his dozen or so appearances on this program knows. our thoughts go out to his wife and to his children and to the entire cbs news family. they lost a great one today. time now for "anderson cooper and ac: 360." ballots and bombs in afghanistan. we're live on the scene. first, late new details in the michael jackson case. another jackson gets another visit by authority. randi kaye with a preview. >> just when you thought this whole investigation was over. another twist and turn. tonight we have the details of another visit by the l.a. county coroner's chief investigate to the office of dr. klein. we know the singer saw dr. klein just a few days before he died. did he see him again even closer to his death?

we'll let you know what we've learned. also, the coroner's investigator said he was looking for, quote, additional information. why the second look? is dr. klein emerging as a key figure in this case? remember, this is the second time his office has been visited for records related to jackson. we'll get to the bottom of all of it in just a few minute. >> thanks very much. now we begin the program with breaking news. history and hope unfolding right now in afghanistan. it is election day. the morning in kabul, a live picks of the capital city. polls opening within in hour in a city rocked by much of the taliban bombings, rocket attacks and a campaign of voter intimidation. 60,000 troops on the ground, a major battle under way, a shaky government in place, high stakes, high pressure, no ordinary election. this i've been watching, watching it unfold joining us from northwest of kabul, ivan, what's the situation today? what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, anderson, just to give you a sense of the change here, behind me is a cave that held a 1500-year-old buddha statue that was destroyed by the

taliban in 2001 to international condemnation. in this province you have elections going on, 17 million people registered across afghanistan in its second ever presidential election. a historical moment. that said, much of this country is at war right now. three american soldiers were killed in two separate incidents yesterday alone. that brings the death toll for american and western troops to more than 50 just this month. we have reports of two -- of seven election workers killed over the last few days. and i just got off the phone with the u.s. military spokeswoman who says there were cases reported overnight of small arms fire at some polling stations across the country. we do know that many, perhaps hundreds of polling centers, are not going to be operating today because they're located in areas

controlled by the taliban insurgency. in this province, however, we're seeing elections taking place. it's one of the safest provinces in the country, anderson. and when the polls open, election workers expect that some 200,000 people in this province alone will be registered and then able to vote for their next president. >> polls open within the hour. ivan, we'll check back with you later in the hour. we're joined by peter bergen, cnn national security analyst and by our own michael ware who has spent a lot of time in iraq and afghanistan. peter, let's start off with you. a big day for this country. what is at stake right now? >> well, at stake is the entire project the international community is engaged in. if this election goes off fairly well, many of the naysayers will be shown not to be correct. i think the main indicator to look for, anderson s voter turnout. karzai's going to win this election either in the first

round or second round, that's a virtual certainty. but if voter turnout is significant on the day, certainly about 50% or 60%, something like that, i think that sends a message that the afghan population were not intimidated by the taliban, were actively engaged in this very important election. the last election was in 2004. there was 80% turnout. i think that very unlikely we'll see that kind of turnout. but a big turnout would be a big signal to the taliban that the afghan population were not intimidated. >> michael ware, secretary of state clinton says the u.s. is impartial in terms of who gets elected. does it matter to the u.s.? >> it really doesn't. in some ways it doesn't matter to the afghan people and to some degree it doesn't matter to the u.s. interest in afghanistan either. i mean, i think i would disagree with peter to some degree. i think this election's going to happen. no matter what. it might not be pretty, it's going to be disrupted in certain areas. would we consider it a complete, clean, legitimate election? no. there's going to be deep flaws within it.

