going back to breaking news, the white house responded to the petition to deport me for my stand on guns. the press secretary jay carney says the white house responds to all petitions and we will respond to this one. in the meantime it is worth remembering freedom of expression is a bedrock principle in our democracy. i guess my future here is in the hands of president obama.

that's all for us tonight. gues the hands of president obama. that's all for us tonight. "a.c. 360" starts right now. welcome to the program. we begin tonight keeping them honest with new information that goes straight to a key question in that rape case out of steubenville, ohio. was a young woman, the young woman in this picture, as drunk and seemingly incapacitated as that photo would seem to suggest? was she too out of it or outright unconscious when the state of ohio claims two stars of the local football team sexually assaulted her during a string of parties back in august? we covered the story late last week when some explosive video was posted online when a teen who may have witnessed the alleged rape was seen joking about the incident. watch. >> what if that was your daughter? >> but it isn't. >> what if it was? >> if that was my daughter, i wouldn't care. i'd just let her be dead. >> no, you wouldn't. listen to yourself. >> i'm listening to myself fine. >> in about ten years, i'm going

to come back. >> ten years, my daughter's going to be getting rapes and dead. >> back to the picture. was the alleged victim in control of her senses? could she consent to any kind of sexual intercourse? was the photo something other than it seems as one of the defense lawyers is suggesting? you'll recall susan candiotti spoke with that defense lawyer on friday. >> reporter: that photograph, what do you make of it that we have seen of some young people, appear to be two teenagers. >> correct. >> reporter: carrying out this young lady. she appears to be limp, being carried out by her arms and legs. >> it does. the photograph frankly looks heinous when you look at it. i've been told from at least one witness that we are prepared to call that that scene was staged. that she was actually conscious at the time. so we're going to have to wait for trial and see what happens. >> reporter: is your client in that photograph? >> i can't confirm or deny that. >> he says he's got a witness and that the girl was conscious.

now, today, though, the ohio attorney general's office put out a whole lot of testimony from three witnesses. one of whom disputes that she was conscious. and we'll have more on that in a moment. that testimony was foundithin nearly 300 pages worth from a probable cause hearing that was held back in october. first, the 17-year-old who was in the car with the two defendants, trent mays and mallika richmond, as well as the accuser. now, here's his description of her physical state before leaving the second of three parties for a third party. "question: and what, if anything, did you notice about her behavior? he answers, she was very drunk. and how do you know that? just like the way she -- she wasn't, like, fully capable of walking on her own. another question: and what -- what is it that made you think she wasn't fully capable of walking? she was like stumbling as she was walking and we had to help her. who is "we"? well, trent and malik helped her. she vomited.

shenn he testified she ended up with mays and richmond. richmond in the front, she and mays in the back seat. at that point according to the witness mays began performing a sexual act on her while he, the witness says he was videotaping it on his cell phone. now, the prosecutor then asked him what the accuser was doing. answer, she was just sitting there not really doing anything. the prosecutor asked, was she making any noise? she was -- she was kind of talking but i couldn't make out the words that she was saying. again, all of this allegedly took place on the ride from the second to the third party that night where malik richmond allegedly raped the young woman. and again, this witness, the driver, says she was already very drunk back at the second party. something another witness corroborates, calling her, quote, out of it, unquote. he goes on to say, it looked like the accuser was trying to go to sleep. he then describes how the two defendants got her to the car. he says trend was holding her by the hands and malik was holding her by the feet. then a question. how did they get out of the

basement that way? answer: they just -- they carried her out the door out into the street. now, the testimony that you just heard, it sounds like an exact description of that photo and that the photo that's now become so notorious of a seemingly unconscious woman being carried by the two defendants. we do not, however, know if this is indeed what the witness was referring to. now, this same witness goes on to say that he later saw the second defendant, malik richmond, perform a sexual act on the defendant. he told the prosecutor at no time did she speak, utter a sound or move any part of her body. in all, three witnesses testified at the hearing and was cross-examined by attorneys for the two defendants. significantly during the hearing, neither attorney disputed that their clients had sex with the accuser, only that it was nonconsentual. also significantly both accusers were present at the hearing. the two defense attorneys were unable to come on tonight. they'll be with us tomorrow night. more on the group that posted the pictures and the video that have shocked people nationwide

