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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Crackdown in Iran; Gabrielle Giffords' Road to Recovery

Aired February 14, 2011 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone.

Tonight: the brutality of the Iranian regime -- Iranian leaders praising Egypt's revolution, but, today, when protesters in Iran took to the streets, the government cracked down hard. We have got new video just in of the brutality, plus an in-depth analysis of where things are heading as another oppressive regime comes face to face with the power of its own people. We will also have the latest from Egypt and other countries where protests are spreading. We're "Keeping Them Honest."

Also tonight, new word on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' recovery, speaking phrases, even singing. How is she doing it? Dr. Sanjay Gupta lets us in on the secrets of the healing brain.

And later, what made a crusader against illegal immigration turn violent, then take the lives of a young girl and her father? The guilty verdict came today. We have the strange and chilling story that led up to it.

We begin, though, as always, "Keeping Them Honest," with a remarkable display of bravery in Iran and a brazen display of brutality and hypocrisy by the Iranian regime. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians reportedly took to the streets today. The Iranian regime doesn't want you to know about it, though, doesn't want you to see the pictures. Dictators never do. Iran is more efficient in their crackdown than the Egyptian government was.

They won't allow foreign reporters in the country. They reportedly shut down train service, cell phones and responded to protesters with tear gas, beatings and arrests. Some pictures have emerged though on YouTube. This is what happened today as a group of protesters reportedly tried to burn a poster with the faces of the Iranian leadership on it. One man, allegedly a plainclothes policeman, tries to stop them. Watch.

Battles between protesters and police. Public Broadcasting's Tehran bureau reporting 350,000 people marched, demonstrators chanting death to the dictator. And an Iranian dies, but doesn't accept humiliation. Today, they were beaten, tear gassed and thrown in jail. Two key opposition leaders were put under house arrest last week. Reports too of at least one fatality, but hard numbers on deaths or detentions are hard to come by.

What makes this not just an act of brutality, but also a brazen act of hypocrisy by the Iranian regime is that this regime has been praising the protesters in Egypt. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said just the other day -- quote -- "It's your right to be free. It's your right to exercise your will and sovereignty and choose the type of government and the rulers."

Iran's regime may believe it's Egyptians' right to do that, but clearly not its own people. A semi-official news service in Iran linked to the government called the protesters today hypocrites, monarchists, ruffians and seditionists.

We should not be surprised by their rhetoric of course or by their brutality; this is a regime whose hands are already drenched in blood. In 2009, after the presidential election in which there was widespread evidence of fraud, the streets erupted, the biggest demonstrators -- demonstrations since 1979 revolution that overthrew the shah, estimates ranging from hundreds of thousands to several millions.

Peaceful protests were met by government forces, uniform and plainclothes, and in some cases by government supporters chanting death to Israel, death to America. We have seen these tactics before, trying to deflect attention onto foreign enemies, trying to spread the notion that outside forces were the problem, the Iranian regime telling the same lies Mubarak told as well, trying to shift the blame, dodging accountability.

We don't know exactly how many died in the protests and crackdown that followed back then. We don't know how many were jailed and tortured. This afternoon, responding to the latest crackdown, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blasted the Iranian government for its lies and double-talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: What we see happening in Iran today is a testament to the courage of the Iranian people and an indictment of the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime, a regime which, over the last three weeks, has constantly hailed what went on in Egypt. And now, when given the opportunity to afford their people the same rights as they called for on behalf of the Egyptian people, once again illustrate their true nature.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, Iran is not the only country where we have seen the ripple effects of Egypt's revolution.

Let's go over to the wall here. I just want to give you a map of the regime and give you a sense where other protests are also popping up, not only today, but also over the weekend. OK. So you have Iran, which we have talked about here, the largest demonstrations outside of Egypt so far, potentially the most explosive.

Now, to just the south of Iran, you have the Gulf state of Bahrain. It's a very small Gulf state right there. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd protesting the Sunni -- the Sunni royal family there. Bahrain is 70 percent Shia, mostly poor, heavily discriminated against, they say, in housing, jobs, as well as the government.

Here, down to the south of Bahrain, you have Yemen. In Sanaa, which is the capital of Yemen, anti-government protesters marched on the presidential palace, demanding the end of authoritarian rule. At Sanaa University, pro-government forces crashed a sit-in, beating students with sticks.

And over the weekend over here in Algeria, to the west of all of this, and to the west of Egypt in Northwest Africa, in Algeria, riot police crashed with crowds demanding an end to the oppressive regime that has ruled the country and maintained power through rigged elections since 1999.

Now, one marcher telling "The New York Times" this is how power here acts. And in Tunisia and Egypt, and Yemen, Bahrain, Iran and elsewhere, this is how power acts.

Well, joining us now, Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN's "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS," editor at large at "TIME" magazine, also Jill Dougherty at the State Department and senior political analyst David Gergen.