but will it be enough for the afghan people? i would think so. and we're going to see a lot of disruption in the south and maybe the posturings in the south, the people from where the taliban came from is where they'll be more disenfranchised. but i don't think this election will mean a great deal in terms of going forward either for afghanistan or for u.s. strategy. because whether it's the return of hamid karzai or abdullah abdullah or anyone else, we'll see a hodgepodge of war lords, corrupt officials and another government that cannot deliver services to its people. >> is corruption that deeply entrenched in afghanistan right now? >> yeah, according to transparency international, the ngo that tracks this thing, you know, afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, perhaps only beaten by

somalia. that's a pretty low bar. no doubt, as michael says, it's a highly corrupt country. a third of the economy is basically generated by the drug business. that's just a fact. >> and in items of the u.s. policy, michael, clearly the obama administration has tried to scale down what the end game -- or what the goal is. at this point, is the goal the u.s. set achievable? >> i think it is. we saw this begin under the bush administration. it started to turn down its goals, as it did in iraq. the word democracy was dropped, for example. certainly we're not looking at shining models for that region, nor in the middle east, as iraq was meant to be. essentially a stable country that can hold itself together. one housed al qaeda will be more than enough for u.s. interests. i have to tell you, i visited d.c. not so long ago. i went to the department of state. and it was made very, very clear

to me that afghanistan nor iraq are considered strategically important to u.s. interests. they are important countries, but they're not strategically vital. as it was said to me, and as accurate, afghanistan's a pile of rock. it just so happens that al qaeda had bases there at one point. if the taliban want to reengage, re-enter the political process in their insurgency, as long as they don't host al qaeda, america doesn't care beyond that. >> peter bergen, appreciate it. michael, stick around. we'll talk about iraq and i want to talk about an especially terrifying day in baghdad. iraq's prime minister blaming al qaeda in iraq and loyalists for grizzly bombings at the foreign and finance ministries, nearly 100 dead. hundreds more hurt. michael, what do you make of this, six bombings, 95 dead, the deadliest day of violence since the u.s. pulled back from the cities. what happened?

>> this is welcome to iraq. this was happening under the u.s.-led offenses, under the u.s.-led war. i remember when i was there not so long ago, just before i left, 80 died in one day. today the death toll's 95 or so -- 100. this is part of a long-running campaign. >> the prime minister said they're going to have to, quote -- this is going to lead to the, quote, reevaluation of our plans and security mechanism. is it possible they would re-evaluate the u.s.'s position of pulling out? >> i know the u.s. command there would like to redeploy troops to the north, around mazoul and some villages up there. that's the latest al qaeda stronghold. the maliki government has been dogged about running this war on its own in its own way.

it wants america to underwrite it but it doesn't want america to participate. it wants to do this its own way. it's tearing down the walls in baghdad. it's ludicrous to hear the prime minister of iraq blame these bombings on saddam loyalists or baathist loyalists. the baathist loyalists went on the u.s. payroll. they opposed saddam then, they oppose him now. that's just the idea of the shia and sunni rivalry. >> michael ware, appreciate it. thanks very much. a quick program note, starting the week of september 7th, michael, peter bergen, dr. sanjay gupta and i will be reporting from afghanistan with american forces at the front line in their battle with the taliban. tell us what you think, join the live chat at ac360.com. will those be able to stick together as-f it comes to

passing a democrat-only plan? new details on how that might happen. and barney frank's reaction to one who called obama a nazi. later, randi kaye is back with more on dr. arne klein, and investigators came calling again on him today. ntduciprg thonall i a w chsey riuioux. with an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon. and up to 600 miles between fill ups. it's the most fuel efficient crossover on the highway. better than honda cr-v, toyota rav4 and even the ford escape hybrid. the all new chevy equinox. rondee essi nes eveqno that can take so much out of you. i feel like i have to wind myself up just to get out of bed.

