tv Anderson Cooper 360 CNN November 18, 2010 5:00am-6:00am EST
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>> thank you all for coming. next time, bring the food and the fashion. all right. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com thanks for watching everyone. breaking news tonight a shocking end to a landmark terror trial. an al qaeda terrorist who took part in the bombings of two u.s. embassies which killed 224 people is found guilty of just one count. innocent to the murders of 224 people who died in those bombings. he's the first guantanamo detainee to stand before civilian court. was this a victory, the rule of law or a travzy of justice. the breaking details ahead. and sarah palin says i am, telling barbara walters she is
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looking for a run for the white house and believes she can beat president barack obama. we'll show you the factors that may put palin on top of the republican candidates. and our series on amazing animals and the scientific research about how they think. tonight, can ach pes be taught the english language? i met the apes myself and somehow ended up in that bunny costume. if i told you the apes wanted me to wear it, would you believe me? the whole bizarre story later tonight. we begin with the breaking news, and a stunning verdict in a terror trial. the man accused in the killing of 224 people in the u.s. embassy bombings in africa is found guilty by a civilian jury, but of just one of the 285 counts. he gets off on all the counts of murder. it's important not just because of the nature of the crime but because this was seen as a test case for trying terror suspects in civilian courts. the obama administration certainly had a lot riding on it. here's the al qaeda operative, ahmed khalfan ghailani in
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federal court today. he's the first guantanamo bay detainee to be tried in federal criminal court. the jury found ghailani of conspiracy to damage or destroy u.s. property and faces a minimum of 20 years behind bars for that conviction, a maximum of life behind bars. all the other charges including all those murders he was acquitted on. the bombings in kenya and tanzania killed 224 people including a dozen americans, wounded thousands of others as well. ghailani was on the fbi's most wanted list when he was captured in pakistan in 2004. he fled there right before the bombings. he even at one point worked as a bodyguard for osama bin laden. he was moved to guantanamo until he was transferred to new york in 2009 to face trial in civilian courts. critics are blasting the obama administration tonight. peter king put out a statement, the ranking republican on the house committee on homeland security, he said in a press release and i quote, i am
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disgusted at the total miscarriage of justice today in manhattan's civilian court. he went on to say, this tragic verdict demonstrates the absolute insanity of the obama administration's decision to try al qaeda terrorists in civilian courts. our question, was this a miscarriage of justice applying civilian laws to a war time suspect, eliminating information possibly gotten through torture or was this a victory of the rule of law how ever painful the verdict. will the obama administration keep pushing for civilian trials? khalid shaikh mohammed and four other co-conspirators are set to face similar trials. we don't claim toft answers tonight, that's not our job, it's up to you to decide what you think but our gets have strong opinions, joining us now jeffrey toobin, former federal prosecutor, peter bergen and former commander of the "uss cole," which was bombed in the yemen port, 17 u.s. sailors were
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killed and 40 others were injured. he joins us on the phone. some of the bombing suspects are being held at gitmo, by the way. was it a miscarriage of justice? >> i think it's important to remember. ghailani himself is not going anywhere. he's looking at 20 years, probably life in prison, so it's not like this guy is walking out the door. however, this is an extremely disappointing verdict for the obama administration, and it's a reminder that when you go to civilian courts to these federal district courts you don't get a guaranteed result. juries are unpredictable and this judge excluded some evidence which happens and there was almost an acquittal here. >> was this a complete mischarge of justice? >> i don't think it was a miss charge of justice, i think what you're seeing is a president and an attorney general that attempted to guide a case, their attempts to delegitimize the military commission's process,
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and unfortunate live the tables got turned on them and although there was a conviction today, it was only on one count. and unfortunately, because of their decision to not use military commissions, i think what you're beginning to see is unfortunately a revictimization of all these families who lost loved ones in this attack. >> you know, the flip side of the argument, one of the reasons this guy probably only got the one count, according to his attorneys, he was tortured or at least harshly interrogated in a secret cia prison and the information that came out of those interrogations was not admissible in court. >> to be honest, anderson, what i think you're going to see is every attorney that represents any detainee in gitmo is going to attempt to use the torture defense and the reality of it is with enhanced interrogation techniques, if they term that to be torture, then i think we're fighting an uphill and losing battle in this nation. the reality of it is evidence that could be gleaned through