and is really tearing this small town of steubenville apart. our gary tuchman got a rare interview with the group anonymous. >> we want justice! we want justice! reporter: hundreds of people over the weekend gathering in downtown steubenville, ohio. >> the world is watching! the world is watching! >> reporter: emphasizing the world is watching, they want everyone to know they think the steubenville high school football culture is not worthy of more protection than a teenage rape victim. in the crowd, people with masks, the masks of anonymous, the increasingly well-known internet subculture collective that's leading the attack on the steubenville high school students who may have raped a 16-year-old girl. and a handful of bystanders, they believe, who did nothing to stop it. this is one of the people at the forefront of the attack campaign. he goes by the initials k.y. >> we're not really the judge nor the jury, but it's fair to say that we are the executioner.

like i said, they incriminated themselves by posting that information online. they took part in criminal activities. and if you think that they're guilty, that's because your conscious is telling you that they are guilty. >> reporter: you're saying you're the executioner. i'm saying a judge or a jury needs to say you're guilty, and you're already kind of saying that, around you? >> i am already kind of saying it. like i said, they incriminated themselves. there's clear-cut evidence and a jury of their peers is what they are entitled to and are we not their peers? >> reporter: this is some of what he is referring to. these pictures spread all over the internet after it was reposted by anonymous. and so was this video of a former steubenville high school baseball players and other making vile jokes about the girl. >> what if that was your daughter? >> but it isn't. i'd just let her be dead. >> reporter: while two football players have been charged with rape, anonymous has posted names on the internet of many more

members of the team, many of whom anonymous says saw what happened to the alleged victim that night. >> everyone who witnessed that is just as guilty as the people who did it. >> reporter: eddie wilson and geno atkins play football for the steubenville high big red. wilson said he wasn't at any of the parties and witnessed nothing but says those who follow anonymous' information assume he was involved. >> they put, like, my information out there and said i'm involved, i'm one of the ringleaders. i wasn't even at the party or involved in any of this. >> reporter: wilson says he's getting death threats from unknown people on the internet. >> they sent they a picture on twitter of bullets on a piece of paper and said this one is for eddie. >> reporter: doubles down by saying this. >> we believe that multiple people have participated in the rape other than the two that were charged. >> reporter: both football players are outraged by anonymous's posting of names, saying they feel attacked by outsiders because of the team they play for.

but they have different opinions about the allegation of rape against their two teammates. we asked atkins if he felt they were guilty. >> no. not at all. >> reporter: but wilson is more circumspect. >> if they're found guilty, they need to serve prison time. if they're found innocent, they need to be let go. >> reporter: for its part, anonymous is not going to let go. >> all that's necessary for good men to prevail is for good men to do nothing. >> reporter: like it or not, anonymous is staying on the case. >> gary joins us now. we learned last week that lawyers of the victim say the victim sent a text she wasn't raped or to one of the people they know, they didn't rape me. what do you know about that? >> reporter: k.y. says he's uncovered tweets that the alleged young woman lost her phone right after that evening. he is saying that it's very possible that if such a text exists, someone else sent it using her phone. >> interesting. thanks for joining us.

joining us, mark geragos, author of "mistrial." also our senior legal analyst, jeffrey toobin has written the definitive history of the modern supreme court, "the oath," which is out now. the group anonymous and then the actual case. let's talk about anonymous first. is that illegal, what they've done? >> it's hard to know exactly what they have done. it is illegal to hack into other people's accounts. so potentially what they did was illegal. the interesting, then, law enforcement challenge is what do you do with this information that's come to light? some of it clearly is inadmissible or irrelevant. and like that idiot who was saying -- talking about if his daughter, he doesn't appear to have been involved in this. he was just someone from steubenville talking about it. he has apparently dropped out of ohio state and has expressed regret about what he said. but the social media stuff involving the alleged

defendants -- i mean the actual defendants and other witnesses, that's potentially very relevant, and it's important that prosecutors see all of it that's out there. >> but mark, would this, in some way, impact the case? i mean, the fact that you have, you know, outsiders on social media who say that they're executioners putting some of this stuff out, could that impact the way the trial actually plays out? >> absolutely. i think you'll probably see the defense lawyers moving to change venue, saying that they can't get a fair trial there. >> one of them has already said that. >> right. and there's an interesting tension because you've got, on one hand, anonymous and these people trying to uncover what they think is corruption, which, you know, a lot of people would think is admirable, and at the same time, they've kind of jumped, as gary says, they fast forwarded past a judge and a jury to executioner punishment, which is disturbing. it really is kind of a microcosm of the problems that you have in this internet age when it comes

to criminal trials. it's astonishing for a number of reasons. >> what makes this even more complicated is at the moment it's a juvenile trial. there's no jury, just a judge. i think a change of venue is unlikely. you're really talking about the jury pool, and there is no jury pool in this case. the other issue is will the trial even be public? if this were an adult trial, it couldn't be closed to the public. the supreme court has said you cannot have criminal trials in secret. that's not true in juvenile cases. so the judge could seal the courtroom in this case. >> jeff, the issue of consent, it seems like it's going to be critical whether this young woman, girl, could have given consent, whether she was in a place to, or as the defense attorney claiming she could, does the law define consent very specifically? >> it really is generally a jury issue. that juries are expected to understand what the word "consent" means and make a judgment. here you won't have a jury, you'll have a judge, but it's a factual question. and the judge will hear all the

evidence, and obviously the most important thing to do here is get all the evidence. people who were really there, get their testimony, obviously get the alleged victim's testimony. but it's just a question -- it's a question of fact. and the judge will decide it. >> there's this sworn testimony that was basically released today, one person saying he witnessed a sexual assault in the back seat of the car, that it was possibly videotaped, that she was saying something, he couldn't hear what she was saying, sort of under her breath or mumbling. and another alleged assault witnessed in which she wasn't moving, wasn't saying anything at all. what do you make of that in terms of consent? >> well, you know, that's an interesting kind of fact that they're going to have to deal with. the mumbling and i can't hear what they said or what she said is going to be important because the defendant at that point might be able to supply exactly what was happening and what was being said. part of the other problem with this is is sometimes if you are so loaded, if you're so under the influence that you can't

give consent, that can also be an issue as well. >> is it -- i mean, so her alcohol -- the level of her alcohol content, then, becomes critical? >> if it was even taken. i mean, in fact, my understanding is that the reporting was not so quick that they could take an alcohol test that would be meaningful. because you need to do that pretty much right away. >> right. and there is none. could it boil down to a he said/she said? >> absolutely. the cases where consent is the defense almost always come down to he said/she said. >> and in this case, she said and he said and he said. multiple. >> and you have other people talking about it on social media. >> right. >> which the people -- the witnesses may have said things later on social media which they can be impeached with or can be corroborated with. so that's where social media becomes very important. >> right. and the social media here, that tweet, if it, in fact, exists, where she's saying stuff right after the fact, if that was her and it was her phone and she was

the one who was tweeting it is going to become essential to this. >> absolutely. >> an incredible kind of coup de grace. >> circumstances under which that photograph were taken, whether or not it was staged as one of the defense attorney claims, what that actually means or whether this was -- what a lot of people might see it as them carrying somebody who's passed out. >> that's obviously a critical issue. and again, you have to just get the testimony of the people who were there. who took the photo? obviously the three people in the photo, but there appear to be people perhaps in the background, get their testimony. that is just old-fashioned detective work, and it's got to be done for a fair trial. >> mark, jeff, appreciate your expertise. let us know what you think on twitter @andersoncooper. a lot more happening tonight including the first shots fired in the war over chuck hagel. president obama's pick for defense secretary, a controversial choice among some groups, for some in the jewish community, others in the gay community, plenty of republicans. we'll lay out the case against him and also for him.

a great debate ahead. we'll be right back.

"raw politics" now and a war of words breaking out over president obama's pick for secretary of defense. he's retired republican senator and decorated vietnam combat vet, chuck hagel. >> chuck knows war is not a abstraction. he understands that sending young americans to fight and bleed in the dirt and mud, that's something we only do when it's absolutely necessary.

my frame of reference, he has said, is geared towards the guy at the bottom who is doing the fighting and the dying. >> senator hagel, though, may not have an easy confirmation. here is the reaction today from senator john mccain, a former vet, former colleague and a one-time political ally who once considered hagel as a running mate. quote. i have serious concerns about the positions senator hagel has taken on a range of critical issues in recent years which we will fully consider in the course of his confirmation process. he's talking about his skepticism about military action against iran, his willingness to consider cuts to the defense budget and most explosive perhaps past statements on the pro-israel lobby. >> i'm a united states senator, not an israeli senator, i'm a united states senator. i support israel, but my first interest is, i take an oath of office to the constitution of the united states, not to a president, not to a party, not to israel.

>> another republican senator lindsey graham said his former colleague would, quote, be the most antagonistic secretary of defense towards israel in our nation's history. mr. hagel hotly disputes that, he has many defenders including those in the jewish community. the defense establishment and foreign policy circles. hagel has apologized for the tone of his opposition in 1998 to an openly gay ambassadorial candidate. he called him, quote, openly aggressively gay but now calls that characterization, quote, insensitive. joining me is margaret hoover. and peter bynart, editor of the daily beast. you helped start a group opposed to senator hagel's nomination. what are your problems with him? >> well, which i'm actually not involved with anymore, but i understand the perspective of them. there are a lot of folks who have concerns about some of the things hagel has said in the past and that's why we'll have a full -- >> specifically about israel? >> specifically about israel, specifically about iran. it's not just what he said. he has a very long voting record of not taking voting positions

or even signing letters that suggest a stalwart supporter of israel. >> but he has voted for tens of millions of dollars in foreign aid to israel. >> certainly. he is not a neoisolationist. by any means. he is in favor of foreign aid. >> one he talked about israel lobby, that a lot of people are scared about it on capitol hill, and the quote you heard where he said i'm a u.s. senator, not an israeli senator. >> right. and that's -- i think it goes far beyond those two comments. i think there's a history of voting against sanctions, against some of our greatest enemies, and israel's greatest enemies including iran, syria, some of those folks in the middle east who are tough players. i think there's a question about whether chuck hagel's approach to the middle east is one that folks more on the right side of the aisle will agree with. >> he turned against the war in iraq, basically, although his criticism of it was pretty, actually, pretty good. >> he wasn't even for the war in iraq, but then he voted for it. >> peter, what do you make of it?

>> the irony is chuck hagel's skepticism about the military efficacy of military action against iran is very, very similar to what we're hearing from the national security establishment in israel. chuck hagel's view, which is that war once launched with iran could have unpredictable consequences and would not necessarily be that effective is the same thing said by israeli generals. >> the same thing he said about iraq. about what happened afterwards. and he was attacked. >> this is chuck hagel's real sin, i think, from the perspective of people like lindsey graham and john mccain. he has learned lessons from iraq and afghanistan, these two disastrous wars that are cost us so much that he's putting into action in his thinking about iran, that is exactly what the contemporary leadership of the republican party refuse to do. >> he was attacked by bill kristol when he was saying we should be skeptical about what might happen in iraq after the war, there could be civil war, have we thought about this and kristol was saying there is not

going to be civil war. that will never happen in iraq. >> but he ended up voting to go to war in iraq. that didn't manifest itself as consistency in his voting record. >> it was more over time he changed his viewpoint. >> and at a point where iraq was going quite badly, he had an opportunity to support the surge and chose not to. that, i think, shows a real question in judgment. the surge ended up turning it around. >> go ahead. >> you're saying that his being wrong on the surge raises questions of judgment. but for lindsey graham and john mccain and bill kristol and all of these people who were supportive of the iraq war and have basically not changed their view of the world and efficacy of the world one iota, we should take their judgment about chuck hagel? >> and how much of this is about republican politics, he didn't support john mccain. even though they were former friends. a lot of republicans question whether he's really republican. >> i think on foreign policy, he clearly differs from republicans on foreign policy. he may be a strong fiscal conservative in those ways.

>> but he would say, how do you define -- >> but if he defines himself as a republican, he will get a nomination, but clearly that's not the case. clearly president obama is choosing to spend political capital on this nomination. there are other things, refusing to designate hezbollah as a terrorist organization, something that 88 senators signed a letter on. he was one of 12 who refused to designate hezbollah as a terrorist organization. there are multiple positions like that which the american public will get to see, the senate will get to ask him questions about, and beyond that, there are left-wing groups that are against him. even though he apologized about his comments about gays. this is a time where the military is reintegrating, they're getting rid of don't ask don't tell. there are hundreds, maybe thousands of military men and women who have been dishonorably discharged over time -- >> he has said that his apology is enough. are there really going to be a bunch of republican senators attacking him for his position on gays? >> so much better on gay rights than chuck hagel is. does anyone seriously think that the obama administration, because it has chuck hagel there, is not committed now -- >> it is not just republicans is what i am saying. chuck schumer has been very step

tepid in his support for him. >> because chuck schumer, on these types of middle east questions, is closer to lindsay graham and john mccain than he is to in many ways to barack obama. >> many senators, democrats and republicans, are further away than chuck hagel than many senators are. >> listen. how many people agree with your point of view is not the test of that point of view's validity. most people, it turns out in this case, were actually wrong in very, very big ways about critical decisions that costs the u.s. this is what frustrates me when people say chuck hagel is out of the mainstream. the people in congress who had the good sense to oppose the iraq war and raise questions, were out of the mainstream, and darn right, i actually want that in a secretary of defense. somebody who raises uncomfortable questions. >> and to have a guy who doesn't seem beholden to a particular party, he seems to be open to ideas as opposed to kind of party loyalty, which is more like most americans are. >> i think that's what president obama is going for. look, he's a republican. i'll have a diverse cabinet in terms of party affiliation. the question is his world view.

and if that world view is suited for the times. >> you think he'll get the nomination? >> he was in favor of bashar al assad. >> do you think it will pass? >> he was not in favor. that's not fair to say. because he was willing to support negotiations just like stalin and mao doesn't mean he was for him. >> "vogue" magazine was for him and his wife. >> "vogue" magazine is not making foreign policy decisions in the u.s. senate. >> thank goodness. do you think he'll pass? >> i think it's premature to decide. we have to have the confirmation hearings. >> we're already finding a lot of the large right-wing pro-israel organizations, they're not going to fight that aggressively. tonight, a clearer picture just how bad the flu season is turning out to be and could get much worse. if you haven't had your flu shot like i haven't, you might want to listen to this. chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta joins me ahead.

flu season is hitting early and hitting hard. government health officials say the number of people seeking treatment for flu has spiked

over the month. 41 states are now reporting widespread cases. 18 kids have died so far. keep in mind, the flu typically kills as many as 50,000 people every year in the united states. our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta joins us now. i didn't realize it kills that many people. it certainly seems worse than last year. i know a lot of people have gotten sick. is it in fact worse than it was in recent years? >> looking at this point in time and how the season has transpired so far, it is worse than last year. last year was considered a relatively mild season. but this is probably as bad as we have seen in ten years. the question a lot of people are asking is, is it going to stay bad throughout the entire flu season, or is this just sort of an earlier peak? we're seeing a lot more cases than normal this time of year. is it going to peak earlier and go down and be a normal length flu season? we don't know the answer to that yet. >> how does someone know if they have the flu versus a regular cold? >> it's funny because you and i have both experienced this, i know. the thing with the flu is the symptoms are going to be more

severe, but i think it's more than that. when you think about the sore throat, the headache, the chest tightness, the muscle aches, usually with the flu it comes on all at once. you may be feeling fine on tuesday. by wednesday, everything sort of hits you. that's much more likely to be the flu. whereas with a cold, you can get any of those symptoms i described. they come and go, some overlap a little bit, but not a big push, and the flu is longer, about seven days on average. >> i'm just remembering what you were referring to. i got really sick with the flu in afghanistan. i think i caught it from you and you claimed i wasn't sick or something. >> yeah. thanks for pointing that out. >> what was that? it was like -- >> that was swine flu. >> swine flu, that's right. i had swine flu. you're like, no, i think you're fine. >> it did seem a little out of context. we were in afghanistan covering the conflict over there and you came to me looking pretty terrible. i didn't think at that point swine flu had made its way to that part of the world.

sure enough. >> yeah, it had. >> i know, look, if it makes you feel any better, i'm not sure it will, i was right there with you. >> you were worse off than i was. you were worse off than i was. you were smart enough to get an iv drip, as i recall. >> that's right. i do recall. >> what about the flu shot? i only got a flu shot last year for the first time in my life. do they work? i have heard you can still get the flu even if you get a flu shot. >> they do work. i do encourage people to get a flu shot. i know there's a lot of people watching out there that may say it doesn't work. it even made me sick. it doesn't work every time. this year, they're saying about 60% effectiveness. not 100%. >> it's better than nothing. >> but it's better than nothing, and there's something else i want to point out as well. a lot of people say they get the flu shot and that makes them get the flu. a couple things to keep in mind. it takes about two weeks after you get the flu shot to have immunity. it's not going to protect you right away. and the other thing, and this is really interesting, anderson, when you get a flu shot, you're getting a dead virus so it can't give you the flu, but what it's

doing is activating your immune system. that's what it's supposed to do. it's teaching your immune system to recognize that virus as a problem. so when it sees it again it attacks it. when your immune system is ramped up like that, you feel kind of cruddy. it's not that you have the flu. it's that the flu shot is doing its job. making your immune system activate. >> i haven't gotten mine yet, but i will. sanjay, appreciate it. thank you. good advice. >> take care. let's check on some of the other stories we're following now. isha is here with a "360 bulletin." isha? >> secretary of state hillary clinton went back to work today after being sidelined for weeks by a series of health issues including a concussion that led to a blood clot. she met with some of her senior staff and got a warm welcome back. she also got gifts, including a football helmet to protect her from another head injury. james holmes, the colorado movie theater shooting suspect was relaxed and seem detached from it all and also didn't struggle when he was dragged away by police. those details revealed today at a preliminary hearing by the

first police officer who encountered homes. 20 people were killed in the july 20th shooting rampage at an aurora movie theater. and new jersey city, new jersey, five people injured when a crowded escalator malfunctioned and started going backwards at a packed train station. the chaos was caught on video during the morning commute by an eyewitness. anderson? >> isha, thanks very much. still ahead, outrage over a horrific crime, a sexual attack on a bus by multiple men that attacked a woman and her boyfriend. the woman died. five of the men accused are now facing justice behind closed doors. we'll have the latest from the trial ahead. [ male announcer ] this is steve.

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the horrific rape case that has sparked protest in india and outraged around the world moved closer to trial. the picture of the five suspects in the van was the only video from today. that's because there was so much chaos inside the courtroom, that a magistrate sealed the proceedings off. she also slapped a gag order on reporters. we'll have more on that in a moment. first, the rage of this attack is unleashed. it is important to talk about, and it is really extraordinary, the reaction. you have to keep in mind rape is very common in india. in 2011, there were more than 24,000 reported rapes. that's according to the national crime record's bureau. that's one rape every 22 minutes. those are only reported cases. experts say many more cases go

unreported. the typical response, though, by authorities is actually to turn a blind eye or even blame the victim. not this time, apparently. here is randi kaye. >> reporter: we don't know her name, but we know her story inspired this, outrage. on december 16th, that 23-year-old student returning home from a movie with a friend was savagely attacked on a moving bus. she was raped so violently with an iron rod, her intestines were destroyed. six men, including the bus driver, are charged with murder, rape, armed robbery, and kidnapping. the rape lasted more than an hour before the woman and her friend were thrown from the bus. her attackers reportedly tried to run her over before leaving her in the street to die. but the young woman was a fighter. her will to live elevated her to martyrdom and thousands took to the streets. for weeks now, they have demanded justice in her honor.

she survived the attack long enough to give police a statement, but her brain injury and organ failure proved too much. she died 13 days later. when the victim died, there were vigils, those mourning her know all too well it just as easily could have been them on that bus. >> there are children in the city that go by bus, somebody is touching you, coming close to you. this is absolutely the mentality there. you look at a woman's body as an object of sex and you want to use, abuse. >> they literally rape you with their eyes. >> reporter: that sentiment, that women simply don't have a voice here, then turned to anger. police turned water cannons and tear gas on a crowd of protesters that got out of control. there were peaceful protests, too, though. hundreds of women marched silently through the streets of new delhi, calling for greater protection.

sonia faleiro lived in india for more than two decades. she says the protests are telling. >> it means contrary to what we may have thought and what people certainly think, we are not a society that has become numb to this kind of behavior. we are a society that has allowed it to go on for too long. we are a society that has clearly tolerated it for too long, but we are not a society that is willing to allow it to continue. >> reporter: a sentiment echoed by india's prime minister. >> i assure you that we will make all possible efforts to ensure security and safety of women in this country. >> reporter: officials are hoping to assuage the anger with a series of changes. more police night patrols, the banning of buses with tinted windows and curtains and changes to current weak anti-rape laws.

but sonia said it will take more than that. she said people don't trust the police who often blame the rape vim for the attack. >> i think it's a classic response of a misogynistic culture where you blame the victim for the crime that's been inflicted on her. >> reporter: in fact, last week, another rape victim, just 17, swallowed poison to commit suicide after police say her family suggested she recant her story, even marry her attacker. sonia said that's not uncommon. in the bus attack, the men who were caught face the death penalty. authorities are still testing the bone marrow of one suspect believed to be a minor to determine if he should be charged as a juvenile or adult. the victim's father is demanding justice. >> translator: the death penalty is compulsory for a crime so grave. the assailants must be hanged. the courts must give these men the death penalty.

>> reporter: randi kaye, cnn, atlanta. >> cnn's reporter joins me now. you were at the courthouse when the suspects were brought in. what happened? >> reporter: anderson, the five suspects charged with the murder and rape of that medical student were brought into court today basically, so that the charges against them could be read out to them. now, the court did announce that this would be an en camera proceeding from now on. what that means is that the public and the media will have no access to that court proceeding from now onward. and even if the media were to get information from elsewhere on the court proceedings, they would not be able to report on that. i should point out this is actually standard practice in rape cases in india, and that's presumably because rape victims do not want the public and the media around. but also there was a bit of a ruckus right before the suspects were brought in. some of those lawyers there yelling at other lawyers, their colleagues saying, quote, you

cannot defend those barbarians. >> it's also going to be what is called a fast-track court. what does that mean exactly? is it just that it's going to happen quicker than would otherwise be the case? >> reporter: what it means is the court will be hearing on this case every single working day from now onward until some sort of verdict is reached. this was exclusively set up because of the brutal gang rape and the massive public outrage that followed, anderson. >> also, the victim's friend who was with her at the time of the attack was attacked as well. he made statements for the first time over the weekend, and blamed everyone, not just law enforcement but also medical responders. it sounds like a nightmare that he and she went through even after they were -- got out of that vehicle. >> reporter: that's right. he says he still shivers in pain when he thinks about that incident. he really was quite critical, not just of the authorities and the doctors, but also of the people in general. he said for about 20, 25

minutes, once they were chucked out of that bus, they were just lying there. people would walk by, there were these three-wheeler rickshaws that would drive by, and no one would stop to help them for about 25 minutes. finally, someone did call the police, the police showed up, and the police started discussing amongst themselves over what jurisdiction this would be under. and then he was also very critical of the doctors as well, of not giving adequate treatment at the right time, anderson. >> i appreciate your reporting. thank you very much. such a disturbing case. we're going to continue to follow it. up next, lostill loved, at least in that room. a massive crowd on hand. the syrian president calls the opposition terrorists. his first speech in months. more on his speech ahead. and the plea for zaidoun, who was last seen nearly a month ago, taken by secret police. we'll be right back.

we have been reporting on someone who for more than a year repeatedly risked his life by talking to us on this broadcast. someone whose voice we're determined to still hear. he hasn't been seen since december 15th. his family says he was taken by secret police. we'll have more on that in a moment. first, though, the dictator bashar al assad's first public speech since june occurred. it was most surreal, cheering

crowd as assad saying the west is the enemies of the people, enemies of god. he was swarmed by supporters even as shelling continued during the speech. the syrian leader saying he will not step down. look at all of those people cheering for him. now, the u.n. said more than 60,000 syrians have been killed in the past two months. the exact number is hard to know. zaidoun told us time and time again that he wanted the world to know what was happening inside his country. his family says in mid-december secret police came to his home and arrested him. they believe that zaidoun and his brother are being held in a facility in damascus notorious for torture and abuse. his cousin who lives in the united states has created a facebook page to demand their release and his brother's release in the hopes that someone inside the syrian regime will listen. i spoke with zaidoun's cousin about the ordeal her family is going through. take a look. when was the last time that you or somebody from the fame spoke

to him? >> i spoke to him four days before he was detained. we always worked together. he was into helping others, and there was one field hospital that he was pretty much responsible for, so anytime he needed help, medical supplies, or even in terms of financial help, he would ask me and then we would communicate on how to get that to him. so i spoke to him four days before he was detained. >> the thing -- i mean, i have never met him, but i feel like i spent a lot of time with him, just talking to him on the phone or talking to him on the air. and i have just been struck by his extraordinary courage. this is a man who could have stayed silent. he could have not spoken up. he could have not used his name. he wanted his name to be used. he wanted to put a name to his voice. has he always been this man of courage? >> he has been that kind of person from the beginning. he's very outspoken. he's very vocal, and like you mentioned, when i talked to him about, you know, going on cnn the first time, like please

don't use your name. he's like, no, we're not going to be afraid anymore. i want to use my name and i want to be out there. i want the whole world to know what's going on. >> he said to me at one point for the first time in his life, he feels like he has a voice. to me, that was an extraordinary thing that i thought about a lot since he said it. >> it was very powerful. i actually heard that, and i was in tears because it's very true. being syrian, although i'm living the virtual revolution here, but i can connect to that. whenever i talk about syria, i feel like my heart is jumping, and it's so empowering what is happening. and for him to be part of it, and to be able to speak his mind on tv or on media for the first time, it's very powerful. >> how fearful are you about -- about zaidoun right now? >> i'm very, very fearful because i know because he's been so peaceful and pro-peaceful revolution and the regime fears the intellectual people who are

that way. >> and zaidoun's daughter, i know, posted a christmas message to her dad. i just wanted to play some of that. >> december 24th, 2012. dear papa, i miss you so much. tomorrow, it's the christmas, but we will not celebrate. i want a christmas tree. daddy, where are you now? mama told us that you are traveling from one place to another. i will tell you three important things. i am the second in my class now. julia and i miss you. dana is better than julia, but she will be -- p.s., we miss you so much and merry christmas.

>> does she know what happened? >> she does not. as she mentioned in the letter, her mom told her he was traveling to look for a better place for them, a safer place, and it's heartbreaking. it's very emotional to see that video and think about them. you know, i played with her three years ago when i was in syria. >> how are they? >> they're okay. for kids, they miss their dad. they don't know the full picture. they don't understand what is happening. they just know they need their dad. >> thank you very much. we hope this helps and we'll continue to focus on zaidoun. >> thank you very much. thank you. >> according to opposition activists, 71 people were killed today in syria. we'll be right back.

oh, yes, time for "the ridiculist." we have another modern day fable that proves theres no deeper relationship on earth than the one forged between a man and his sandwich. at a subway in florida a customer ordered a cheesesteak. doesn't that look delicious? of course it does. it ran into a bit of a problem when it came to the condiments and thus played out an epic battle between customer and subway sandwich artist. >> i told him american cheese, onions, ketchup. >> he wants ketchup on the philly cheesesteak. we don't have ketchup in subway. i never put ketchup on anybody's sandwich. >> it is a conundrum. no? at this point they should have taken a deep breath, asked themselves, what would jared do? instead the customer said he didn't want the cheesesteak without ketchup and some sort

of verbal confrontation started between the ketchup guy and the subway employee and that's when things went all $5 foot-wrong. >> that's when i flew off the handle. he shoved the chair to the side, like knocked it down to come at me. i thought, this is going to get serious. >> i said fight me like a man. >> i was scared. >> yep, so the subway employee has since been relieved of his job proving once again the customer is always right even if said customer wants ketchup on his cheesesteak. come to think of it, why doesn't subway have ketchup? they have a lot of fancier stuff, red wine vinegar, honey mustard, sweet onion sauce, for goodness sakes. whatever happened to old-fashioned ketchup? and as our former subway sandwich artist one could always be y.o.k., especially that subway that happens to be in a walmart. >> there is ketchup three aisles down. you can buy your own ketchup and i promise to god, you can put as much as you want on it and nobody will say nothing. >> this is why i always have a minimum of 25 ketchup packets on my person at any time, not because i particularly like ketchup, it's full of sugar, but because i like to be ready to keep the pee