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dizziness and sweating. (woman) for me, pristiq is a key in helping to treat my depression. (announcer) ask your doctor about pristiq. and people love hanes socks. (laughing) oh yeah! crash keep your family comfortable with better fitting socks at an unbeatable price. save money. live better. walmart. president obama appealed to faith-based groups for their help on health care reform. he spoke on a conference call estimated streamed to 140,000 people online. on the ground opponents speaking loudly face to face, protesters

there in macon, georgia, confronting congressman jim marshall, a blue dog democrat. he's on the fence but said today he would consider any reasonable reform plan. question is, will he help president obama and other democrats if it comes down to going alone or without bipartisan support? senior political analyst david gergen, paul begala and amy holmes. i want to play this. listen. >> why do you continue to support a nazi policy as obama has expressly supported this policy, why are you supporting it? >> on what planet do you spend most of your time? ma'am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table and i have no interest in doing it. >> david gergen, what do you make of that? >> well, i think there are a lot

of democrats out there who would be cheered by that clip because they felt their democratic members haven't known how to handle this thrust of these town halls. claire mccaskill has done a pretty good job, a couple others. barney really nailed it there far lot of democrats. >> paul, you're beaming like a cheshire cat. >> i think some things are beyond the pale. it takes a lot of guts for that woman to stand up. when you say the president is pursuing a nazi policy, that is beyond the pale. and i think congressman was right to say, next person. i'm noting going to take you seriously. >> amy? >> i agree nazi is beyond the pale but i think barack obama needs to take public opinion seriously. barney frank doesn't need to worry about this young lady but barack obama needs to worry about the public polling going against him. and burglary among seniors.

stan greenberg, he rang the bell on this way back in june. we've seen this with pugh and gallop, and on my radio show, obama supporters say, they need to know more. >> paul, we got a text 360 question based on the, i guess, the barney frank thing. patty says, do you think the obama administration is considering moving ahead because of negative republican reaction at town hall meetings? do you think this idea of going it alone is in response to what they've suddenly seen at all of these town hall meetings? >> i think, frankly, less. that hasn't moved a lot of democrats. i've talked to a whole lot of them, they don't seem rattled. >> what about independents? >> i mean, democratic members of congress. republic opposition is heartened, that's fine, they're the opposition party. but to try to pass something in a bipartisan fashion will be difficult, almost impossible. there are four committees that have passed out versions of health care, three in the house,

one in the senate. if you add all those committees together, they accepted the democrats who run the committees 183 republican amendments in those four committees. 183. despite taking all those 183 amendments, do you know how many republican votes they got? zero, zilch, as we say in the catholic church, butkus, nada. at what point do you get the idea the republicans won't play along? more recently, you know, we had senate finance committee, last chance of bipartisanship, baucus is trying to work with grassley, the leading republican on the committee. he's been reached to, grassley has, the president has praised him. he goes home, and grandpa twitter gets on his blackberry and says the president wants to pull the plug on grandma and calls the president of the united states intellectually dishonest. >> grassley said he something -- does want to sit at the table and try to work this out.

i talk to blue dog democrat jim cooper of tennessee and he said he of democrats don't think they have the vote in the senate, 60 votes to move forward to this legislation. he said this government plan option, that's just not going to make it for a lot of those moderate democrats. so when the presidents that he can move ahead without republicans, perhaps he can, but he might not be able to move ahead without democrats. >> david, are you surprised at how the white house has -- i mean, i guess, fumbled this whole rollout over the last week or so? >> i have been very surprised by their failures on persuading people, their messages are obviously not getting through. i also think they have stan tan problems with this package, as paul and i discovered with the clinton package. there are a lot of americans who do not want the kind of things democrats are putting forward. my friend, paul, i think will understand that i disagree with him on the question of, what's in the national interest and what's in the president's interest? that is, i think it's in the president's interest to push forward as far as he possibly can. to see if he can find a way to

bipartisanship. there was a quinnipiac poll two weeks ago that said republicans would pass a plan passed only by democrats, as opposed to 36% who support such a plan. given this big of a bill, 60% of the economy, if you can find a way toby partisan championship, and it may not be possible -- >> what about the argument that they push it through and a year from now no one's going to remember, you know, who was for it and who was against it. they're going to see the result. >> i don't think that's -- i don't buy that. you know, we saw catastrophic in the last year of president reagan's administration, a year later the protests were so big, they were chasing danny down the street, elderly people with umbrellas and the plan got canceled. these things can continue to roil the american political populous for some time to come. i just think if they reach the end of the day, and it's

