PBS NewsHour; August 23, 2011 3:00pm-4:00pm PDT

Captioning sponsored by MacNEIL/LEHRER PRODUCTIONS

>> Brown: TWO MAJOR STORIES TONIGHT: A 5.8 EARTHQUAKE CENTERED IN VIRGINIA RATTLED MUCH OF THE EAST COAST THIS AFTERNOON FROM SOUTH CAROLINA TO WASHINGTON, NEW YORK AND NEW ENGLAND. AND IN LIBYA, REBELS STORMED COLONEL MOAMMAR QADDAFI'S COMPOUND. GOOD EVENING. I'M JEFFREY BROWN.

>> Suarez: AND I'M RAY SUAREZ. ON THE NEWSHOUR TONIGHT, HARI SREENIVASAN GETS THE LATEST ON THE TREMOR THAT SENT HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE SPILLING OUT OF THE CAPITOL, THE WHITE HOUSE, THE PENTAGON, MONUMENTS AND MEMORIALS.

>> EVERYTHING JUST STARTED SHAKING, AND IT SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF US.

>> ALL OF A SUDDEN, EVERYTHING IN THE ROOM, AT FIRST, STARTED TO RUMBLE A LITTLE, AND THEN STARTED SHAKING CRAZILY.

>> WE'RE ON THE FIFTH FLOOR OF, LIKE, A CONCRETE BUILDING LIKE THE PENTAGON-- FIRST THING IS EARTHQUAKE. WE KNEW IT WAS AN EARTHQUAKE, SO WE EVACUATED.

>> Brown: AND WE HAVE ON-THE- GROUND REPORTS FROM LIBYA ON THE FIGHTING IN THE CAPITAL, TRIPOLI, AND THE SCENE IN THE EASTERN CITY OF BENGHAZI.

>> Suarez: THEN, WE LOOK AT THE DIFFICULTIES PROSECUTING SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES AS A NEW YORK JUDGE DROPS THE CHARGES AGAINST FORMER I.M.F. HEAD DOMINIQUE STRAUSS KAHN.

>> Brown: AND SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ANNA RAU OF MONTANA PBS TALKS TO PATIENTS AND DOCTORS ABOUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA'S EFFECTIVENESS.

>> I OFTEN SUGGEST TO MY PATIENTS THAT THEY CONSIDER MARIJUANA FOR THEIR LOSS OF APPETITE, NAUSEA, PAIN, DEPRESSION, AND INSOMNIA. ONE MEDICINE THEY CAN USE INSTEAD OF FIVE.

>> Brown: THAT'S ALL AHEAD ON TONIGHT'S NEWSHOUR. MAJOR FUNDING FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY:

>> OKAY, LISTEN. SOMEBODY HAS GOT TO GET SERIOUS.

>> I THINK...

>> WE NEED RENEWABLE ENERGY.

>> ...RENEWABLE ENERGY IS VITAL TO OUR PLANET.

>> YOU HEAR ABOUT ALTERNATIVES, RIGHT? WIND, SOLAR, ALGAE.

>> I THINK IT'S GOT TO WORK ON A BIG SCALE. AND I THINK IT'S GOT TO BE AFFORDABLE.

>> SO, WHERE ARE THEY?

>> IT HAS TO WORK IN THE REAL WORLD. AT CHEVRON, WE'RE INVESTING MILLIONS IN SOLAR AND BIOFUEL TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE IT WORK.

>> WE'VE GOT TO GET ON THIS NOW.

>> RIGHT NOW. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> MOVING OUR ECONOMY FOR 160 YEARS. BNSF, THE ENGINE THAT CONNECTS US. THE WILLIAM AND FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION, WORKING TO SOLVE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AT HOME AND AROUND THE WORLD.

>> AND WITH THE ONGOING SUPPORT OF THESE INSTITUTIONS AND FOUNDATIONS. AND... THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING. AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU. THANK YOU.

>> Brown: THE EASTERN SEABOARD WAS JARRED TODAY BY ONE OF THE STRONGEST EARTHQUAKES EVER RECORDED IN THE REGION. THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ESTIMATED MORE THAN 12 MILLION PEOPLE FELT THE QUAKE, BUT THERE WERE NO SERIOUS INJURIES.

>> Sreenivasan: THE QUAKE HIT JUST BEFORE 2:00 P.M. WITH A MAGNITUDE OF 5.8. STATIONARY CAMERAS CAUGHT SCENES OF SHAKING FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TO MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MASSACHUSETTS, WHERE THE PRESIDENT WAS VACATIONING. THE EPICENTER WAS IN MINERAL, VIRGINIA, ABOUT 40 MILES NORTHWEST OF RICHMOND. THE HALF-MILE DEEP QUAKE WAS FELT FROM WASHINGTON, D.C., THROUGH BALTIMORE, PHILADELPHIA NORTH INTO NEW YORK CITY, WEST THROUGH TORONTO, CANADA AND DETROIT, AND IN THE SOUTH, DOWN THROUGH NORTH CAROLINA AND INTO GEORGIA. IN WASHINGTON, THE PENTAGON WAS EVACUATED FOR A TIME, AS WAS THE STATE DEPARTMENT. OFFICE WORKERS FLOODED DOWNTOWN STREETS

>> WHEN THE FLOOR STARTED TO SHAKE, I COULDN'T STAND. MY FRIEND TURNED AROUND AND SAID, "I HAVEN'T BEEN DRINKING."

>> Sreenivasan: AND IN THIS AGE OF TERRORISM, MANY INITIALLY THOUGHT THE HAND OF MAN, NOT MOTHER NATURE, WAS AT WORK.

>> IT STARTED SHAKING VIOLENTLY. EVERYONE STOOD UP. WE THOUGHT MAYBE A TERRORIST THING.

>> I DIDN'T MAKE THE CONNECTION, BETWEEN 9/11 BEING A FEW WEEKS AWAY, BUT MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS A TERROR ATTACK. MY BUILDING SHOOK TOO VIOLENTLY FOR IT TO BE ANYTHING NORMAL.

>> I WAS IN MY OFFICE AND I THOUGHT IT WAS TERRORIST ATTACK, AND SO I WAS PRETTY SCARED.

>> Sreenivasan: AND EVEN WITH CONGRESS ON RECESS, THOUSANDS OF STAFFERS STILL AT WORK FLED BUILDINGS ON CAPITOL HILL.

>> FIRST, YOU HEARD THE SHAKING AND THE STUFF MOVING, AND THEN YOU FELT THE GROUND MOVE A LITTLE BIT. BUT THEN, EVERYTHING JUST SHIFTED ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU HEARD PEOPLE SCREAMING, JUST "GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT THE BUILDING."

>> IT ISN'T A HUGE DEAL EXCEPT THAT MY KEYS AND MY PURSE AND MY CAR ARE IN THERE, AND I'M OUT HERE.

>> Sreenivasan: MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS WERE QUICKLY OVERLOADED AS MILLIONS CALLED, TEXTED, TWEETED AND OVERTAXED THE AIRWAVES. THERE WERE SOME REPORTS AND PICTURES OF ISOLATED DAMAGE, INCLUDING THIS COLLAPSED WALL ON A BUILDING IN BALTIMORE. WASHINGTON'S NATIONAL CATHEDRAL WAS CORDONED OFF, AND THERE WAS SOME DAMAGE APPARENT HIGH ATOP ITS MAIN TOWER. STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS WILL EVALUATE THE BUILDING THIS WEEK. SAM LLOYD IS THE DEAN OF THE CATHEDRAL.

>> THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PLACE TO SO MANY PEOPLE. WE NEED TO LOOK AFTER IT.

>> Sreenivasan: NEARING THE END OF WASHINGTON'S SUMMER TOURIST SEASON, MANY MONUMENTS UP AND DOWN THE MALL WERE CLOSED. PHOEBE SA'AD WAS VISITING FROM EGYPT.