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sources other than what was obtained could have been admitted as part of a military commissions process, used in that proceeding. it may have ended up just the same. but the reality of it is, we're trying terrorists at a time when this nation is at war against al qaeda and we should use the venues available to us and that are proper and just, which i believe are military commissions. >> peter, what's critical about this, too, you have the possible upcoming trial of khalid shaikh mohammed who, according to many sources, has been waterboarded numerous, numerous times. >> yeah, according to the cia's inspector general report he's been waterboarded 183 times. so he's admitted to al jizarra
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he masterminded 9/11, and the interrogations he's gone through are moot because he's admitted his own guilt. however in legal doctrine, evidence gathered by unconstitutional means could complicate trial, and the attorney general will be looking at what happened today and this is going to make any justice department lawyer gunshy of putting khalid shaikh mohammed through a conventional civilian trial. ghailani was convicted of a fairly serious crime, justice was served by the way. the reason he didn't get a larger sentence is because evidence gathered in the course of the coercive interrogation on him was excluded by the judge in this case. so the american legal system actually worked today, it may not be to everybody's, you know, pred predelection, they don't know the other things, if they had been told other thing that's are probably true he might have got a bigger sentence. but given the evidence they were presented, the evidence that wasn't obtained by coercive
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interrogations i think they made the right choice. >> moving forward, do you think any more suspects should be tried in civilian courts? >> i don't think they should be, anderson. i think i've been pretty clear on this. i think we have a military commissions process that's been put into place. it's been adjusted by the congress in a manner to withstand supreme court scrutiny, and i think the president should authorize charges to be preferred and move forward with khalid shaikh mohammed, the bomber on the "uss cole," and we should get these cases going because justice delayed is justice denied. the families deserve to see
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these people held accountable for their murderous acts. >> what's the counter argument to that? >> the rules say you can't use the products of torture in military court either. so the torture remains a problem. but i think -- from a political perspective, the obama administration has given up on trying khalid shaikh mohammed anywhere other than in military commissions. there is no district in the united states that will accept that trial. i think that decision has been made just not announced. but, you know, the rules of our system are military commission, wherever, that if there has been torture, you cannot use it in our legal system. and that's not going to change. now, fortunately there's lots of other evidence against these people, but the fact is, torture is wrong. our legal system believes it's wrong, and we are never going to allow the products of torture in any part of our legal system. >> peter, moving forward, how do you think this, the results of this trial is going to be seen throughout the world? obviously there's an important
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kind of aspect to this trial. do you think it will be seen as a victory of the rule of law of, you know, of the judge today was saying to the jury, you know, a calm, rational verdict has been ruled, has been given today. >> i mean, i'm not sure the world is too focused on the ghailani trial. at the end of the day, he's a minor player in an attack that happened quite a long time ago. you know, the ksm trial, the khalid shaikh mohammed trial is a whole other matter. one approach with khalid shaikh mohammed, a cynical approach, would be to not put him on trial at all. >> keep him in detention indefinitely? >> it comes with problems jeffrey's already alluded to. that's not particularly satisfactory on a lot of levels. but you can imagine a situation where you defer this and defer this and defer this. the counterargument would be that we're coming up on the tenth anniversary of 9/11.
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i think americans would like to have this guy put on trial in some forum during that anniversary. and not to have him on trial i think during that anniversary year would be a significant setback, just generally. but, you know, the fact is, there will be a problem with the torture issue with khalid shaikh mohammed. >> we'll leave it there. appreciate all of you being on. thanks. let us know what you think, the live chat is up and running right now. up next, sarah palin for president in 2012, tonight what she said in a "new york times" magazine article and what she told barbara walters. palin saying she's accessible like any other politician, keeping them honest on that. and amazing animals, smarter than you think. my bizarre encounter with bonobo apes. >> do you guys do anything the chimps tell you? this is the weirdest thing i've ever -- yeah. i was told the apes wanted me to wear a bunny suit. i'm still trying to figure it out. we'll explain when we continue.