apparent to the public the republicans don't to want play ball, they embrace the paul begala argument, that makes it much easier for democrats to go forward. >> paul, you say we're already there? >> i think they're going to. i praise senator baucus, who a lot of my friend to the left are criticizing. what i would counsel my democratic friends, at the end of the day, it's september 15th, that's the day senator baucus has said, by then i'll have a bipartisan bill or baucus said he would go it alone with democrats. i would like nothing better than to see this as bipartisan. so would president obama. barack obama ran for president believing in the myth of the reasonable, rational republican. it's a lovely myth. it's like the tooth fairy, a humble pundit, you'll look all your life and there aren't any

left in washington. >> i spoke with my former boss, senator fritz, and said he could support a co-op plan at the state level or the local plan. >> no one knows what a co-op plan is. >> it's complicated -- >> it's a theory. >> it's a theory. getting back to paul's point, republicans can support a bipartisan plan. >> amy holmes, appreciate it, paul begala, david gergen. coming up next, levi johnson's mom could be returning to jail. and the latest developments on michael jackson. later, a swimsuit model stuffed in a suit kate case left in a dumpster. the question is, who killed her and why do police to want talk to her ex-husband, a former reality show contestant. get advil® liqui-gels. faster and stronger on tough pain than tylenol® rapid release gels®. advil® liqui-gels. liquid fast. advil strong. act fast.

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i want to update you on another top story, a new development in the michael jackson investigation. the focus is not on dr. conrad murray tonight. it's ott another m.d., this man, dr. klein who treated jackson over the years and was paid another visit by the corner's chief investigator who said last week his investigation was complete. so the question is, why did he return to klein's office again and what was he looking for? randi kaye joins us with more. do we know what was at the coroner's office? >> we're trying to get answers on that exactly. we do know dr. klein's attorney says the coroner's chief investigator came to the office to confirm or negate new information that he had received. this is significant, of course, because just last week the l.a. county coroner's office announced it's report was complete, calling it thorough and comprehensive.

obviously, it's not as complete as they thought it was with the chief investigator back at it today, serving yet another subpoena at dr. klein's office. he was jackson's dermatologist for decades. this marks the coroner's second investigation, the last one july 14th. here's what one of his attorneys told reporters outside the office after the coroner left. >> dr. klein wants to maintain his utter and total cooperation with the police into the cause of death of michael jackson. he has done so. he will continue to do so. >> dr. klein's lawyer does not believe his client did anything wrong. he said in his opinion, dr. klein did not give jackson any drugs that were inappropriate. he also said he sees no reason to be concerned on behalf of his client. that he sees no evidence to support a charge of medical malpractice, which has been floated as a possible, possible charge against dr. klein. >> if their investigation was complete, though, and seemingly had focused on murray, why all of a sudden the focus on dr. klein? >> that's what we're trying to figure out. it's also two very important different circumstances. dr. murray clinics have been

searched, seeking charges of manslaughter. dr. klein falls into the appropriate window of time, assist, called. investigators are looking at more than a dozen doctors who were in charge with michael jackson or treating him during a time authorities see as a critical time frame. my source with knowledge said weeks ago dr. klein is on the list of doctors investigators are focusing on. they're trying to determine what drugs jackson was taking, who prescribed them and under what name. we know michael jackson was getting drugs under 19 different aliases, including the name of his own son and personal chef. >> klein doesn't believe he's under investigation. last month he said this. >> right. he thinks he's in the cooler here. he did not believe he's on the list of doctors, scrutinized and the most dangerous drug he ever gave jackson, demerol. the chief investigator said he visited at least two other medical offices in the beverly hills area, not too far from dr. klein's office, seeking records relating to the jackson case.