>> I THOUGHT, AT FIRST, THE SUBWAY, BUT THEN EARTHQUAKE. SHAKIING. I WAS, LIKE, "AN EARTHQUAKE IN AMERICA? COME ON!"

>> Sreenivasan: AND ON CAPITOL HILL, JEFF JONES WAS VISITING WITH HIS FAMILY.

>> WE WERE JUST SIGHTSEEING, GOING ON A TOUR BUS AND COMING DOWN TO CAPITOL HILL HERE, AND THE WHOLE BUS JUST STARTED SHAKING AND VIBRATING AS WE WERE COMING UP TO... WE DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT IT WAS TILL WE GOT UP TO CAPITOL HILL. EVERYONE SAID THERE WAS AN EARTHQUAKE IN VIRGINIA, AND THEY WERE EVACUATING EVERYTHING.

>> Sreenivasan: NEARER THE EPICENTER IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA, THE NORTH ANNA NUCLEAR POWER STATION AUTOMATICALLY SHUT DOWN DURING THE TREMOR. THE 1,800-MEGAWATT PLANT REPORTED NO DAMAGE. AND IN TYSONS' CORNER, VIRGINIA, PART OF AN APARTMENT BUILDING FELL AND CRUSHED A CAR. ELSEWHERE, TWO OF THE NEW YORK METRO AREA'S THREE MAIN AIRPORTS WERE CLOSED, BUT QUICKLY REOPENED. MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG OF NEW YORK

>> CERTAINLY, THE PHONES WEREN'T RINGING OFF THE HOOKS. I THINK PEOPLE REALIZED WHAT IT WAS AND WENT BACK INTO BUILDINGS AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME. THE FACT THAT THERE WAS NO DAMAGE WAS COMFORTING TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.

>> Sreenivasan: AND IT WAS THE SECOND SIGNIFICANT EARTHQUAKE IN THE LAST 24 HOURS IN THE U.S. A 5.3 TEMBLOR SHOOK COLORADO OVERNIGHT, THE STRONGEST THERE IN A CENTURY. BACK IN WASHINGTON, EVEN IF IT WAS NOT "THE BIG ONE," IT WAS ONE TO REMEMBER, AND THE STRONGEST QUAKE ON THE EAST COAST SINCE 1886. FOR MORE ON THE QUAKE, WE'RE JOINED BY DAVID APPLEGATE, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR NATURAL HAZARDS AT THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. THANKS FOR BEING WITH US.

>> SURE THING.

>> Suarez: FIRST, TELL US WHAT KIND OF QUAKE WAS IT.

>> WELL, THIS WAS THE SHALLOW EARTHQUAKE WAS WHAT WE CALL REVERSE MOTION. SO THINK OF IT LIKE ONE PART OF A FAULT PUSHING UP OR THRUSTING OVER ANOTHER PART. SO WE REFER TO THAT AS A REVERSE OR THRUSTING MOTION.

>> Sreenivasan: IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S COMMON IN THE NORTHEAST? I'M USED TO SOME OF THESE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, BUT I HAVEN'T HEARD OF THIS.

>> RIGHT. IT IS IN THIS GENERAL REGION, THIS CENTRAL VIRGINIA SEISMIC ZONE WHICH IS THE AREA OF THIS PARTICULAR QUAKE WE'VE SEEN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF MOTION. AND THAT REFLECTS THE FACT THAT WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT ARE VERY, VERY ANCIENT FAULTS FOR THE MOST PART. YOU KNOW, THIS IS IN MANY WAYS A REMINDER THAT THE EASTERN U.S., WHICH CURRENTLY IS FAR FROM ANY PLATE BOUNDARY WHERE ABOUT 90% OF EARTHQUAKES OCCUR ON THE PLATE BOUNDARIES, BUT IN A MUCH EARLIER ERA, THIS WAS THE SHOW. THE APPALACHIANS WERE BUILT, THE ATLANTIC OCEAN OPENED UP. SO THERE ARE QUITE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FAULT STRUCTURES THAT UNDERLIE US.

>> Suarez: SO HELP EXPLAIN HOW IS IT THAT PEOPLE SO FAR AND WIDE FELT THIS. IT SEEMS THAT OTHER TYPES OF QUAKES ARE ALMOST CONTAINED IN A SMALLER AREA. THIS WAS FELT ALL THE WAY INTO CANADA AND DOWN INTO SOUTH CAROLINA?

>> IT'S QUITE EXTRAORDINARY. AND THAT'S VERY TYPICAL FEATURE OF EARTHQUAKES IN THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN U.S. FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAD AN EARTHQUAKE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO RIGHT ON THE ILLINOIS/INDIANA BORDER, IT'S ABOUT A 5.2 EARTHQUAKE. THAT WAS FELT OVER 16 STATES AND WELL INTO CANADA. OVER A MUCH BROODER AREA THAN WE WOULD SEE FOR A SIMILAR-SIZED EARTHQUAKE IN CALIFORNIA. OUT IN CALIFORNIA OR ALASKA OR WHERE THE EARTH'S PLATES ARE GRINDING AGAINST EACH OTHER, THE ROCK IS MUCH MORE BROKEN UP. HERE WE HAVE VERY STABLE CONTINENTAL CRUST. IT'S OLD CRUST, IT'S COLD. IT TRANSMITS THE ENERGY VERY WELL OVER LONG DISTANCES. SO THAT'S ONE KEY FACTOR. THE OTHER ONE IS THAT... I MENTIONED THAT AT ONE TIME THE APPALACHIANS WERE THE SHOW, BUT IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME. SO THEY'VE BEEN ERODING FOR MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF YEARS. THAT'S BUILT UP THICK PILES OF SEDIMENT. AND THE SEDIMENT AMPLIFY IT IS SHAKING. SO YOU HAVE ALL THESE CITIES AND THE LARGE POPULATION THAT'S ON AREAS OF AMPLIFIED SHAKING. SO THAT'S WHY YOU FEEL WHAT IS A MODERATE-SIZED EARTHQUAKE OVER A VERY BROAD AREA.

>> Sreenivasan: I THINK THE QUESTION THAT'S COMING ACROSS TWITTER AND COMMENT BOARDS IS IS THIS THE MAIN ATTRACTION OR HAVE WE... ARE WE KIND OF BUILDING UP TO SOMETHING BIGGER?

>> WELL, IF WE LOOK AT IT FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, THAT IS REMINDER THAT YOU CAN HAVE EARTHQUAKES PRETTY MUCH ANYWHERE IN THE U.S. THIS IS A NATIONAL HAZARD. WE'VE HAD... WE HAVE A MODERATE TO HIGH SEISMIC RISK IN 39 OUT OF THE 50 STATES. AND IN THIS CASE... BUT IF WE LOOK BACK AT, FOR EXAMPLE, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, IN 1886 HAD A MAGNITUDE 7 EARTHQUAKE. THESE EVENTS CAN HAPPEN, BUT THEY DO APPEAR TO BE FAIRLY ISOLATED. SO IT'S NOT THAT WE WOULD EXPECT AFTERSHOCKS, WE ALWAYS GET THESE AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE, SMALLER EARTHQUAKES THAT WILL DECAY WITH TIME IN TERMS OF THEIR FREQUENCY SO WE WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED TO SEE ADDITIONAL QUAKES, MAGNITUDE 4, MAGNITUDE 3. THERE'S EVEN A SMALL PROBABILITY THAT WE COULD HAVE AN EARTHQUAKE THAT'S THE SAME SIZE OR BIGGER. BUT THERE'S NOTHING HISTORICALLY THAT WOULD LEAD US TO SAY THAT IT IS LIKELY THAT THIS IS LEADING TO SOMETHING BIGGER IN THIS AREA.

>> Sreenivasan: WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN GEOLOGICALLY FOR THAT TO OCCUR?