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sarah palin says that she is considering launching a bid for the white house in 2012. she said it to "the new york times" magazine and also in an upcoming interview with barbara walters. here's a clip of the interview. >> i'm looking at the lay of the land now and trying to figure that out if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family, if it's a good thing. >> if you ran for president, could you beat barack obama? >> i believe so. >> "the new york times" magazine article she insists she's as accessible as any other political figure, telling the magazine, quote, i'm on television nearly every single day with reporters. granted that's mainly through my job at fox news and i'm very proud to be associated with them. but i'm on facebook and twitter. i'm out there.
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she rarely takes questions from other reporters and tells other politicians like christine o'donnell to do the same. you may recall this, time's limited, she tweeted. use it to connect with local voters whom you'll be serving versus national media seeking your destruction. to say you're not avoiding anybody or anything is not true. because you're on facebook and twitter doesn't mean you're out there, either. which isn't saying she's not doing a remarkable job getting her message out there, she is. no other potential candidate is using facebook and twitter as effectively as sarah palin. and her new show brilliantly sells the palin brand. the first episode had 5 million viewers. her fans love it and others may form a positive opinion of palin after seeing her interacting with her family. so is she really ready to run?
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joining me now, democratic strategist cornell belcher and erick erickson. this focused on her inner circle and the loyalty they have to her and that she wants from them, very understandable. do you think she's ready to run in terms of her organization? >> i'm not sure she's ready to run a national campaign in terms of organization. you need many more people than who she has, but she has surrounded herself with loyal people, which is a starting point she's going to have to have. after 2008 i suspect she and her husband are skeptical of some of the people who to latch on to, she's going to have to have a lot of discernment going forward. a lot of people who say they're her friend really aren't. >> are they going to be able to -- to operate effectively? given from what i read in the "times" article, it seems a very ad hoc organization she has, which, you know, her supporters will say, it's worked effectively in terms of, you know, keeping her out in the
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public eye and reversing a lot of the negative perception of her after she dropped out of being the governor. >> well, that is one of the criticisms some on the right level is that she's very hard to get ahold of. her staff is not very responsive. i'm not sure what that issue is. i don't have a hard time getting ahold of people in her organization and many others i know don't. but the criticism is there, and at some point there will have to be changes made at this level. to be more responsive to some of the interest groups who would like to get ahold of her. but she's not running yet and a lot of people want to get their claws into her to make money for themselves, not help sarah palin. she's using some discernment on that but at the same time i'm worried she might overcompensate
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and be overly aggressive in shutting some people out she can't afford to. >> cornell, what is your take on palin saying this, this basically being announced today, that she is seriously looking at this stuff? >> i think erick and i actually agree on this, that she does speak to something the grassroots of the republican party in a way that none of the other mainstream candidates right now speak to. look, looking back over the year that has been the way she has turned the republican establishment absolutely on its ear in primary after primary, i think you take her lightly at your own peril. you know, i wouldn't be surprised at all if she ran right now, and looking at the effect that the tea party, that she speaks to, had on the republican primaries this past year, i don't know why you can't -- you can look at what she's done and argue that she's not a formidable and credible candidate. yeah, you guys are absolutely right, she's going to have to get better with the infrastructure piece of this and you can't dodge reporters in iowa and new hampshire, you just can't do that. but to a certain extent, she's out in front in a lot of different ways.