it's unclear at this point if dr. klein was ever affiliated with these clinics, if he did surgery there. his attorney told me he doesn't know. >> when was the last time dr. klein saw michael jackson, do we know that? >> i asked today. we've been told it was a few days before michael jackson's death, he was at dr. klein's office, in fact, three days before his death and he was talking to other patients. dr. klein told investigators that michael jackson danced for patients. when i spoke to his lawyer by phone, was that definitely the last time they saw each other in we know jackson saw him numerous times in the weeks prior to his death, and dr. klein's attorney said he wasn't sure when the last time his client saw michael jackson. i asked him if he had seen him possibly within 24 hours of his death and he told me, flat out, anderson, he just doesn't know. >> randi, appreciate it. we all know smoking isn't healthy but should it stop someone from getting a job? what about obesity? smokers can't get a job at one

of the top hospitals. president obama is apparently all for it. the ceo of cleveland clinic will join us coming up. first, erica hill has a "360 bulletin." >> the terrorist convicted of bombing pan am 103 will soon be a free man. a scottish court will release him on compassionate grounds despite objections from the u.s. he has terminal prostate cancer is serving a life sentence for the 1988 bombing over scotland. 270 people were killed, many of them americans. hurricane bill, the first of the 2009 season is i dangerous category 4 storm with sustained winds of 135 miles per hour. forecasters say it should begin pushing large swells toward bermuda and part of the southeastern coast by the weekend. the not clear just how close that storm will come to land. levi johnson's mother pleading guilty to one count of possession with intent to deliver the painkiller oxycodone. sherry johnson's lawyer expects

her to serve three years in prison, although she won't be formally sentenced until november. levi johnson fathered a child with sarah palin's oldest daughter. and milwaukee mayor tom barrett speaking publicly for the first time since he was beaten saturday night. he was leaving the wisconsin state fair when he heard a woman holding a baby, calling for someone to call 911. >> our immediate thought was there was something wrong with the baby. and so i quickly pulled out my phone, as i think molly did, and we started calling 911. within seconds we realized the problem was not with the baby. it was with the man. and he came up and was very, very agitated. >> police arrested that man the next day. they say the 20-year-old attacked the woman and then hit mayor barrett with a metal pipe. he suffered a fractured right hand, several cuts on his face and head as well. a lot of people have asked about security. the mayor didn't have any

security with him because he was there in a private capacity. he just decided at the spur of the moment to go with his family to listen to music. >> unbelievable. amazing. still ahead, should someone be denied a job just because they're obese? it's already happening to smokers at one of america's top hospitals. could the trend spread? also the real csi, crime labs are vital to convicting criminals but may they also be responsible for putting innocent people in prison? people inside? (announcer) take your time to find the right time with cialis for daily use... a clinically proven, low-dose tablet for erectile dysfunction you take every day so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. don't drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache.

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too many americans are obese. according to the cdc there's been a dramatic increase in obesity in the united states over the past 20 years. as the fight over health care heats up there's one thing both sides seem to agree on. it costs less to take care of healthy people. should employers have the right to turn away the unhealthy? the renowned cleveland clinic is doing just that. two years ago it stopped hiring smokers as part of a wellness initiative, getting high praise from president obama and the hospital's ceo told "the new york times" if it were up to him, if there weren't legal issues, he would not only stop hiring smokers, he would also stop hiring obese people. i asked him about that earlier tonight. >> i read something you already read, you already stopped hiring smokers and you said in an article if you could legally do it you wouldn't hire obese people. is that accurate and fair? >> well, i think that's -- i did say that but it was taken out of an hour conversation and the parts that got left out of that, the conversation, were that we're very concerned about

people, overweight. we're not against people who are obese. we're against obesity. >> there's a stigma about smoking. do you think there needs to be a similar stigma about, obese? >> i think we try to help people. we think it's a disease and we think that disease brings on more diseases. and i think we need to try to help people get past this -- their problems. >> employees who smoke or employees who are obese, should they pay more for insurance? >> well, i think what we're going to do is do it the other way. we're going to incent people to have good health and right now we're doing exactly that. people who lose weight, will get an addition appear positive incentive, financial. >> as you look at the health care debate as it's happening now, what is missing in this debate?