>> WELL, IN THESE AREAS THAT ARE FAR FROM WHERE WE HAVE ACTIVE PLATE DEFORMATION, IN OTHER WORDS, WHERE WE CAN SEE THE PLATES MOVING AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. WHEN A FAULT BREAKS IT'S ESSENTIALLY ACCOMMODATING THAT SLIP. HERE WE'RE LOOKING AT VERY DISTANT STRESSES THAT BUILD UP OVER LONG PERIODS OF TIME. SO THEY'RE GOING TO GET RELEASED BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE OCCURRING ON A RAPID TIME SCALE. TO HUMAN TIME SCALE... I MEAN, THE LAST EARTHQUAKE WE'D HAD OF THIS... ROUGHLY THIS SIZE IN VIRGINIA WAS BACK IN I BELIEVE 1897 IN WESTERN VIRGINIA. AND IN THIS PARTICULAR ZONE, THE BIGGEST QUAKE HAD BEEN A 4.8. SO IN OUR HUMAN TIME FRAME, WE'RE NOT SEEING A RAPID RELEASE OR SEQUENCE OF EVENTS. THAT'S VERY DIFFERENT THAN ON PLATE BOUNDARIES. FOR EXAMPLE, IN TURKEY, WE'VE SEEN THE NORTH ANATOLIAN FAULT ZONE, WHICH IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE SAN ANDREAS WHERE YOU GET LARGE EARTHQUAKES THAT ARE BUILDING UP THE STRESS IN THE NEXT AREA, YOU SEE A SEQUENCE OF EARTHQUAKES OCCURRING.

>> Sreenivasan: SO I'VE GOT TO IS ASK ASK, YOU FELT THIS IN VIRGINIA, AS A SEISMOLOGIST OR GEOLOGIST, WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MIND?

>> I WAS ON THEth FLOOR OF THE U.S.G.S. HEADQUARTERS JUST OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON, D.C. AND ON THE FIRST RUMBLE YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT DIFFERENT CAUSES BUT AS IT KEEPS GOING AND YOU'RE FEELING THAT ROLLING MOTION YOU PRETTY QUICKLY KNOW WHAT IT IS. AND I DUTIFULLY DROPPED, COVERED AND HELD ON. I GOT UNDER A SOLID DESK. SINCE I WASN'T TOO CONCERNED THE BUILDING WAS GOING TO BE COMING DOWN, BUT IT'S REALLY THE NON-STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. IT'S THE FACT THAT LIGHT FIXTURE CANS FALL, YOU CAN HAVE BOOKS, BOOKCASES, THAT SORT OF THING.

>> Sreenivasan: HELP PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE FOR FOLKS IN THE FEW SECONDS WE HAVE REMAINING HERE. FOR PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN THERE TO FEEL A JAPAN OR HAITI. HOW MUCH MORE POWERFUL WERE THOSE?

>> THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE WAS MAGNITUDE 7, SO IT'S ROUGHLY SORT OF TEN TO 15 TIMES LARGER IN TERMS OF THE MAGNITUDE. BUT WHAT'S REALLY SKI THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY RELEASED. SO FOR EACH ORDER OF MAGNITUDE YOU'RE LOOKING AT 33 TIMES GREATER ENERGY. THE JAPAN EARTHQUAKE WAS A THOUSAND TIMES MORE ENERGY THAN THAT HAITI EARTHQUAKE. BUT IT'S ABOUT 33,000 TO 50,000 MORE ENERGY RELEASED THAN THIS ONE. SO THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT TRULY AMAZING TO HAVE IT FELT OVER SUCH A BROAD AREA AND A REMINDER THATS THAT POTENTIAL FOR LARGER EARTHQUAKES, WE'VE CERTAINLY HAD THEM IN THE CENTRAL U.S. AND THEY CAN HAVE A BIG IMPACT.

>> Sreenivasan: DAVID APPLEGATE FROM THE U.S.G.S., THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

>> SURE THING.

>> Suarez: AND TO THE FALL OF TRIPOLI AND THE SLOW DEMISE OF THE QADDAFI REGIME. WE BEGIN WITH A REPORT NARRATED BY NEIL CONNERY OF INDEPENDENT TELEVISION NEWS.

>> Reporter: FOR THOSE TRAPPED IN THE BATTLE FOR TRIPOLI, THESE HAVE BEEN DANGEROUS AND TERRIFYING HOURS. THESE PICTURES FROM THE INTERNET REPORTEDLY CAPTURE THE LATEST CLASHES IN THE HEART OF THE LIBYAN CAPITAL. BUT IN THIS FAST-MOVING AND CONFUSING SITUATION, WHAT EXACTLY DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE BALANCE OF POWER THIS EVENING? THERE'S BEEN HEAVY FIGHTING WITH REBELS CLAIMING TO HAVE SEIZED LARGE PARTS OF THE CITY. THE MAIN BATTLE WAS CONCENTRATED AROUND QADDAFI'S FORTIFIED COMPOUND. THIS WAS HIS MAIN RESIDENCE AND WAS HEAVILY GUARDED, WITH A SOPHISTICATED COMMUNICATIONS CENTER, BUNKERS AND TUNNELS. BUT IT NOW LIES IN REBEL HANDS. QADDAFI LOYALISTS SAY THEY CONTROL MUCH OF THE AIRPORT ROAD. TO THE SOUTH OF THAT IN ABU SALIM, THEY ALSO CLAIM TO HAVE HALF THE AREA. TO THE NORTH, REBELS HAVE SEIZED GREEN SQUARE, BUT THERE IS STILL FIGHTING IN THE NEARBY PORT. THEY'VE ALSO MOVED ALONG THE COAST. QADDAFI LOYALISTS SURROUND THE RIXOS HOTEL WITH REPORTS OF HEAVY FIGHTING. TONIGHT, THE BATTLE FOR TRIPOLI LOOKS LIKE THIS. THE RED AREAS ARE HELD BY THE REBELS, THE GREEN SHOW WHERE PRO-QADDAFI FORCES REMAIN. AS NATO JETS CONTINUED STRIKES ACROSS THE LIBYAN CAPITAL, THE MESSAGE TO COLONEL QADDAFI COULDN'T HAVE BEEN ANY CLEARER. THE END IS NEAR AND EVENTS ARE MOVING FAST. WHAT'S CLEAR TO EVERYBODY THAT QADDAFI IS HISTORY AND THE SOONER HE REALIZES IT THE BETTER.

>> Reporter: THE PAST 24 HOURS HAVE BEEN SHROUDED IN MUCH UNCERTAINTY, BUT THIS EVENING, IT'S BECOME CLEARER THAN EVER THAT THE MOMENTUM IS WITH THE REBELS.

>> Suarez: NEXT, A TWO PART REPORT FROM ITN'S LINDSEY HILSUM IN TRIPOLI.

>> Reporter: ALL DAY LONG, THE SOUNDS OF BATTLES AND SMOKE RISING FROM GADHAFI'S BAB AL ZIZIYA COMPOUND. IT'S A HUGE AREA IN THE CENTER OF TRIPOLI. HE'S UNLIKELY STILL TO BE THERE, BUT SOME OF HIS LOYALISTS ARE. THIS IS MAYBE THEIR LAST STAND. IT IS A VIOLENT ONE. REBEL FIGHTERS WERE SEEN DUCKING FIRE AS THE BATTLE INTENSIFIED. BUT THE COMPOUND IS SO BIG THAT EVEN AS HEAVY WEAPONS WERE BEING USED IN ONE PART, REBELS WERE ABLE TO ENTER ANOTHER. THIS IS THE FIRST FOOTAGE FROM WHEN ONE GROUP OF REBELS WENT IN ON THE NORTHERN SIDE. IT WAS GIVEN TO US BY A LOCAL CAMERAMAN WHO WENT IN WITH THE FIGHTERS. THIS, THEY SAID, IS THE HOUSE OF SAADI AL QADDAFI, ONE OF THE COLONEL'S SONS. THEY SAID THEY MET NO RESISTANCE. THE HOUSE SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN RANSACKED ALREADY. SAADI HAD MADE HIMSELF HEAD OF LIBYA'S OLYMPIC COMMITTEE. LIBYANS HATED THE FACT THEY HAD TO PRAISE HIS PROWESS ON THE FOOTBALL PITCH. THEY POSED BY THE MURAL EVEN AS GUNFIRE ECHOED OUTSIDE. THEN, THE REBELS REMOVED A FEW SOUVENIRS. ONE FIGHTER WHO USED TO BE A DENTIST IN BATH SHOWED ME HIS MEMENTO. WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND?