Jill, what's the view inside the Obama administration? Could Iran turn into the next Egypt? They're clearly being very aggressive in their public statements about Iran.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: They are, Anderson, but they are realistic about the fact that Iran is a different ball game.

And you just talked about it. It is extremely repressive. The level of repression is much higher, actually, than it was in Egypt, and for almost anywhere. They're executing, they're torturing, they're rounding up people. So, realistically, to think that something could happen that easily, there's no illusion I think here.

That said, there is that tide of people's movements that is definitely sweeping. You just showed the map, sweeping that region. And so by saying that perhaps the same thing, the people of Iran should take the same rights that everyone else is entitled to could be a very powerful message.

Also, don't forget after the 2009 election in Iran, the United States did not speak out very forcefully, very quickly, and now it is. So they are changing. They're being much more aggressive.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Fareed, the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime, though, is pretty extraordinary, for them to be praising the Egyptian protesters and then cracking down on their own.

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, it's extraordinary, Anderson, because what this was in Egypt, this remarkable revolution, was at core a revolution about young people, their access to the world, their access to the new technologies of connectivity, right?

And people have called it the Facebook revolution, and maybe that's an exaggeration. Here's the important thing to realize. There can be no Facebook revolution in Iran, because Iran blocks access to Facebook.

It blocks access to all such social networks on the Internet. So Iran is really trying to maintain one of the oldest tricks of a dictatorial regime, which is isolation autarchy, intellectual autarchy. Hope that your people don't know what is going on outside, and hope that as a result they will simply not be able to access the kind of means of connecting with one another and organizing. It is a very strange way to maintain control in the 21st century, but, in Iran, it is still the playbook that the regime uses.

COOPER: And, David, we're seeing now demonstrations pop up in other places, all of which -- I mean, each country is different. And it poses real challenges for the Obama administration. In a place like Yemen, I mean, there are -- there's two battle zones going on in north and south Yemen. There's a real al Qaeda influence there.

So, an obviously administration which has now been cooperating quite closely with the government there has real concerns about seeing that government overthrown.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely. And that's why you don't find the secretary of state encouraging the protesters in Yemen.

And, if anything, the United States is trying to keep a focus on Iran. And I think what's striking here, Anderson, is how different the U.S. response is to the protests in Iran today than were in late 2010 -- 2009, which was just a short while ago after those phony elections there. People were on the streets. The United States in effect punted on that, didn't want to get involved.

But now two things are happening. One is, the United States is making -- with Israel, apparently making progress in sabotaging the centrifuges, sabotaging their nuclear program, delaying it. But, secondly, if the United States can see these protests repressively put down in Iran, it could drive a wedge between Iran and nations in the Arab world, which as Fareed will tell you is -- you know, as protesters are sort of demonstrating against repressive governments, they could easily turn against the government of Iran and further isolate Iran, and maybe help to undermine and bring down that regime, which would be -- the United States would very much like to see fall.

COOPER: And, Fareed, the U.S. now, I saw they're starting like a Farsi-language Twitter service, clearly one way they're hoping to use social media to try to motivate change.

ZAKARIA: Well, I think that this is all part of a strategy.

David is exactly right. This is part of a broader strategy. I don't know that any of us understands whether or not you could bring down the Iranian regime. The regime does have its own sources of support. But it puts the regime on the defensive. And it is exactly the point you made, Anderson, at the beginning.

They have been lauding what has happened in Egypt, and yet repressing the very same kind of activity. If -- this allows the United States to go on the rhetorical offensive, the ideological offensive. And it does feel like a different moment.

You know, I think that the United States a year ago, looking at the Iranian protests, felt that there wasn't -- part of being -- conducting foreign policy is figuring out which way the winds are blowing, because you don't actually have the ability to change history as much as you might think.

But it does appear that now the winds are blowing in a different direction, and the administration might be able to ride those winds and push the Iranians to at the very least feel embarrassed or -- and humiliated in front of their own people, who are clearly demonstrating against what is still a very oppressive regime.

COOPER: We're going to have more about what's going on in the region, and particularly the latest on what's happening in Egypt in just a moment. Everyone, stick around. We have some breaking news on Egypt. Also, the live chat is up and running at AC360.com. We will have that breaking news. It's all about the Mubarak's money. We will tell you about some news to try to cut it off. And we will have the latest on what the military is now doing in Egypt.

Plus, not the perfect Valentine's Day gift for Gabrielle Giffords' husband, but just about the best one he could imagine. The congresswoman is speaking phrases, even singing. We will talk to 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta about what that says about what is happening in her brain and her recovery.

First, two people whose first name is enough, Isha with an update on Tiger -- Isha.

(LAUGHTER)

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nicely done on this Valentine's Day.

So, Anderson, how closely have you been following the trials and tribulations of Tiger Woods, I ask you?

COOPER: Not at all.

SESAY: Well, there you go. Well, lucky you have me.