i mean, there's a lot of heat. not a lot of light. >> i'm concerned about the debate. i think there really -- we started out talking about costs and access and quality. and now really we've gotten down to access. and clearly, all of us agree that we need to have access to health care. i've never heard anybody who would debate that. but the concern is that we're seeing an increasingly expensive health care program across the united states. for several reasons. first, more people, more elderly people who require pore health care and more things we can do for them. right now, 40% of the premature deaths in the united states are secondary to inactivity, obesity and smoking. that's the number one preventable cause of premature death. that leads to a lot of chronic diseases. >> what you're able to do, though, is not something a lot

of employers are able to do. not all employers can give free weight watcher meetings or curves meetings to employees. for them, it's a huge burden. >> and there's no question about it. but the things they can do are really simple. they can serve good food, which really doesn't cost any more. almost all buildings where people work have stairs and people can be encouraged to take the stairs, to walk. there are a lot of things you can do that really cost very little. >> president obama visited cleveland, your office, last month. he really used it as a flat form for his health care reform plans. did you ask him about his own smoking? >> no, that subject didn't come up. we talked about the things that we thought that we could do to reduce the costs. no longer are we in the situation where we can expect all hospitals to be all things to all people. care's just gotten too sophisticated. >> doctor, we appreciate your

time. thank you. >> thank you. a lot more online, go to our website ac360.com to read more about dr. cosgrove's take on health care reform. do companies have the right to refuse hiring smokers and perhaps one day the overweight? join the live chat happening now. just ahead, crime scene fraud. dr. gupta goes inside a crime lab to put cutting edge technology to the test. he had one simple rule at "60 minutes" for making great television -- tell me a story. tk of america really has the market cornered on. let me make it easier for you. let me show you how i can make it easier for you. online banking is going to be your best friend; it's going to help you to manage your money. it has an alert system that can text message you. we have great new image atms. it will give you a receipt which has a copy of the check you deposited. you're in control of your finances. now when you talk about convenience, you measure us up to everyone else. well, you'll see we stand a head of the curve.

we're putting high-tech forensics to the test. more juries are relying on things like bite marks, fiber analyses, ballistics test. we've heard stories of innocent people, convicted. to find out if cutting edge techniques lead to the truth, we sent dr. sanjay gupta inside a crime lab. here's his report. >> reporter: here is where forensic investigation begins.

investigators cobble together a theory based on evidence, a swap of hair torn out during an assault, blood spatter, fingerprints, residue. if that was "csi" that's a mother lode of forensic, the case solved. but is it really foolproof? i wanted to see to myself so we got access to the georgia bu roar of investigation. high powered microscopes looking at hair and be fiber, results of dna technology and amidst all this we're trying to answer a question that's been plaguing forensics for some time, is all of this rooted in science? let's take a look. >> we're in the evidence section of the crime lab that examines hair, fiber, painted chips, gunshot residue, glass chips found at crime scenes. >> reporter: this hair was found at a crime scene. it's compared to hair on the

right. taken from the victim. they seem to match. the techs show us fiber analysis. in this case they compare a fiber from a different crime scene from one that comes from a suspect's sweatshirt. >> can you say it's the same fiber? >> we can say it came from the same source or from another source. possessing fibers of the same characteristics. >> reporter: i imagine people want to know, look, did that fiber come from the same fiber that sweatshirt came from. >> we can never give that exact answer. >> reporter: people want that answer, though. >> they want it, but that's beyond the limit of this particular science. >> reporter: but what about ballistics? on tv it sounds infallible. we're in the shooting room with george. he has a weapon. this is a tank, filled with water. this is how they test the bullets to see if there's potentially a match. >> i magnify these items and get