>> THIS IS FROM SAADI'S HOUSE.

>> Reporter: THIS IS FROM THE HOUSE OF THE SON OF COLONEL QADDAFI?

>> THIS IS HIS DAUGHTER, PROBABLY DONE BY SOME FAMOUS GUY. BLESS HER. SHE'S A LOVELY GIRL; HER FATHER'S NOT.

>> Reporter: SO THAT'S YOUR SOUVENIR FROM THE DAY YOU WENT INTO BAB AL AZIZIYA?

>> TO REMIND OF THAT MOMENT. I'LL GIVE IT BACK AFTER EVERYTHING SETTLES, I PROMISE YOU.

>> Reporter: BY LATE AFTERNOON, THEY'D DONE IT. THE REBELS HAD CLAIMED VICTORY AT BAB AL AZIZIYA, COLONEL GADHAFI'S COMPOUND IN CENTRAL TRIPOLI. THESE ARE SCENES LIBYANS NEVER THOUGHT THEY'D SEE. THE ULTIMATE SYMBOL OF GADHAFI'S NOW POWER TOPPED BY A REBEL FLAG. THEY CLIMBED OVER THE STATUE OF A GOLDEN FIST CLUTCHING AN AMERICAN JET, THE SYMBOL OF POWER COLONEL QADDAFI BUILT AFTER U.S. JETS BOMBED HIS COMPOUND IN THE 1980s. THEY STAMPED ON A GOLDEN CAST OF HIS HEAD, POURED INSULTS ON HIS NAME, RELISHED THEIR MOMENT OF TRIUMPH. HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE A FEW HOURS MAKES-- LAST NIGHT, SAIF AL QADDAFI, THE COLONEL'S YOUNGEST SON, REAPPEARED IN TRIUMPH AFTER REPORTEDLY BEING ARRESTED. HE TOOK REPORTERS TO BAB AL AZIZIYA, WHERE HE GREETED RAPTUROUS FANS. TODAY, THE STREETS WERE IN THE HANDS OF LOCAL MEN AND REBELS WHO MANNED CHECKPOINTS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. THEIR CONTINUING PROBLEM IS SNIPERS. TRIPOLI FEELS VERY DIFFERENT TODAY. YOU HAVEN'T GOT THE SAME CROWDS OF JUBILANT PEOPLE IN THE STREETS. THERE'S SPORADIC SHOOTING AROUND HERE, AND YOU CAN HEAR HEAVY WEAPONS BEING USED AT THE BAB AL AZIZIYA COMPOUND. JUST 600 YARDS FROM WHERE I AM, REBELS ARE TRYING TO FLUSH OUT A SNIPER WHO'S BEEN TARGETING PEOPLE ON THE STREETS. NOTHING IS CERTAIN. FIGHTING MAY NOT BE OVER. YOU COULD HAVE GUERILLA WARFARE HERE WITH COLONEL GADHAFI'S PEOPLE BECOMING THE REBELS. BUT TODAY, REBEL FIGHTER BREACHED THE CENTER OF COLONEL GADHAFI'S POWER, AND BELIEVE HISTORY IS FINALLY GOING THEIR WAY.

>> Brown: I TALKED WITH LINDSEY HILSUM AFTER SHE FILED THAT REPORT. LINDSEY HILSUM, WELCOME ONCE AGAIN. TELL US MORE ABOUT THE TAKEOVER AT THE COMPOUND. IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH THERE WAS RESISTANCE IN SOME PARTS OF IT BUT NOT IN OTHERS?

>> Reporter: I THINK THAT IS RIGHT. THERE WAS CERTAINLY FIGHTING AROUND THERE PRETTY MUCH ALL DAY. HUGE EXPLOSIONS, HEAVY WEAPONS BEING USED AND SMOKE RISING FROM THE COMPOUND ALL THROUGH THE MORNING AND THE FIRST PART OF THE AFTERNOON. ONE REBEL FIGHTER I SPOKE TO WHO HAD BEEN IN THE COMPOUND SAID TO ME, THOUGH, THAT NOT ALL OF THAT WAS, IN FACT, FIGHTING. HE SAID SOME OF THAT WAS JUST THE REBELS FIRING. HIS UNIT HAS NOT MET WITH ANY RESISTANCE BUT HE SAID "WE'RE A BIT CHAOTIC." SO REBELS WERE JUST FIRING AROUND AS THEY WENT IN PARTLY IN EXCITEMENT, PARTLY IN CASE THERE WAS RESISTANCE. THEN SOME OF THAT NOISE MAY JUST HAVE BEEN THE REBELS. BUT AS I SPEAK NOW, IT APPEARS THAT COLONEL QADDAFI'S LOYALISTS WHO WERE IN THAT COMPOUND HAVE FLED. WE THINK THAT THEY HAVE FLED SOUTH AND THE COMPOUNDS IS IN THE HANDS OF SOME VERY, VERY HAPPY REBELS.

>> Brown: QADDAFI AND HIS FAMILY OF COURSE, WERE NOT FOUND THERE. WHAT ARE THE POSSIBILITY OR CONJECTURE AS TO THEIR WHEREABOUTS?

>> Reporter: WE REALLY DON'T KNOW. THAT WAS TREMENDOUS SHOCK TO PEOPLE WHEN SAIF QADDAFI WHO HAD BEEN REPORTED TO BE ARRESTED APPEARED IN THE RIXOS HOTEL AND THEN WENT DOWN TO THE COME FOUND THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. SO HAD HE BEEN ARRESTED? DID HE ESCAPE? WAS THERE SOME KIND OF TRICKERY INVOLVED? WE HAVE NO IDEA AND WHERE HE IS NOW WE DON'T KNOW. THAT COMPOUND HAS BUNKERS AND TUNNELS. HAVE THE FAMILY ESCAPED THROUGH THAT TUNNEL OR MAYBE THEY'RE HEADING FOR CERT. CERT IS ON THE COAST EAST OF TRIPOLI. IT'S COLONEL QADDAFI'S HOMETOWN AND THAT ONE PLACE IS STILL VERY MUCH FIRMLY IN HIS HANDS. IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THAT COULD BE THE PLACE FOR THEIR LAST STAND RATHER THAN THE COMPOUND IN TRIPOLI. BUT I HAVE TO SAY, I AM LIKE PRETTY MUCH ALL LIBYANS, I DON'T KNOW WHERE COLONEL QADDAFI IS, I DON'T KNOW WHERE HIS FAMILY IS. AND UNTIL PEOPLE DO KNOW WHERE HE IS, THEY WON'T FEEL THAT THIS IS 100% OVER.

>> Brown: WELL, IN FACT, IN YOUR PIECE YOU TALK ABOUT THE SHIFTING ATMOSPHERE YESTERDAY AND TODAY IN THE STREETS BETWEEN CELEBRATION AND TENSION. GIVE US A SENSE OF HOW IT FEELS BEING THERE?