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the new media stuff reminds me a lot of governor dean, whose birthday it is today, happy birthday governor, tapping into this early, but that didn't france form into an organization the way -- if she can tap into this new media and bring this to bear in an organizational way she becomes more formidable in the republican primary. >> i'm fascinated by her, she's a fascinating figure, and whether people like her or not, thins are very divided, you can -- i think as cornell said, you underestimate her at your peril. have you ever seen a candidate or a potential candidate who makes their critics' heads explode in the way sare ah palin does? it does seem those who oppose her, they seem to go nuts about it. >> it's hilarious. >> because the more they criticize her, the more
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successful she becomes, among those who support her, and that just makes the critics go nuts even more. >> look. if as much energy was spent into reviving the economy as was spent in trying to discern the crimenology of typos she makes in her twitter feed we'd be rich as a nation. it's amazing to me the amount of time and energy people spend on things like that. you know, i hate to use this comparison because people will read into it more than i'm trying to say but the last guy i remember doing this with is '76 with reagan with critics on the left and right saying who is this actor? he's done nothing. never mooind mind he was the governor of california. he didn't win in '76 but did win in 1980. a lot of people, not just democrats, but republicans wanted to know what qualifies him to run and he was tapping into something that people didn't understand at the time. >> eric did you just make her in reagan, by the way? i think you just made her in reagan. >> i want to play for our viewers something palin said in an interview yesterday. it's the kind of thing for those that don't like her, it makes their heads explode.
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so let's watch this. >> we know that obama wasn't vetted through the campaign, and now, you know, some things are coming home to roost, if you will, with his inexperience and his associations, and that ultimately harms our republic when a candidate isn't vetted by the media, that cornerstone of our democracy? >> so obviously her critics will say, those who still have their heads, will say, look, she avoids, you know, a lot of national media, she's selective in who she talks to and you can make the argument that she hasn't been vetted. her supporters will say she's been vetted closely by a lot of people who have their knifes out for her. >> it's hard to argue barack obama wasn't vetted given all the things -- sort of the way the news media went through his stuff but the most skilful political operation in the last decade being the clintons and the primary vetted him very well. so it's kind of hard, sort of that, he certainly didn't run or dodge, run from reporters. but the other part about this is interesting to me, because there becomes a point in this where, does she look like a victim of the national media and the establishment. if she looks like the victim of
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that, particularly with a female candidate, there is something there to sort of rally her supporters even more around her. so to a certain extent i think positioning herself as a victim of the lame stream media sort of helps her strategically with her supporters. >> her critics say she plays the victim. >> let me go back to something cornell said that answers your point as well, and that is the interesting thing about a statement like this is there's a lot of republicans who don't like sarah palin but when they hear a statement like what cornell said they immediately want to scream at the tv, where are his college transcripts? where is his medical file? he only sent out a letter. where are the case files from when he was a lawyer in chicago? it drives people in the right
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mad about that and a lot of people who aren't necessarily sarah palin fans rush to her defense on that. she plays it well, intentionally or not, simply because this polarization that has developed around her and this great disconnect about who she is. i mean, we're talking about dancing with the stars and whether or not her celebrity is impacting her daughter on that show. i can't remember a candidate ever, including ronald reagan, who had something like that happen. >> we have not discussed that on this show, though. >> good. >> i think we've talked enough about ways we'll make heads explode on both sides of the aisle, so appreciate that guys. thanks. one of her chief rivals lisa murkowski lost out to miller in the primary in august, launched a write-in candidacy, counting the ballots have been the delay. murkowski leading miller by 10,000 write-in votes. miller was backed by sarah palin and tonight he's not conceding defeat. >> it's safe to say that alaskans have chosen the path of
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unity, the deliberative path, the common sense path. and i think they've shown that through this write-in process. can you imagine, over 100,000 people who wrote in the same name. >> well, if the state of alaska certifies her victory, murkowski will be the second person only to win a write-in bid for the u.s. senate. keeping them honest, the controversial video that got one former hero teacher suspended. and the man police say took a shotgun and burglarized shot his tv. what put him over the edge. that's next. following a number of other stories tonight, susan hendricks has the latest in the bulletin.