them to a certain manage any fiction, i look for the similarity or dissimilarity of the remarks. >> reporter: can you say with 100% confidence say this bullet came from this barrel?. >> i can tell you based on my experience, training and background, this bullet was fired by this gun, yes. >> reporter: remember, this is the georgia bureau of investigation, the lab, one of the best in the country. outside a lab like this, that kind of certainty about forensic science is rare. in fact, the national academy of science released a scathing report saying reform was needed, new research was needed. what is indisputable, what is irrefutable? some say it's dna. let's take a look. >> dna is the gold standard, is that fair to say? >> it's certainly a very specific and accurate test, you know. >> reporter: everybody wants it. that's all you hear about. >> it is the one everybody wants in homicides, sexual assaults. >> reporter: is it fair for you to say we have irrefutable dna

evidence? >> in a lot of cases, yes. there are certain cases in dna, just like in any other science, where the answer is inconclusive. >> reporter: for example, where the sample is old, tainted or too small. in most cases the doctor insists conclusive evidence is possible. >> the answers we give, they could be used in a court of law to have a jury convict someone to go to jail for their life or put to death. >> reporter: that's a lot of responsibility. >> it's a huge irresponsibility. >> reporter: on what is science or imperfect science. >> i wouldn't call it imperfect. i would say science with limitations. >> reporter: in a field some believe should have none. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. >> tomorrow our series continues. the medical examiner under fire, tyler edwards was 14 when he was accused of killing a man. the testimony of the expert who conducted the autopsy. was the expert willing to bend the facts to please the prosecutors? the incredible story and

surprising outcome. ahead, more on breaking news. polls open in war-torn afghanistan. we're live on the ground. you're looking at a polling station right there. next, a model murdered and her millionaire ex missing. who killed the former swimsuit beauty and why do police want to talk to her former husband? also tonight, joking before midair collision, the phone call that had the air traffic controller laughing just moments before a helicopter crashed over the hudson river. he ran off with his secretary! she's 23 years old! - oh, come on. - enough! you get half and you get half. ( chirp ) team three, boathouse? ( chirp ) oh yeah-- his and hers. - ( crowd gasping ) - ( chirp ) van gogh? ( chirp ) even steven. - ( chirp ) mansion. - ( chirp ) good to go. ( grunts ) timber! ( chirp ) boss? what do we do with the shih-tzu?

- ( crowd gasps ) - ( chirp ) joint custody. - phew! - announcer: get work done now. communicate in less than a second with nextel direct connect. only on the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com.

in california tonight a reality show contestant is now wanted tore questioning in the murder of a swimsuit model. this is a picture of the victim, jasmine fiore. her body was found in a suitcase over the weekend. police want to talk to her ex-husband who once appeared on a reality tv show. first they have to find him. he's not a suspect, not even named a person of interest at this point. they just want to talk to him. here's erica hill with the latest in tonight's "crime and punishment" report. >> reporter: early saturday morning a man looking through a trash bin finds a small, unzipped suitcase. >> it was partially opened. i lifted it up one time and saw skin but i wasn't sure so i lifted it up again. then when i saw the birth mark -- or the marks on the body and everything, i verified that it

was a body. i immediately called 911. >> reporter: the body was jasmine fiore. >> our preliminary results and findings from the orange county coroner were that she was strangled. >> reporter: police are now looking for this man, ryan jenkins, who was reportedly briefly married to fiore. he and fiore were last seen on friday night at a poker game in san diego. about 100 miles south of where her body was discovered saturday morning. on saturday night, jenkins filed a missing persons report for fiore. he hasn't been heard from since. >> our fear is that he might possibly be en route to canada. he was the last person seen with her. >> reporter: jenkins most recently a contestant on the vh1 reality show "megan wants a millionaire" is described on the show as an investment bank from her calgary. police believe he's driving either a black bmw x5 suv with an alberta license plate hly 275 or in fiore's white mercedes. fiore's neighbors describe her

as outgoing. >> she was friendly, and it was just a shocker. >> reporter: a former boss at the modeling agency she worked at in las vegas said fiore seemed to have her head on straight. >> she seemed very responsible, driven, focused on, you know, just wanting to do -- get into the business but not -- you know, wasn't enamored by it. >> reporter: he said the last time he saw her, she looked really happy. and mentioned, she had this great guy. the question tonight, whether that great guy may know something about how jasmine fiore died. erica hill, cnn, new york. votes and violence in afghanistan. the polls now open. it's election day there. we'll take you there live. and later, the "60 minutes" master don hewitt died.