>> Reporter: IT GOES ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. YOU GO OUT ON THE STREETS AS WE DID TODAY AND YESTERDAY YOU'RE NEVER QUITE SURE WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO FIND. BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS LOCAL MEN THERE. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ROSE UP ON SATURDAY NIGHT WITH THEIR WEAPONS, ATTACKED QADDAFI'S POLICE AND THE REMAINDER OF HIS SOLDIERS, THROWS THEM OUT OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. SO THIS IS A CITY NOW WHICH IS UNDER THE CONTROL OF DIFFERENT INFORMAL MILITIA. PEOPLE WHO KNOW EACH OTHER, THEY KNOW THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. THEY PUT UP CHECKPOINTS AND BARRICADES. ANYBODY COMING IN GETS SEARCHED, GETS QUESTIONED AND IF THEY LOOK A BIT SUSPICIOUS OR THEY DON'T COME THROUGH THAT AREA, THEY MAY BE DETAINED. WE CAME ACROSS A FEW PRISONERS. THEY DIDN'T SEEM TO BE BADLY TREAT BUD THEY SAID THESE MEN HAVE A QUESTION MARK OVER THEM. WE DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE. SO WE SEE TRIPOLI DIVIDED INTO THESE DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS. THEN THERE ARE STILL SOME SNIPERS. THESE ARE PEOPLE LOYAL TO COLONEL QADDAFI, MAYBE THE MERCENARIES FROM OTHER COUNTRIES WHOM HE WAS PAYING TO FIGHT FOR HIM. THEY ARE IN SOME BUILDING AND EVERY NOW AND THEN THEY SHOOT DOWN IN THE STREETS. SO THERE IS A LOT OF TENSION. PEOPLE AREN'T SAFE. IT WILL PROBABLY TAKE QUITE A WHILE, DAYS, TO MOP ALL ALL THOSE DIFFERENT PLACES, BUT ON THE STREET IT IS PEOPLE SAY THIS IS GOING FAST IN THE DIRECTION THAT THEY WANT. THEY SAY HIS RULE IS OVER. WHAT WE DON'T KNOW, OF COURSE, IS WHAT KIND OF RULE WILL COME NEXT BECAUSE THERE IS A POWER VACUUM. THE NEIGHBORHOOD MEN CONTROL THE STREETS BUT NOBODY IS IN POLITICAL POWER IN TRIPOLI TONIGHT. THE.

>> Brown: FINALLY, LINDSEY, COMING BACK TO THE NEWS OF THE DAY, THE TAKEOVER OF THE COMPOUND. WHAT OF THE SYMBOLIC VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF THAT?

>> OH, IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY SYMBOL OF HIS POWER. THIS WAS THE HUGE COMPOUND WHICH IS PARTIALLY RESIDENTIAL AND PARTLY MILITARY WHICH NOBODY COULD GO IN UNLESS INVITED BY THE QADDAFIS AND PEOPLE IN HIS INNER CIRCLE. NOW, THAT WAS WHERE HE WOULD ENTERTAIN WORLD LEADERS. I THINK HE ENTERTAINED THE FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR THERE ONCE. AND IN THE CENSER OF IT THERE WAS A STATUE WHICH HE PUT UP AFTER U.S. JETS BOMBED THE COMPOUND IN 1986. IT SHOWED A GOLDEN FIST-- HIS FIST-- ROUND AN AMERICAN JET. AND WHAT THAT SAID WAS "I AM MORE POWERFUL THAN THE AMERICANS. I AM THE MOST POWERFUL MAN. I WILL STAY HERE FOREVER." NOW THOSE... THAT KIND OF SYMBOL SEEING THE REBEL FLAG FLYING ON IT, SEEING THE REBELS CLIMBING ALL OVER IT, SEEING THEM TRASHING THE GOLDEN BUS THAT COLONEL QADDAFI'S... THE GOLDEN BUST OF COLONEL QADDAFI'S HEAD, THOSE ARE THE PICTURES THAT SHOW LIBYAN IT IS ERA OF COLONEL QADDAFI IS OVER. THE SYMBOLS OF HIS POWER ARE GONE.

>> Brown: LINDSEY HILSUM IN TRIPOLI, THANKS SO MUCH.

>> Reporter: GOOD-BYE.

>> Suarez: AND NOW TO THE OTHER SIDE OF LIBYA, THE EASTERN CITY OF BENGHAZI, WHICH HAS BEEN REBEL HEADQUARTERS SINCE THE UPRISING BEGAN IN MARCH. JON JENSEN OF THE INTERNATIONAL WEB SITE GLOBAL POST IS THERE. I TALKED WITH HIM A SHORT TIME AGO. JON JENSEN, THANKS FOR JOINING US. SO WHAT IS THE FEELING THERE IN BENGHAZI? DO THEY THINK THIS IS OVER OR JUST ABOUT ALMOST OVER?

>> WELL, THE MOOD IN BENGHAZI TONIGHT IS ONE OF EXTREME JUBILATION. RESIDENTS HERE AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL TRANSITIONAL COUNCIL ALL BELIEVE THAT THIS SIX-MONTH CIVIL WAR IS FINALLY COMING TO A CLOSE AFTER THEIR REBEL FIGHTERS STORMED INTO QADDAFI'S TRIPOLI HEADQUARTERS TONIGHT.

>> Brown: NOW, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME REPORTS OF A POSSIBLE MOVE TO THAT COUNCIL IN TRIPOLI WITHIN A COUPLE DAYS.

>> I'M HEARING THE SAME REPORTS. THE N.T.C. DOES EVENTUALLY WANT TO MOVE TO TRIPOLI. IN A PRESS CONFERENCE TONIGHT THE HEAD OF THE COUNCIL STATED IN SOME WAYS THE MOVE HAD ALREADY STARTED HOWEVER SPOKESMEN OFF CAMERA HAVE SAID TO ME THAT THE OFFICIAL LINE IS THE N.T.C. WILL MOVE TO TRIPOLI WHEN THE CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT FOR IT TO MOVE TO TRIPOLI. THERE ARE MEETINGS TOMORROW IN DOHA AND QATAR AND AFTER THAT THEY'LL COME BACK TO BENGHAZI AND DECIDE WHERE TO GO FROM THERE. BROWN FWROUP WHEREABOUTS OF QADDAFI AND HIS FAMILY, OF COURSE, REMAIN UNKNOWN. WHAT ARE THE LEADERS THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO THERE SAYING ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF AND WHEN HE IS CAUGHT? IS THERE ANY SENSE OF REVENGE OR WHAT ARE THEY PLANNING?

>> THE N.T.C. HAS TOLD ME, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE REBEL AUTHORITY HAVE TOLD ME THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WILL BE A SENSE OF REVENGE AMONG SOME OF THE REBEL FIGHTERS ON THE FRONT LINES. THEY WILL WANT TO DO CERTAIN THINGS TO MEMBERS OF THE TRIBE AND QADDAFI HIMSELF IF AND WHEN HE'S CAUGHT. BUT RIGHT NOW THEY'RE SAYING THAT THE OFFICIAL LINE IS THAT THEY WANT TO BRING JUSTICE TO MOAMMAR QADDAFI AFTER 42-YEAR-OLD OF INJUSTICE HE BROUGHT ON THE RESIDENTS OF LIBYA. SO THEY'RE LOOKING TO FIND HIM AND TRY HIM HERE IN LIBYA.

>> Brown: THERE WAS, OF COURSE, LAST NIGHT A LOT OF CONFUSION WHEN HIS SON SAIF AL ISLAM SHOWED UP IN TRIPOLI AND WAS RALLYING SUPPORTERS. THAT WAS AFTER THE COUNCIL, THE LEADERSHIP, HAD SAID HE WAS UNDER ARREST. HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?

>> REBEL LEADERS TOLD ME AT THE N.T.C. FRANKLY IT WAS A MISTAKE. THEY RECEIVED INFORMATION FROM COMMANDERS IN THE FIELD AND THEY PASSED IT OFF WITHOUT EVEN CHECKING THE ACCURACY OF THE REPORTS. REBEL LEADERS AT THE N.T.C. ACTUALLY TRIED TO SPIN THEIR MISTAKE TODAY IN A PRESS CONFERENCE EARLIER TONIGHT SAYING THAT THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT SAIF HAD BEEN CAUGHT ACTUALLY WON THEM THE DEFECTION OF AROUND 30 OFFICERS. SO THEY ARE TRYING TO SPIN THIS MISTAKE TO THEIR ADVANTAGE.