Tiger is having to say sorry once again. And golf's former world number one is also having to cough up some cash. I will tell you what he's doing this time that has some commentators calling him arrogant and petulant when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We have some breaking news tonight that could leave Egypt's deposed dictator finding it harder and harder to get money. Last week, Swiss authorities moved to freeze Mubarak-related assets in Switzerland. Now we got word tonight Egypt's military government has asked American authorities to try to do something similar.

They question tonight, though, is it actually going to affect Hosni Mubarak and where is he?

Meantime, in Cairo, the new regime again today urged people to go back to work, return to day-to-day life. But people are staying on the streets all across the country. Thousands of state workers went on strike, demanding better pay, decrying corruption.

One opposition figure, Mohamed ElBaradei, said the ruling generals need to come out of their headquarters and start talking to the people.

It is still a very fast moving story. Jill Dougherty joins us again with the breaking news on the money trail and Nic Robertson has the latest on Mubarak's whereabouts from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Nic, what are you hearing in terms of where Mubarak is?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he was seen landing here at the airport here in the early hours of Saturday morning.

And he has got very, tight security around the compound, that he's got sort of a three-villa complex in the former presidential complex here just sort of nestled between some of the hotels not far from here along the coastline here. That's where he seems to be. Everybody in Sharm el-Sheikh believes that's where he's hiding out right now.

If he goes out, they say he will go out in a big motorcade and it will be very obvious. So he's come in and that's where he's hiding right now, Anderson.

COOPER: Jill, exactly what has the U.S. government done in terms of Mubarak's money?

DOUGHERTY: Well, the question is, is there money? You know, is it here? Where is it? So the U.S. -- the senior U.S. official is saying they have got that request from the government to freeze the assets of officials. They're not saying exactly who those officials are.

But according to P.J. Crowley, the spokesperson here at the State Department, they have not received a request yet to freeze the assets of Mubarak or his family. That said, he -- Crowley said if they did get a request, they would follow through and take the appropriate action.

COOPER: Nic, there have been wild figures about how much money the Mubaraks may have. It goes up as high as $70 billion, which frankly just seems absurd, because that would make him like the richest guy in the world. I have heard more estimates are closer to kind of $1 billion to $2 billion, though I'm sure exactly how people know that.

Do we know? Do we know how much money he has and how he got that money?

ROBERTSON: The speculations are that he got some of it as sort of land-for-favors deals, sort of buying -- selling land cheaply.

This resort here has expanded massively over the past sort of 15 or 16 years. It's gone from 20 or so hotels up to 190 now. So, land is at a premium. Investors wanted it. It's been allegedly at his disposal. And that's how some of the money's been made. But nobody really knows.

But if you look at his palace complex here, look at this satellite image, Google Earth image, it's three relatively small palace buildings. Compare that say to what the king of Saudi Arabia has or some of the other Gulf state leaders, it's much, much smaller, which kind of begs the question, if he hasn't spent a lot on the palaces here, where is that money outside the country? Because he doesn't have many other homes here -- Anderson.

COOPER: And in terms of, Nic, what's happening on the ground, in terms of what the military government is doing there, what are kind of the latest moves and how are people viewing now the military regime?

ROBERTSON: They're trying to sort of speed up this process of amending the constitution. They have got a panel, they say, that will get amendments within 10 days. Then, in two months, there will be a referendum.

But against the backdrop of this sort of speedy move to try and get the political ball rolling, they have got other people emboldened by what -- how they have seen the protesters succeed in bringing the former president down coming out, demanding better pay, ambulance workers today, transport workers. Bankers have been out on strike of one of the big state banks here. Journalists even have been coming out on strike, better pay, better conditions.

So the army is saying, go back to work, this isn't the time to do it, we need to pull together, it's not in our national security interests, and you will find other powers, other enemies of the country trying to exploit this to work against Egypt. So, the army is really trying to get everyone back to work -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Nic, live from Sharm el-Sheikh, appreciate it.

Jill, stay with us.

I want to bring back the rest of the panel, Fareed Zakaria, David Gergen.

Fareed, what do you make of the moves now being made by the military kind of ruling junta?

ZAKARIA: Well, they're doing more than they had, certainly, in the past. But I don't think it's nearly enough, Anderson.

What the Egyptian people were protesting about was not Mubarak personally. Mubarak was the symbol of a regime that they hated. The regime is one of military dictatorship. It is of arbitrary control over their lives. It is of emergency laws, martial law. And they need to really plot a pathway away from that. And that means bring the opposition in, create some kind of constitutional council that will rewrite the constitution, put it up for referendum, have a pathway to elections, and do this in a very open, transparent fashion.

You still have this slightly Orwellian process where the higher military council every now and then issues decrees from some bizarre spokesman whom nobody really knows anything about. And then we're now on the fifth or sixth of these decrees.