we remember his life, his legacy and the extraordinary way he changed television.

breaking news from afghanistan. polls now open. live picture from kabul. 17 million are registered to vote. ivan watson joins us from northwest of kabul. just outside of a polling station. ivan, what's the scene there? >> reporter: hi, anderson. these gates just opened about 20 minute ago. it's 7:20 in the morning here. you can see voters being patted down. they show their registration cards and they come over here to these tents where the ballot boxes are assembled. they'll be voting in here for -- there are some 41 presidential candidates, some have dropped out at the last minute and provincial council members running for election at the 34 prove ins around the country. this is a $223 million election. of course, large parts of the

country are facing this bloody taliban insurgency, anderson. this is a safer part of the country. we can see people lining up. some of these people already were waiting an hour for the gates to open so that they could cast their ballot. anderson? >> even there, security's tight. more news back home. erica hill with a 360 bulletin. >> the man responsible for almost everything you do in the news has died. cbs's don hewitt is best known as creator of "60 minute" but that's just the beginning. he pioneered live shots, came up with what we call supers, that information you see in the lower third of your tv and produced the kennedy/nixon debate. he died of pancreatic cancer. hewitt was 86. details in the hudson river midair crash. the associated press reporting phone records showing the air controller making improper phone calls, just joking about barbecuing a dead cat. seconds before the impact. woman arrested for dui up

30% in the past decade. men driving drunk outnumber women 4 to 1 but department of trfgs said male dui fell 7.5% in that same period. "vogue" cover model winning a court ruling against a blogger she says defamed her. the court ordered google to identify the name of the blog er who posted nude photos of her. now armed with the blogger's identity cohen's attorney plans to sue for defamation, anderson. >> just on the don hewitt passing, it's so sad. as an employee also of "60 minutes," it's remarkable to think the kind of career he had. we should all be so lucky to have such a remarkable career. this guy basically, as you said, is responsible for just about all the things that we take for granted. >> he did everything. you know, it's wonderful. the nice part, though, has been all of the stories that you're

hearing today and that you'll continue to hear as people remember what a wonderful person he was. not just what he contributed to tv news but also what he contributed to so many people he work directly with for so long. >> he was walking the halls of "60 minutes" not too long ago. an investigator visiting the office of dr. klein, michael jackson's dermatologist. also coming up, something light before you go to bed, the snapshot of a squirrel, how it has spawned a cottage industry for this little guy.

time for the shot, erica, about the squirrel crash. he's become an internet sensation. a couple snapped this vacation photo, which we're showing courtesy of national geographic. so i guess that's a real squirrel, right? >> it is. they set the camera on self-timer and literally the squirrel just popped up in one of the shots. >> since then others have taken the squirrel crashers to other places. there's the critter next to nick nolte's mug shot. half a world away the squirrel's chilling with vladimir putin. putin seems to be groping the squirrel. it's a term the kids are using these days, groping the squirrel. he's also in a time machine when nixon calls it quits. even before he started crashing, some other squirrels were a web hit. check out this dance mix. i haven't seen this. >> it's good stuff. ♪ >> i love that squirrel.

>> that's good. >> it's a good thing those squirrels aren't in the park. my poor dog would go crazy. >> oh, no, it's a raccoon. >> it's a crazy one. >> we have our own squirrel, don't we, our own dramatic animal video? is he not there? oh, he's up there. maybe we don't have it. there he is. there's our guy. >> i think it's the same one. you can see the most recent squirrels at ac360.com. coming up at the top of the hour, more on breaking news, election day live in afghanistan, how many people will actually vote, with the war raging around them.