>> Brown: THAT CELEBRATION IN THE BACKGROUND?

>> ABSOLUTELY. THERE'S TRACER FIRE BEING SHOT INTO THE SKY. THEY'RE ACTUALLY LIGHTING OFF T.N.T. SO IT SOUNDED AT FIRST EARLIER THIS EVENING LIKE THEY WERE LETTING OFF MORTARS IN THE CITY. IT'S SORT OF A WEIRD THING, YOU KNOW, TRIPOLI IS WHERE THE FIGHTING HAD BEEN, WE'RE A THOUSAND KILOMETERS AWAY FROM THAT BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE A WAR GOING ON HERE. PURE CELEBRATION.

>> Brown: JON JENSEN OF GLOBAL POST IN BENGHAZI. THANKS VERY MUCH.

>> MY PLEASURE.

>> Suarez: STILL TO COME ON THE NEWSHOUR: THE PROSECUTION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES; AND THE SCIENCE BEHIND MEDICAL MARIJUANA. BUT FIRST, THE OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY. HERE'S KWAME HOLMAN.

>> Holman: WALL STREET SHOT BACK UP TODAY, AMID SPECULATION THAT THE FEDERAL RESERVE MIGHT TRY A NEW STIMULUS PROGRAM AFTER ALL. THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE GAINED 322 POINTS TO CLOSE AT 11,176, A GAIN OF 3%. THE NASDAQ ROSE 100 POINTS, MORE THAN 4%, TO CLOSE AT 2,446. HURRICANE IRENE BUILT UP STEAM OVER WARM TROPICAL WATERS TODAY, AS IT TOOK AIM AT THE U.S. EAST COAST. THE STORM SWEPT PAST THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS, WITH THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS NEXT IN LINE. IT COULD STRIKE THE OUTER BANKS OF NORTH CAROLINA ON SATURDAY, THEN HEAD NORTH TO THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND BEYOND. IRENE IS THE FIRST HURRICANE IN THREE YEARS TO SERIOUSLY THREATEN THE U.S. THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HAS LAID OUT PLANS TO SCRAP HUNDREDS OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS. WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS SAID TODAY THE CUTS SHOULD SAVE BUSINESSES ABOUT $10 BILLION OVER FIVE YEARS. THEY INCLUDE SPEEDING UP PAYMENTS TO SMALL BUSINESSES WITH MILITARY CONTRACTS AND STREAM-LINING TAX FORMS. THERE WAS WORD TODAY THAT SYRIA'S FRACTURED OPPOSITION IS TRYING TO UNITE AND FORM A NATIONAL COUNCIL. OPPOSITION MEMBERS REPORTED MEETINGS ARE UNDERWAY IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY.

>> ( translated ): WE AGREED ON SHAPING ASPECTS OF SYRIA AS A CIVIL AND MODERN COUNTRY WITH A NEW CONSTITUTION WHICH GUARANTEES EQUAL RIGHTS TO CITIZENS, A PEACEFUL HANDOVER OF POWER, AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY, RULE OF LAW, RESPECT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND GUARANTEES OF BASIC CULTURAL, RELIGIOUS, AND INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL COMPONENTS OF SYRIAN SOCIETY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE COUNTRY'S NATIONAL UNITY.

>> Holman: MEANWHILE, THE U.N.'S TOP HUMAN RIGHTS BODY DEMANDED THAT SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR ASSAD END THE VIOLENT CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTERS. ACTIVISTS REPORTED GOVERNMENT TROOPS SHOT AND KILLED AT LEAST SEVEN PEOPLE YESTERDAY IN THE CITY OF HOMS AFTER A U.N. TEAM LEFT THAT AREA. U.N. OFFICIALS SAY 2,200 SYRIANS HAVE BEEN KILLED OVER THE PAST FIVE MONTHS. THE LARGEST CITY IN PAKISTAN WAS MOSTLY DESERTED THIS DAY IN A GENERAL STRIKE TO PROTEST A WAVE OF KILLINGS. A TOP POLITICAL PARTY IN KARACHI ORGANIZED THE STRIKE TO PROTEST THE DEATHS OF NEARLY 100 PEOPLE IN THE LAST WEEK ALONE. MUCH OF THE VIOLENCE IN KARACHI HAS BEEN BLAMED ON GANGS TIED TO POLITICAL FACTIONS. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE DAY'S MAJOR STORIES. NOW, BACK TO RAY.

>> Suarez: AND NOW TO THE OUTCOME OF THE HIGH PROFILE CRIMINAL CASE THAT ATTRACTED INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION. THE CASE ITSELF MAY BE COMING TO AN END, BUT QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW IT WAS HANDLED CONTINUE. THREE MONTHS AFTER HE WAS ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, DOMINIQUE STRAUSS KAHN WAS GREETED WITH BOOS WHEN HE ARRIVED AT A NEW YORK CITY COURTHOUSE THIS MORNING. BUT INSIDE, THE FORMER HEAD OF THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND GOT SOME GOOD NEWS-- THE SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGES AGAINST HIM HAD BEEN DROPPED. PROSECUTORS ASKED STATE SUPREME JUDGE MICHAEL OBUS TO DROP THE CHARGES BECAUSE, THEY SAID, THE DEFENDANT'S VERSION OF WHAT HAPPENED WAS NOT CREDIBLE.

>> WHATEVER THE TRUTH MAY BE ABOUT THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN THE COMPLAINANT AND THE DEFENDANT, OUR INABILITY TO BELIEVE THE COMPLAINANT BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT MEANS THAT WE CANNOT, IN GOOD FAITH, ASK THE JURY TO DO THAT. AND SO, WE ARRIVE AT THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE MADE HERE TODAY.

>> Suarez: MOMENTS LATER, THE JUDGE FORMALLY ORDERED THE DISMISSAL OF ALL CHARGES. THE CASE BEGAN IN MAY WHEN STRAUSS KAHN WAS PULLED OFF A PLANE AND ARRESTED AFTER A HOTEL MAID AT THE SOFITEL ACCUSED STRAUSS KAHN OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING HER WHEN SHE ARRIVED TO CLEAN HIS ROOM. DEFENSE ATTORNEYS ASSERTED ALL ALONG THAT ANY SEXUAL CONTACT WAS CONSENSUAL. BUT THE CASE BEGAN TO UNWIND WHEN PROSECUTORS REPORTEDLY LOST FAITH IN THE ACCUSER, NAFISSATOU DIALLO, AN IMMIGRANT FROM GUINEA. IN JULY, PROSECUTORS SAID SHE TOLD INCONSISTENT VERSIONS OF EVENTS FOLLOWING THE ALLEGED ATTACK, AND MADE A NUMBER OF FALSE STATEMENTS ABOUT HER PAST, INCLUDING AN APPARENTLY PHONY ACCOUNT OF A PAST GANG RAPE IN GUINEA.

>> I WANT JUSTICE. I WANT HIM TO GO TO JAIL.

>> Suarez: AS IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THE MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY WAS LIKELY GOING TO DROP THE CASE, DIALLO WENT OUT TO SPEAK TO REPORTERS TO PLEAD HER CASE.

>> I HAVE MADE SOME MISTAKES, BUT THIS MAN TRIED TO RAPE ME.

>> Suarez: AFTER TODAY'S RULING, STRAUSS KAHN'S LAWYER SAID THE DECISION WAS THE RIGHT ONE.

>> THIS IS A HORRIFIC NIGHTMARE THAT HE AND HIS FAMILY HAVE LIVED THROUGH. YOU CAN ENGAGE IN INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR, PERHAPS, BUT THAT IS MUCH DIFFERENT THAN A CRIME. AND THIS CASE WAS TREATED AS A CRIME, WHEN IT WAS NOT.

>> Suarez: BUT DIALLO'S LAWYER CRITICIZED THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR DECIDING TO DROP THE CHARGES AND VOWED TO PUSH FORWARD WITH A CIVIL CASE.