COOPER: The problem, though, Fareed, is this is a military which has a lot of business interests, which owns businesses, owns land, and is kind of murky and mysterious. I mean, they have their hands in a lot of different pies in Egypt.

And can they actually be transparent?

ZAKARIA: Well, this is exactly the problem, Anderson. This is a very, very powerful military. By some estimates, they have 20 percent, 30 percent of the economy.

The reformers in the Egyptian government, those few that exist, have told me that most of the reforms were blocked by the military, because they had subsidized industries, they had protected cartels. So can these guys do it?

Well, all I can say is, this is the real battle, Anderson. It is the battle between the people of Egypt and a regime and a whole system that is -- really that owns the politics and economics of Egypt. It's a marathon.

Here's what they have going for them. They have the fact that the American government is now energized on this issue and is going to push, and that means the international community. And it means that some of us in the media are aware of this. And that was different. So, I don't expect that this will somehow quietly peter down.

I think people are looking to see a pathway to democracy, to constitutionalism, to liberty. And as long as we hold their feet to the fire, I think the Egyptian people are absolutely clear on what they want.

COOPER: David Gergen, an interesting article in "The New York Times" over the weekend essentially talking about splits within the Obama administration and kind of saying Hillary Clinton and Wisner, this envoy, this civilian envoy who was sent over there, basically were completely off-message from what President Obama really wanted, that he was much more with the protesters all along.

Do you buy that?

GERGEN: I'm not sure I buy it.

I do think it smells like revisionist history. The White House aides who put that story out clearly wanted to paint the president more brightly in colors that he supported the protesters all along, but I must say they did it at the expense of Hillary Clinton. They didn't exactly throw her under a bus, but they sure let her get sideswiped, because they suggested if it had not been for Hillary, especially for Mr. Wisner, there would not have been this garbled message.

I don't think that's been -- I don't think that's helpful to the relationship. I think it's a kind of rift we haven't seen before between the White House and Mrs. Clinton. So, I would imagine they will move off that. I must say, though, even as I think they have had trouble getting a coherent message, the administration does deserve credit for at least getting part of what they wanted substantively.

To go back to Fareed's point, the administration wanted a quick but orderly transition. They are getting that. What they haven't seen is the follow-through on the transition. And that's what Fareed is pointing to. They have got to keep the pressure on now to make sure this has a happy outcome. And if that happens, then a lot of this incoherence and message will sort of disappear as a story.

COOPER: Jill, you have been reporting over the weekend that the administration has been making a lot of calls to allies in the region, but kind of delivering a tough message. What are they saying?

DOUGHERTY: Essentially, Anderson, what they're saying is, look, we're your friends, we're still your friends, but we're telling you, as Hillary Clinton would put it, the foundations of your regimes are sinking in the sand. And there is this tide out there. There are people who want opportunity, and you are facing many of the same problems that Egypt and Tunisia have had, very young populations, very little chance to make their lives better.

In fact, one senior official was telling me that Egypt has the highest number of college-educated young people with no jobs. So, that is a recipe for disaster. So they're saying get on board or something could happen to you.

COOPER: It is interesting, Fareed, though, you know, we're getting a lot of tweets from people saying, every -- the U.S. should support protesters in all these countries.

Each country, though, is different. David was talking about Yemen a little bit. And there's the al Qaeda fear in there. Algeria, which, yes, has a repressive government, also is battling a brutal, brutal insurgency for many years, al Qaeda-backed groups. Each country really does have special challenges for the Obama administration.

ZAKARIA: Each country has special challenges.

And it's worth pointing out we don't know when the moment is right, when these reforms are going to succeed. And so it's a little -- you know, there's a lot of Monday-morning quarterbacking saying we should have known that this would have happened.

Well, you could have known that there were conditions in Egypt that required political reform. And, to be fair, administrations for 20 years have been saying that. But when it's going to be a tipping point and when you should really shift your support from the regime to the street, that's an awfully difficult one to know.

And if you get it wrong, by the way, you will have -- you will have abandoned an ally of 20, 30 years, in the case of Yemen, an ally that's fighting Yemen, in the case of Saudi Arabia, an ally that has been with you, providing you with cheap oil for 50 years.

So I think that the more important issue, the new Obama doctrine should be, not that we're going to abandon you, but if you face massive discontent on your street, if you face massive discontent among your people, don't look to the United States to support you in those circumstances, because if we have to choose between the aspirations of your people and your regime, we can't choose the regime. If somehow things are stable, we're not going to be the ones who try to orchestrate it, but we can't come in between the aspirations of your people and democracy.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: David, I want to hear what you think about that, because does the -- let's just be frank here. Does the Obama administration or would any U.S. administration, do they really care about democratic aspirations in Yemen, or are they more concerned about hunting down al Qaeda in Yemen and getting the government's cooperation in that?

GERGEN: I think, if you have radical movements masquerading as people protests, the United States should not be supporting that. I think we have got to be very, very careful where we do this.

Of course we should support the legitimate and genuine aspirations for democracy. But some people like to hijack democracies. We know that. And in a place like Yemen, we have got to be very careful.

I think Fareed would be right, for example, in Saudi Arabia to encourage the regime. It has made a lot of -- it has made a lot of efforts to support people, but it needs to make more. And we should encourage that. But we should be very careful about bringing too many cracks and bringing down a Saudi Arabia, sort of a smash. It's got to -- this has got to be done with enormous care and with -- and discerning between different states at what pace they can go.

Egypt I think has a very good case for democracy. The people in the streets were peaceful. They represented the mass of the people. And some of these other states, what looks like a people's revolution may well be something very different.

COOPER: Yes, we're living in extraordinary times.

David Gergen, Jill Dougherty, Fareed Zakaria, thank you. Still ahead: a verdict in a grisly murder case we have been following, a self-described border vigilante on trial for the killings of a 9-year-old girl and her father -- a key witness, the girl's mom, who barely escaped with her own life.

And later: new details in the amazing progress Congresswoman Giffords is making in rehab -- why singing might be helping her recovery. I will talk it over with 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, it's been five weeks and two days since Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head at point-blank range. She continues to make steady, even remarkable progress in her recovery, we're being told. Here's what her husband, Mark Kelly, told "The Today Show" this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK KELLY, GABBY GIFFORDS' HUSBAND: The speech therapist was saying to me that a few days ago, she was having to get Gabby to speak some more. Now she's trying to get her to slow down and make sure she hears the question first before giving the answer.

As an example of that, you know, there were three cards laying on the table, one with a picture of President George Bush, President Barack Obama, president George Washington, and before she was asked the question she would just pick up the -- she picked up the card and said -- held it up and said, "George Bush."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, "The New York Times" also reported that Giffords is now lip-syncing to songs, playing Tic-Tac-Toe, and walking with the help of a cart, all part of her intensive rehab. I talked about it earlier with 360 M.D. and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: So Sanjay, what's the latest on Giffords' recovery?

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's pretty remarkable just how quickly she's recovered. Clearly now, she's shown evidence that she cannot only understand speech, but she's communicating. And I think most importantly, being able to draw on memories as well as part of that communication. For example, humming the tunes to well- known songs like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." That all shows not only her ability to express herself but her ability to, in fact, remember things, to draw on those memories and use them in some way.

She's also, you know, walking with the help of a sort of shopping cart-like device. Remember, Anderson, we talked a lot about the fact that there was concern about just how weak she might be on the right side of her body. You know, doing this, it sounds like she does have some weakness, but being able to bear weight like that is very significant. Also, keep in mind, when you look at someone who's had an operation like this, she's had half of the bones, the skull removed from the left side of her head. That is still gone, my understanding is. But typically, it's a few months before that's put back in. We hear now that operation to replace that skull, to give her that normal contour to that side of her head, could be done by the end of the month, Anderson.

COOPER: And in terms of doing stuff like singing and even playing Tic-Tac-Toe with a nurse, is that a different part of the brain than speech?

GUPTA: Yes, you know, it's interesting. And by the way, she beat the nurse at Tic-Tac-Toe, so that was really interesting. Because you know, you make light of it a little bit, but your analytical ability is obviously coming into play there. It is a different part of rehab to actually listen to music, to be able to hum songs.

What's interesting is you can literally draw a line right down the middle of the brain left side/right side. Left side of the brain in most people is going to be responsible for speech. But also, you know, logic, math, things like that. The right side is those more abstract parts of language and things like that. So, you know, the abstract concepts you're processing over here.

Connecting those two parts of the brain can be challenging in someone who's undergoing this sort of rehab. So music, especially music with words, sort of forces that integration. I tell patients to do this all the time, even load up an iPod with favorite songs, put it in the room. It can be a really important part of rehab.

COOPER: And they say it's aggressive therapy. What does a typical day look like?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's about six hours a day of therapy. And the speech therapy, for example, focusing on what we call automatism. As you know, things that we sort of say without thinking, sounds that we make with our tongues and our mouth, "dah," you know, "nah," using your lips. All that sort of stuff. Reteaching, relearning that to some extent.

What we don't know, Anderson -- this is a way to think about it is that -- the things that we do in our daily lives that are very basic -- you know, walking, repeating certain phrases, things like that -- those things are pretty redundant in the brain. There's lots of different centers of the brain that do those things.

When it comes to more sophisticated thinking, when it comes to novel movement, those are more specific areas of the brain and not as redundant. How do you take those discrete areas of the brain that don't have as much redundancy and make sure they're still working properly? That's what's next for her, probably.

COOPER: That's amazing stuff. Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, just ahead now, a border vigilante considered too extreme by the border group the Minutemen faced a jury today. The verdict ahead and the horrific crime that led to it.

But first, Isha Sesay has an update and a "360 News Bulletin" -- Isha.