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following a number of other stories tonight, susan hendricks has the latest in the bulletin. >> haiti's cholera outbreak has reached the u.s. a florida woman who just got back from haiti has the disease which has also spread to the dominican republic now. for the third day violence rocked the city of cap-haitien where protesters clashed with u.n. peace keepers who they blame for the outbreak. cholera has taken more than 1100 lives in haiti. accused russian arms dealer viktor bout, the so-called merchant of death pleaded not guilty to terror charges in a manhattan courtroom today. the justice department alleged bout conspired to sell weapons to the colombian terror group farc. he faces 25 years to life if convicted. and bristol palin's routine on monday night's "dancing with the stars," yes we're talking about it again, apparently triggered a wisconsin man to shoot his television set. police say steven cowen, this
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man, blasted a hole in the screen because he felt palin wasn't a good dancer and he was fed up with politics. he allegedly turned the gun on his wife and was arrested after an all-nightstandoff with the s.w.a.t. team. i picture him sitting there in his chair with a shotgun watching the show. >> crazy. tonight's shot, bristol palin teamed up with the situation from "the jersey shore" in a public service announcement aimed at preventing teen pregnancy. you might be surprised to know the situation is involved in any effort regarding this but here's part of the commercial. >> all right. you know what? i mean just in case you do get into a situation i want to make sure you are situated. if you do get into a situation with your situation you may end up with a situation and you may not like that situation.
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>> trust me, though, i'm not getting myself into another situation. i know how hard it is to be a teen parent. >> you know what? i totally respect that. and i totally respect abstinence. it has the word abs in it. i'm the situation. i love that. >> very funny. but i'm worried about you practicing safe sex. >> i practice a whole lot. >> i'm talking about the safe part of that. >> for the record, they used the word the situation or situated eight times. >> for real? for real, i think five times. >> it's a little painful. another keeping them honest report, new jersey's governor and the controversial video that got one hero teacher suspended. and amazing animals, cousins to chimps, how they use tools to communicate according to researchers and how they somehow convinced me, that's right, the apes convinced me to wear a bunny costume.
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video is pretty questionable. in this clip from the film, special education teacher alyssa ploshnick was secretly recorded talking to o'keefe in a bar. she talks about how hard it is to fire a teacher in new jersey. >> it's really hard. once you get that, it's like shwing. you seriously have to be in a hallway [ bleep ] with somebody. >> she went on to relate the story of one teacher still teaching after calling a student the "n" word. on the tape she actually used the "n" word to tell the story. >> we had this teacher that just recently was like, you [ bleep ]. he's been moved down. >> to who? >> another student. to a student. and the teacher, the teacher has been demoted, but is still teaching.
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>> so again this was a story relating in a bar, not knowing she's being recorded. some would say this is a massive invasion of her privacy. regardless of the use of the "n" word, she was suspended nine days. speaking of governor christie teachers are heard discussing in very unflattering terms. >> let's have a whiskey, get a little misty, and join me now and slander chris christie. reading and writing and arithmetic, here comes christie with a whipping stick. what are we going to do? kick him in his toolbox. >> what's interesting about the story is governor christie is kind of endorsing this video, given how some of it was shot clandestinely. >> this is their leadership conference where you're in a hotel having this leadership conference, singing songs
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together about kicking the governor in his toolbox. i wonder what they mean by that? but i can tell you i sense it would hurt. the arrogance, the greed, the self-interest, the lack of introspection, the lack of standards, and it hurts the great teachers just as much as it hurts our kids. if you need an example of what i've been talking about for the last nine months, about how the teachers union leadership is out of touch with the people and out of control, go watch this video. it's enlightening, it's enraging. >> it's understandable the governor wouldn't like what some of the teachers said in the video. some of it was very shocking. but making her the scapegoat of everything that's wrong in the
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new jersey education system doesn't seem accurate. despite her use of the "n" word she's saying it's hard to fire bad teachers. she recently came forward to tell her story to "the star ledger." remember, she went on suspension for nine days and was refused a raise. 13 years ago she risked her life for her students, throwing herself in front of a van that careened out of control. according to the "ledger," she saved the kids but suffered broken wrist, badly bruised pelvis and glass in her eyes. president clinton wrote her in a letter, "you are an example for all of us and i applaud you for your sense of duty." she is considering legal action against james o'keefe for stalking and harassment. you'll remember, this is not the first time he used false pretenses to get a story. he recently tried to arrange a meeting with cnn correspondent abbie boudreau in a bizarre attempt to seduce her on videotape videotape.