>> COULD AN IMMIGRANT WOMAN FROM AFRICA COME TO THIS COURTHOUSE AND GET JUSTICE WHEN SHE SAYS A POWERFUL, WEALTHY MAN ATTACKED HER? APPARENTLY, THE ANSWER IS NO. BUT WE WILL STAND BY MISS DIALLO TO THE VERY END.

>> Suarez: MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY CYRUS VANCE WAS ABOUT TO TALK TO REPORTERS ABOUT THE CASE WHEN HE WAS INTERRUPTED BY THE EAST COAST EARTHQUAKE. STRAUSS KAHN HIMSELF ADDRESSED THE MEDIA OUTSIDE THE TOWNHOUSE WHERE HE STAYED THIS SUMMER.

>> ( translated ): IT'S THE END OF A TERRIBLE AND UNJUST ORDEAL. I AM RELIEVED FOR MY WIFE, MY CHILDREN, MY FRIENDS, ALL THOSE WHO SUPPORTED ME DURING THIS PERIOD. I WANT TO RETURN TO MY COUNTRY, BUT I STILL HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF A FEW THINGS BEFORE I LEAVE, AND I WILL SPEAK FOR LONGER WHEN I RETURN TO FRANCE.

>> Suarez: THIS AFTERNOON, AN APPEALS COURT DENIED DIALLO'S REQUEST FOR A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR, MEANING STRAUSS KAHN WILL NOW BE ABLE TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY. WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK NOW AT SOME OF THE QUESTIONS SURROUNDING THE WAY THIS CASE WAS HANDLED. ALLISON LIOTTA IS A FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. SHE ALSO SERVED AS AN ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN WASHINGTON, D.C., WHERE SHE SPECIALIZED IN PROSECUTING SEX CRIMES AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. SHE'S NOW A NOVELIST. AND CHRISTOPHER KUTZ IS A PROFESSOR OF LAW AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY, WHERE HE STUDIES CRIMINAL LAW, AMONG OTHER AREAS. HE SPENT MUCH OF THE PAST YEAR AS A VISITING PROFESSOR IN FRANCE. PROFESSOR KUTZ, WERE YOU SURPRISED WITH THIS CASE THAT BEGAN WITH SUCH AN OUTBURST OF PUBLICITY IN THE ARREST OF A POWERFUL MAN ENDED THIS WAY, WITHOUT A TRIAL?

>> I THINK EVERYBODY WAS SHOCKED BY THIS CASE. I REMEMBER THE THUNDERCLAP OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT EARLY IN THE MORNING IN FRANCE IN MAY WHEN HE WAS ARRESTED. THIS WAS THE MAN WHO WAS LIKELY TO BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT AND S.U.D. THEREIN POLITICAL SYSTEM WAS UPENDED, FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT GREAT SHOCK AT THE END OF JUNE WHEN THE D.A. ANNOUNCED THE CASE WAS ESSENTIALLY COLLAPSING. I THINK FROM THE END OF JUNE TO NOW HAS BEEN PRETTY PREDICTABLE BUT IT'S CERTAINLY... IT CERTAINLY IS A SHOCK GIVEN THE CERTAINTY WITH WHICH THE D.A. ANNOUNCED THE CHARGES AGAINST MR. STRAUSS-KAHN BACK IN MAY.

>> Suarez: ALLISON LIOTTA, IS IT UNUSUAL FOR A CASE TO GET TO THIS POINT AND THEN SIMPLY NOT PROCEED?

>> IT IS SOMEWHAT UNUSUAL. IN THE IDEAL WORLD, YOU WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW BEFORE CHARGES ARE BROUGHT. YOU KNOW, MAKING THE DECISION ITSELF TO CHARGE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS PROSECUTORS CAN MAKE, ESPECIALLY A CASE LIKE THIS, A SEX CRIME WHERE NEARLY LEVELING THE CHARGE CAN RUIN HIS LIFE. SO IDEALLY YOU WOULD KNOW EVERYTHING THAT THEY NOW KNOW BEFORE YOU MAKE THE CHARGING DECISION AND SO IT WOULDN'T BE DONE IN THIS MANER WHERE AN INDICTMENT HAS BEEN BROUGHT AND NOW THEY HAVE TO DISMISS A CASE AGAINST THE DEFENDANT. BUT THEY WOULD HAVE FOUND THIS OUT BEFOREHAND. THE.

>> Suarez: ON THE DAY OF THE ARREST, DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN WAS ALREADY ON AN AIRPLANE GETTING READY TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC AND RETURN TO HIS OWN COUNTRY. DO YOU THINK THAT IMAGE MIGHT HAVE FORCED THE PROSECUTORS TO MOVE MORE QUICKLY THAN THEY MIGHT HAVE OTHERWISE?

>> ABSOLUTELY. I THINK THEY ALL MUST HAVE HAD VISIONS OF ROMAN POLANSKI DANCING IN THEIR HEAD, THE FRENCH PRODUCER WHO RAN FROM SEX CHARGES IN THE UNITED STATES AND FLED FOR 30 YEARS. FRANCE DOESN'T HAVE AN EXTRADITION TREATY WITH THE U.S. AND THOSE PROSECUTORS MUST HAVE BEEN THINKING "AM I GOING TO BE THE PERSON THIS THAT LETS THIS GUY GET AWAY? AM I GOING TO BE KICKING MYSELF OVER THIS FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS?" THAT SAID THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENCES. STRAUSS-KAHN HAD A HOUSE HERE IN D.C., HE WAS HEAD OF THE I.M.F. BASED HERE IN D.C. AND HE WAS PROBABLY GOING TO RUN FOR FRANCE... FOR THE FRENCH PRESIDENCY. SO UNLIKELY THAT HE WOULDN'T RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES.

>> Suarez: PROFESSOR, THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF A PHYSICAL ENCOUNTER AND THAT PART WAS AGREED TO BY ALL THE PARTIES. BUT THE STORY DIVERGED RIGHT AT THAT MOMENT. BOTH PEOPLE INVOLVED SAID TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS HAPPENED IN THAT ROOM AND THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES WHO KNOW. IS THAT WHAT MAKES PROSECUTING SEX CRIMES DIFFICULT?

>> IT MAKES PROSECUTING CRIMES LIKE THIS DIFFICULT AND I SHOULD JUST SAY, WE DON'T... STRAUSS-KAHN HAS NOT SAID WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT ROOM. HIS LAWYERS HAD SUGGESTED IT WAS AN ENCOUNTER CONSISTENT WITH CONSENT. BUT HE HASN'T GIVEN A POSITIVE STORY OF WHAT'S HAPPENED. THE ONLY STORY WE'VE SEEN IS THE STORY BY HIS ACCUSER. BUT IN A CASE LIKE THIS WHERE THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE DOESN'T SHOW... DOESN'T ON ITS OWN SHOW FORCE-- AS THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE HERE DIDN'T-- THEN IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT CASE. THERE'S NO OTHER WITNESSES, IT REALLY DOES COME DOWN TO THE QUESTION OF THE CREDIBILITY OF THE COMPLAINANT.

>> Suarez: WAS NAFISSATOU DIALLO IN YOUR VIEW, PROFESSOR, TREATED FAIRLY? TREATED DECENTLY FOR SOMEONE MAKING A COMPLAINT OF THIS KIND?