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, the $3.7 trillion budget that President Obama unveiled today for 2012 is being slammed by both the right and the left. Mr. Obama is proposing tax increases and cuts in more than 200 government programs and says his plan will slash deficits by more than a trillion dollars over ten years.

Republicans are saying the cuts don't go nearly far enough, while liberals are calling it a callous assault on the poor.

A 23-year-old man suspected of killing four people in New York during a 28-hour stabbing and carjacking spree has been assigned a public defender. Maksim Gelman's alleged crimes spanned three New York boroughs. Police arrested him Saturday on a subway train under Times Square.

A 360 follow now. Former Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod is suing conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart over that edited video he posted of a comment Sherrod made in a speech. The clip made Sherrod's comment appear racist, and she was forced to resign her post last year.

And Anderson, I know you haven't been following this story. Tiger Woods has been fined an undisclosed amount after being caught on camera spitting on the 12th green during the final round...

COOPER: Really?

SESAY: ... of the Dubai Desert Classic. Yes.

COOPER: You can't spit on a green?

SESAY: Yes. He spat on the green. Woods has apologized on Twitter. Thank God for Twitter. "It was inconsiderate to spit like that." And I know that's what he tweeted. "I just wasn't thinking. I want to say I'm sorry."

COOPER: I've never played golf, so I didn't know you couldn't -- you can't spit on a green.

SESAY: No. And the fine, according to one report, ranges from 400 and $16,000 for a minor breach of etiquette on the golf course.

COOPER: Interesting.

SESAY: So stick it (ph).

COOPER: Have you been to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York?

SESAY: No, I may look sad, but I have other things to go than go to a dog show.

COOPER: I've been. It's actually -- that I've been to. It's actually...

SESAY: I'm not saying anything.

COOPER: You're not a dog fan, are you?

SESAY: I wouldn't say not a dog fan.

COOPER: Do you like cats?

SESAY: Can I just say before everyone starts writing in.

COOPER: A cat person.

SESAY: No, I definitely don't like cats.

COOPER: Oh, OK.

SESAY: I prefer dogs.

COOPER: OK. Well, you should go to the Westminster show. It's the 135th annual dog show today and tomorrow here in New York. And on this Valentine's Day there's a competitor who's stolen our hearts already. Meet Stormy.

SESAY: Oh, my God. That's lovely.

COOPER: Yes, Stormy with a hairdo very reminiscent of Snooki, we think, from "Jersey Shore." Kind of rocking the pouf, yes. Stormy's hair takes about an hour to form. Not sure if Snooki's takes longer than that.

Let's take a look at some of the other contenders from this year's show. I'm a big dog person, as you can tell.

SESAY: Clearly.

COOPER: Here's Sugar, a Chinese Crested.

SESAY: You wouldn't want your dog to look like that.

COOPER: No. That -- I don't get the Chinese Crested.

Here's Sparkle a Standard Poodle.

SESAY: Not much better, frankly.

COOPER: Oh, Sparkle.

And let's see Jack, the Yorkshire Terrier, complete with canine curlers. SESAY: Jack I like.

COOPER: That's just unnecessary. Look at those little tiny curlers.

And finally, Parker, the Standard Poodle.

SESAY: Little dreadlocks.

COOPER: Yes. Rocking the dreadlocked look there. So I should go. I wish -- maybe I'll try to go tomorrow if I have time. Anyway, no, you wouldn't do it?

SESAY: No, no, no.

COOPER: OK, it's fine. All right. We'll check in with Isha a little later for an update on some other stories.

Coming up, a murder case in Arizona that we've been following, an anti-immigration vigilante has been convicted in a really horrific series of murders. We've got the strange details of the case ahead.

And a stunning turn of events in the case of a Pace University football player who died from police gunfire. The question is, will the police be charged? We have a decision from the grand jury ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight in "Crime & Punishment," a vigilante, anti- immigration activist in Arizona has been found guilty in the murders of a 9-year-old girl and her father.

Shawna Forde is a former member of the Minutemen, a group that says its mission is to protect U.S. borders through demonstrating and political lobbying. Forde was kicked out of the group by being -- for being mentally unstable and started her own splinter group. Prosecutors say she planned the murders in order to fund her organization.

Gary Tuchman has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The voice of the mother testifying about her daughter.

GINA GONZALES, MOTHER OF BRISENIA: I heard Brisenia say, "Please don't shoot me. Please don't shoot me."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happens after that?

GONZALES: She was shot.

TUCHMAN: Nine-year-old Brisenia Flores, shot and killed execution style. It's a tragic and strange story that's put this woman on trial for murder. Shawna Forde, accused of masterminding the murder of not only little Brisenia but her father, too, and leaving her mother, Gina Gonzales, for dead.

To protect her privacy, we are not showing Gina's face, but tears were flowing as she described what happened after her daughter was shot.

GONZALES: She was shaking like crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you do it?

SHAWNA FORDE, CONVICTED OF MURDER: No, I did not do it. I had nothing to do with it.

TUCHMAN: Shawna Forde was the head of a splinter group of the controversial Minutemen border protection organization. This video of her on the Arizona Mexico border was taken by a Norwegian TV crew.

Prosecutors say the murders happened at this house in the middle of the night. After she and a group of men she recruited posed as police. Their plan: to rob and have one of the men kill Brisenia's father, Raul Flores, because word on the street was he was a drug dealer.

Prosecutors say the group thought they'd find money and drugs in the house. They did not find drugs. But father, mother and daughter al ended up getting shot.

Authorities say Shawna Forde wanted to use the blood money from the house to fund her anti-illegal immigration group.

Two other men will stand trial later.

(on camera) Shots were being fired inside this house like it was the O.K. Corral. The intruders, dressed in their fake law enforcement uniforms, clearly did not want to leave anyone behind who could testify against them. If they had consciences, they left them outside the house.

(voice-over) Gina Gonzales who survived by playing dead, called 911 when the intruders were gone.

GONZALES: They just shot my husband. They shot my daughter. And they shot me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

GONZALES: Oh, my God. I can't believe this is happening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, they are -- are they still there, the people that shot them?

GONZALES: They're coming back in. They're coming back in.

TUCHMAN: Incredibly, in the middle of the 911 call, Gina says the woman came back in the house and saw she wasn't dead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did you hear her say after she looked at you?

GONZALES: I saw her, like she had seen a ghost. She ran back outside and told the guys she needed to finish me off.

TUCHMAN: But Gina, who had been wounded, found her husband's gun and defended herself.

GONZALES: Get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of here. Right now.

TUCHMAN: Gina wounded the gunmen, and the intruders fled. Her survival, his injuries, and stolen jewelry helped lead to the arrests.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shawna Forde had Gina Gonzales' property with her when she was arrested.

TUCHMAN: Shawna Forde's reputation is not a good one. She started her so-called Minutemen American Defense Group after getting booted out of the national Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, because she was too unstable. So says that group's president, Carmen Mercer.

CARMEN MERCER, PRESIDENT MINUTEMEN CIVIL DEFENSE CORPS: I just felt that she was not a stable person, that she was, you know, mentally not a stable person, but not to the point where I thought she was nuts.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Fair-minded people can have different opinions about the danger level here at the U.S./Mexican border. But past interviews have shown that Shawna Forde has a flair for self- aggrandizing melodrama.

(voice-over) This interview was with a reporter from Norway.

FORDE: This is an extremely dangerous area. As a matter of fact, so dangerous that I'm refusing to bring the reporters in because I don't have enough arsenal. I have one gun on me and three people. And I'm not going to be responsible for lives.

TUCHMAN: Shawna Forde's attorney told jurors she wasn't at the murder scene, that it was a case of mistaken identity. But the jury did not buy it. And now, after a murderous rampage in the middle of the night, Shawna Forde faces the possibility of the death penalty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: So Gary -- joins us live. Now Gary, after sitting in the courtroom, any insight as to what was into this woman's mind that explains why she carried this stuff out?

TUCHMAN: Yes, she came across as cold-blooded and diabolical, Anderson. The evidence showed that she couldn't give a you know what about human life. She just thought this was a great crime, great way to get money for her group. Kill the entire family. This house was in the middle of nowhere in the desert. No one would ever know about it. The fact is, if this mother, Gina Gonzales, did not survive, it's very likely that Shawna Forde never would have been arrested.

COOPER: Such a sad story. Gary, appreciate the reporting. Thanks.

In other news tonight, the Broadway super -- "Spider-Man," the musical, is facing more problems. The state department of labor is now going after the show. This thing cannot catch a break. Details ahead.

And we bring back "The RidicuList" tonight. And who else is on it but Lindsay Lohan? Why not? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Coming up, Lindsay Lohan lands on "The RidicuList" tonight for her latest legal drama. But first, Isha Sesay has a "360 News & Business Bulletin" -- Isha.

SESAY: Anderson, a grand jury has cleared a police officer in the shooting death of a Pace University football player, D.J. Henry. Henry was killed in October outside a Thornwood, New York, bar in a hail of police gunfire. Police said Henry's car was fired upon after it struck an officer. The 20-year-old's father has been outraged -- is outraged by the situation. He's pushing for a federal investigation of his son's death.

Nearly 800,000 child car seats are being recalled because they don't lock properly. The recall covers several models made by Durell Juvenile Group between May 2008 and April 2009.

On Broadway, the "Spider-Man" musical is cited for two safety violations by the New York Department of Labor. This follows several on-stage accidents, including one that hospitalized a cast member. A spokesman for the production says the show is in full compliance of labor guidelines.

And off Hawaii, marine archaeologists have found a sunken whaling ship belonging to the captain who inspired Herman Melville's classic 19th Century novel "Moby Dick." Captain George Pollard was the skipper of Two Brothers when it sank in 1823. Pollard didn't have much luck at sea, Anderson. His previous ship, the Essex, had been rammed by a whale.

COOPER: I read about that.

SESAY: And also -- providing the narrative for the famous book.

COOPER: Yes, but also I read the whale ship Essex was a book. It's very good. It's actually a really fascinating story.

SESAY: There you go, Anderson.

COOPER: I'm a dork. All right.

SESAY: Happy Valentine's Day, by the way.

COOPER: Well, thank you. You, too.

SESAY: No flowers? No chocolates. COOPER: There were some chocolates left on my desk by -- by my crew. It's kind of sad.

SESAY: This relationship is on life support. You must do better. Just so you know.

COOPER: Yes. Skittles and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Yes. A very romantic day.

SESAY: I'll pick them up Thursday.

COOPER: All right.

Time for the "RidicuList." We've been doing -- we haven't been doing this for a while, because of obviously, the breaking news out of Egypt. But tonight, we'll bring it back, and who, sadly, to bring it back better than with the scalding hot mess that is Lindsay Lohan?

Now, you may have heard she's been arraigned on a felony grand theft charge for allegedly walking out of a jewelry store with a $2,500 gold necklace, one of a kind, much like Lohan herself.

Now, by the way, there's been a run on this white dress that she wore to court, I'm told; completely sold out online.

Now, we don't want to pile on to Mr. Lohan's troubles, and she sure seems to have nothing but. She recently got out of court-ordered drug rehab, and she was on probation for drunk driving.

Now, she claimed the store loaned her the necklace, and her stylist forgot to return it on time. And her assistant reportedly told police that Lohan was just too busy to take it back.

So here's problem No. 1, as I see it. Why does Lindsay Lohan have a stylist and an assistant? How many people are hanging onto this young girl? How can she even afford these employees, given she hasn't really been paid to act, it seems like, in quite a while?

Lohan said on her Twitter page that she would never steal. Look, I guess the whole thing could have been a misunderstanding. But is it just me or does trouble just seem to find Lindsay Lohan everywhere? It finds her in the bathroom, at the club at 4 a.m. in the morning. It finds her at the local jewelry store. It finds her on the set of a movie that has a big enough insurance budget to hire her.

My point is, you'll never hear a story about say, I don't know, Phillip Seymour Hoffman going to a store and walking out with $2,500 worth of merchandise, and then there's a search warrant for him and a felony charge. It just doesn't happen.

And I hope you're sitting down, but I thought about this for a long time. I think maybe, just maybe, I've hit on something. I know Dr. Drew would try this on for size. I think just maybe Lindsay Lohan could be contributing to her own problems. I know; I'm going out on a limb. Now, I have to say, I kind of hesitated to even utter the Lohan name after what happened the last time. See, a while back I found myself watching some episodes of a show called "Living Lohan," which is a reality show about every Lohan, it seemed, except Lindsay. Why one would want to watch that show, I can't explain. And apparently not enough people did, because it's no longer on television.

Anyway, I was co-hosting "Live with Regis & Kelly," and I happened to give my opinion of "Living Lohan." Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: There's one, Lindsay Lohan, who is apparently quite famous for doing all sorts of things.

KELLY RIPA, CO-HOST, ABC'S "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": Right.

COOPER: She's not even in the show. So somehow, her mother got a show in which, because of this person who's not on the show.

RIPA: Right.

COOPER: A perfectly nice seeming, allegedly 14-year-old girl looks to be about 60.

RIPA: Right.

COOPER: But who is -- no, I say that with concern and love. At 14 she's -- you know, she's out there like her mom is like, "All right. Go out there. You're a singer. Be a star."

RIPA: Right.

COOPER: Dina Lohan on line 4 for you. Because apparently the only thing I've seen her actually do is sit around in an office reading stuff about her daughter online and then calling the people up, and like, "You've got to take that offline" and then hanging up.

RIPA: Right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, as I predicted, Mrs. Lohan not thrilled; put out a statement saying that was bad karma for me. And Mr. Lohan called me an idiot, apparently. Such is life.

We seriously wish Lindsay Lohan nothing but the best, and hope her career gets back on track. But that doesn't stop us from putting her on tonight's "RidicuList." I'm sorry.

Serious stuff at the top of the hour. Iran's dictators said protests were all right for Egypt, but now that it's happening in his country, well, they're cracking down. The pressure, the hypocrisy, the brutality. What comes next across the entire region? Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: Good evening, everyone. Tonight the brutality and hypocrisy of the Iranian regime. Iranian leaders praising Egypt's revolution, but today when protesters in Iran took to the streets, the government cracked down hard. We've got new video just in of the brutality. Plus an in-depth analysis of where things are heading, as another repressive regime comes face to face with the power of its own people.