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smart. when we heard about the great a trust in iowa we knew we had to go there. it's home to some remarkable bonobos, a close relative of humans, sharing 98% of dna with them. they can understand english and communicate with humans using the english language. some scientists have cast doubt on these claims so we wanted to see for ourselves. i really was not sure what to expect but i could never have predicted how bizarre this visit would become. >> meet kanzi and his younger sister panbanisha. they're cousins to the chimpanzee and an endangered species. they're also superstars in the world of science. >> are you happy kanzi? >> reporter: some scientists believe they can understand spoken english and can communicate by pointing and gesturing. >> let's show sue peanuts. >> reporter: dr. sue discovered their capabilities three decades
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ago and has since then dedicated her life to studying how early and constant exposure impacts language development. to do that, she's created a culture here of the great a trust in des moines, iowa, that's both human and bonobo. she spends nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, interacting with the species. >> it is truly a humbling experience, because i have throughout my life been like a skeptic. and for many years, even now, i have underestimated them. show me egg. >> reporter: as kanzi's language grew, so did this. it's called a election gram board. each represents a word, objects like jell-o and verbs, good, bad, tomorrow and yesterday. there are 400 words on the board.
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>> can he touch your hand now, kanzi? >> reporter: when i come face to face with kanzi and panbanisha, we're separated by glass for my own safety. bonobos are amazingly strong, five times more powerful than the average adult male. >> he said ball. did you see him say ball, anderson? you can ask him. if you didn't see it you can ask him to say it again. >> reporter: what's ball? what's ball? that one. >> immediately kanzi gets down to business. i've been told bin onobos asked i bring prizes. they wanted a ball and pine needles. >> are you ready? you ready? okay. >> reporter: once kanzi is content with his ball, panbanisha points to pine needles on her board. then things get weird. >> panbanisha, who's going to get the surprises?
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the bunny. >> reporter: bunny? >> the bunny is going to get the surprises. did you know that, anderson? the bunny is going to get the surprises. >> reporter: who's the bunny? >> who's the bunny? who should be the bunny? bunny? it's you! >> reporter: i'm the bunny? >> you are the bunny. >> reporter: how am i the bunny? wow. before i know it, i'm presented with a costume. you want me to dress up like the bunny? and i'm escorted off to go put it on. i wasn't sure if i should do this but i remember the advice i was given, be laid back and see where it goes. oh, a bib. the bunny has a bib. so apparently one of the chimps, panbanisha, likes bunnies. and asked me to dress as a bunny, which was the big surprise, and get one of the presents that she had requested. >> hi, mr. bunny. >> reporter: where did the bunny
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suit come from? dr. sue used to make video skits for panbanisha and kanzi to help them learn language. turns out the bunny is panbanisha's favorite character from those character skits. that's why i'm now in this ridiculous costume. they wanted pine needles and eggs, green beans, string beans, and bread and ice. should i bring this whole cart in? this is pretty of the strangest assignment i've ever had. nobody laugh. hello! presents. i brought you presents. surprises. lots of surprises. among the surprises, lots of
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food. something kanzi is clearly interested in. what about this one? >> what's that one, kanzi? bread? >> reporter: that's bread. and what are these? >> what are those, kanzi? >> reporter: pine needles. that's right. clearly some people will see this and say you're projecting on to them, that you're interpreting things they say and they make a sound and you say, oh, this means that. is that a fair criticism? >> it's a fair criticism until i can show what every single sound means. but it's not a fair criticism when it comes to the lexigrams. i can say the english word and they can find a photo, and they can find the lexigram on their keyboard. so while i haven't penetrated their sound system i have penetrated their cognitive system. >> reporter: to take our understanding to the next level, she's turning to the next generation. wow. hey. meet kanzi's 4-month-old son, tiko.