>> I THINK SHE WAS TREATED EXTREMELY FAIRLY AT THE BEGINNING. THERE'S EVIDENCE THAT SHE WAS... HER COMPLAINT WAS TAKEN AS SERIOUSLY AS IT COULD POSSIBLY BE AND I THINK THAT'S A TRIBUTE BOTH TO THE PROFESSIONALS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND I THINK ALSO TO A GENERATION OF PARTICULARLY FEMINIST LEGAL SCHOLARS AND ACTIVISTS WHO'VE MADE... WHO'VE CHANGED THE WAY IN WHICH WE UNDERSTAND THE CHARGE OF RAPE I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED IN THOSE INTERVIEWS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S INTERESTING IN THE MEMORANDA THAT THE D.A. RELEASED YESTERDAY IS THE ANGER THAT COMES OUT AGAINST HER. THAT SHE REPEATEDLY LIED TO THEM IN INTERVIEW AFTER INTERVIEW. THEY CLEARLY BECAME VERY UPSET WITH HER DURING THE COURSE OF THIS INTERVIEW. THEY INDICATE THEY WOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD LIES IN THE PAST BUT NOT WHAT SEEMED TO BE A DELIBERATE ATTEMPT TO FUDGE THE FACTS GOING FORWARD. IF THAT'S THE CASE, IF THE MEMORANDUM THAT THE D.A. RELEASED AND TALKED ABOUT YESTERDAY SHOWS WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THAT ROOM THEN I THINK SHE WAS TREATED FAIRLY BY BEING DISCREDITED. THAT'S A VERY TROUBLING CIRCUMSTANCE.

>> Pelley: YOU JUST HEARD THE PROFESSOR REFER TO THE CHANGES IN THE WAY THESE CASES ARE BROUGHT. YOU'VE BEEN INSIDE THE SYSTEM. HAS THERE BEEN A SHIFT AWAY FROM THE OLD DAYS WHEN A WOMAN MIGHT HAVE BEEN UNDER ATTACK FROM THE GET-GO AND QUESTIONED AS TO WHY AND WHEREFORE IN THE ENCOUNTER WITH A MAN TO ALMOST THE BURDEN BEING ON THE OTHER SIDE NOW. THERE'S DEFINITELY BEEN A SHIFT. THERE USED TO BE LAWS ON THE BOOKS EVEN A GENERATION AGO IN THE '60s THAT SAID YOU COULDN'T BRING RAPE CHARGES IF THERE WAS ONLY THE VICTIM COMING FORWARD TO TESTIFY. THERE HAD TO BE CORROBORATION FROM ANOTHER EYEWITNESS. OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT THE TYPE OF CRIME THAT TAKES PLACE THERE CROWDED RESTAURANTS SO THAT ALONE TOOK OUT A LOT OF THE RAPE CASES THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT. SO THINGS LIKE THAT HAVE BEEN GOING TO THE WAYSIDE AND YOU DON'T HEAR FOLKS SAYING THESE DAYS SO MUCH, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT WHAT SHE WAS WEARING, SHE MUST HAVE ASKED FOR IT, SHE MUST HAVE WANTED IT. AT THE SAME TIME, WHEN VICTIMS COME FORWARD, THEY ARE TRUSTED, THEY ARE BELIEVED BY THE PROSECUTORS... THE PROSECUTORS MUST LOOK AND SEE WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM. WHAT ARE HER REASONS FOR GETTING INTO THE CASE? IS SHE COMING FORWARD BECAUSE SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENED TO HER AND SHE WANTS TO TELL THE TRUTH AND BRING JUSTICE OR IS SHE COMING FORWARD FOR OTHER REASONS? TO GET MONEY OR REVENGE OR ANY NUMBER OF REASONS. SO IT'S REALLY INCUMBENT ON THE PROSECUTORS TO FIND THAT OUT BEFOREHAND. IS.

>> Suarez: DEMONSTRATORS THRONGED THE COURT IN NEW YORK TODAY ACCUSING THE SYSTEM BASICALLY OF PROSECUTING THE VICTIM RATHER THAN THE ACCUSED. IS THAT THE KIND OF THING THAT'S A RISK FOR AN ELECTED DISTRICT ATTORNEY?

>> WELL, SURE. FOR AN ELECTED DISTRICT ATTORNEY IT'S EVERYTHING... EVERYTHING HE DOES IS GOING TO BE UNDER A MICROSCOPE AND ME HAS TO SHOW PEOPLE HE'S TRYING TO GET ELECTED BY THAT... YOU KNOW, THAT HE CAN DO THE JOB. BUT I THINK IT IS ABSOLUTELY PART OF THE JOB FOR THE PROSECUTOR TO BE FAIR. THEY'RE NOT JUST TRYING TO WIN A CASE, THEY'RE TRYING TO DO JUSTICE. THEY HAVE AN OBLIGATION NOT ONLY TO THE VICTIM BUT TO THE DEFENDANT AS WELL. TO BE FAIR AND TO LOOK INTO WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED, WHAT IS THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER AND THAT'S A SPECIAL ROLE THAT PROSECUTORS HAVE THAT OTHER LAWYERS AROUND THE COUNTRY DON'T HAVE. AND THAT'S WHAT THEY DID IN THIS CASE. IT DOES ADD A LEVEL OF SCRUTINY TO THE VICTIMS OF THE SEX CRIME. ON THE OTHER HAND, IN FAIRNESS TO EVERYBODY IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE DONE.

>> Suarez: PROFESSOR, HOW ABOUT THAT OBLIGATION TO THE DEFENDANT? WAS DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN TREATED FAIRLY IN THIS CASE?

>> I THINK IN THE END HE WAS TREATED FAIRLY. HE GOT A CHANCE TO PRESENT HIS DEFENSE, AT LEAST INDIRECTLY. I THINK AT THE BEGINNING... PEOPLE IN FRANCE AND AROUND THE WORLD WERE HORRIFIED AT HIS TREATMENT, THE FAMOUS PERP WALK, WHAT SEEMED TO BE SORT OF THE REAL RUSH TO TRY HIM IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION AND FOR THAT I THINK THERE'S REALLY NO EXCUSE. I THINK THAT IT'S NOT THAT HE WAS NECESSARILY TREATED DIFFERENTLY THAN ANY OTHER CELEBRITY DEFENDANT, BUT IT'S A KIND OF TREATMENT THAT I THINK WE SHOULDN'T SUPPORT IN THE AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM. I THINK THE CREATION OF THE MEDIA CIRCUS AROUND THESE VERY SERIOUS CRIMINAL CASES JUST LEADS TO UNPLEASANTNESS EVERYWHERE.

>> Suarez: PROFESSOR KUTZ, ALLISON LIOTTA, THANK YOU BOTH.

>> THANK YOU.

>> THANK YOU, RAY.

>> Brown: FINALLY TONIGHT, THE BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA TREATMENTS. 16 STATES HAVE PASSED LAWS THAT ALLOW PATIENTS TO USE THE DRUG TO TREAT SIDE EFFECTS OF VARIOUS ILLNESSES. BUT NOW, SOME ARE MOVING TO EITHER LIMIT OR REPEAL THOSE LAWS. ONE OF THEM IS MONTANA. SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ANNA RAU OF MONTANA PBS RECENTLY PRODUCED A DOCUMENTARY EXAMINING THE EXPERIENCES OF PATIENTS AND DOCTORS. THIS EXCERPT FOCUSES PRIMARILY ON WHAT SCIENTISTS ARE LEARNING ABOUT MARIJUANA'S THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS.

>> I USED TO BE ON APPROXIMATELY 14 DIFFERENT PRESCRIPTIONS, AND I WOULD STILL HAVE UP TO 12 SEIZURES A DAY. I USED TO HAVE TO TAKE TWO HANDFULS OF PILLS. NO MORE.

>> Reporter: WHILE THIS 27-YEAR- OLD EPILEPSY PATIENT IN MONTANA IS RELIEVED TO BE TAKING MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT...

>> I'M NOT USING IT TO GET ANY PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OFF OF IT. I'M JUST EATING THE BUTTER WITH BREAD.

>> Reporter: SHE'S CONSIDERABLY MORE ANXIOUS ABOUT SHOWING HER FACE AND HAS REQUESTED WE CONCEAL HER IDENTITY. WHY DO YOU NOT WANT TO SHOW YOUR FACE?

>> I AM NOT COMFORTABLE SHOWING MY FACE BECAUSE OF ALL OF DISCRIMINATION THAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.

>> