Explorers' Club boast members like Sir Edmund Hillary who conquered Mount Everest. So, why make a mountain out of an eyeball.
(on camera): Slimy yet satisfying.
(voice-over): The explorers say don't confuse our tarantulas in brandy with Fear Factor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You live on this. This is sustenance. This is not grotesque material.
MOOS (voice-over): Makes regular food seem like a bore. Uh oh, a staked hors d'oeuvre. Pass the gator.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does kind of taste like chicken.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tarantula tastes a bit like fried shrimp.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I brought my pork to be prepared for anything that might crawl or creep away on the plate.
MOOS: Don't bother complaining, waiter, there is a fly in my soup here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Waiter, there is a grasshopper in my sushi.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: All right. I'm Heidi Collins, in for Anderson Cooper tonight. Up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW." Good night everybody.
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