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he's the first bonobo to be exposed only to the language-speaking bonobos and everything human. he has his own ipad. >> this is the one he first learned to activate. >> reporter: so you think by being exposed to people from the earliest age and the culture of humans that he actually may surpass the others in terms of his ability to communicate? >> yes. the others have been exposed to language, but not cub scouts, not going out to a restaurant. >> reporter: she doesn't want to divorce him from the bonobo world altogether but believes he could expand their world and give us humans a window into theirs. that's only if we don't wipe them out first. bonobos are found only in the democratic republic of congo where ongoing violence threatens
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their existence. there are only about 5,000 bonobos left in the wild. >> we can solve a lot of things. a lot of puzzles about ourselves by looking at bonobos as they exist now. and if we wipe them out, those answers are lost to us forever. >> we have much more to show you of the bonobos. i eventually took off the bunny suit, much to my relief. next week we'll dig deeper into the science of these discoveries. up next -- oh, thank you. appreciate it. very nice. very funny. ha-ha. i've been having bunny jokes around the office for weeks now so these carrots, appreciate it. are the bunny jokes going to stop now? is this the last night? no? no? didn't think so. coming up, the rediculist. who's on it? the guy who claims he's going to be the next president because he's the man. and tonight he makes our ridiculist list. we'll tell you who it is coming up. back in the 80's, it was really tough for me and my family.
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quick correction, we said the premiere of "sarah palin's alaska" was the top rated show ever on the network, it was the top premiere of a show ever on the network. susan hendricks is back with the business bulletin. a tennessee judge has ruled that a controversial mosque can be built after all. he denied a request for a temporary halt to the construction of an islamic
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center of murfreesboro. an army investigator has recommended a court martial and death penalty for major nadal hasan, accused of a shooting rampage in ft. hood, texas, last november. the final decision and punishment rests with the commander of ft. hood. the makers of caffeinated beverages such as four loko have been ordered to reformulate their products. the beverages, which appeal to young people, have been called a public health concern. the concern is that the caffeine can mask the intoxicating effects of the alcohol. and who will design kate middleton's wedding dress? that is one of the big questions in london, now that her engagement to prince william is official. there are reports she already has a favorite designer but notable names are likely to be on her list, no word on who designed that bunny suit you wore. >> i would think they would go for some british designer, given the importance of this to england but --
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>> yeah, maybe so. we start a new program to point out hypocrisy, double stuff, downright ridiculous. the former senate candidate who says he should be president and alvin greene makes our list tonight. in june he shocked the nation by winning the south carolina democratic party nomination for senate with an almost nonexistent campaign. news of criminal charges surfaced, greene had been arrested for allegedly showing pornographic images to a college student in a computer lab. he refused to step down and led a somewhat bizarre campaign, that is when he campaigned at all. >> i'm the best candidate in the united states senate race here in south carolina. i am also the best candidate for -- i am also the best choice
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for the image award next year. let's reclaim our country from the terrorists and the communists. >> the sound you hear in the background is alvin greene wailing the words no and go. >> no comment we're going to stay in the race. >> has he told you what happened? >> no! >> no, but we're going to stay in the race. >> what does your political future hold? >> i'm not sure yet. but this is a good thing right here, the ultimate warrior. >> not surprisingly, two weeks ago he lost to republican senator jim demint. it would seem his political career was pretty much dead, right? he turned down a plea deal on the porn trial. greene also announced his next political move is he's running for president. here's what he said, and i quote, word for word, i'm the next president. i'll be 35. just before november, so i was born to be president. i'm the man.
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i'm the man. i'm the man. greene's the man. i'm the man. i'm the greatest person ever. i was born to be president. i'm theman. i'm the greatest individual ever. we don't contest that greene may in fact be the man. but president? that's earned him a spot on the that's earned him a spot on the ridiculist. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com for being with us on this "american morning." more two weeks after election day, one of the most probable political comebacks may be complete this morning. lisa murkowski claiming visibility another the alaska senate race after many in her own party had
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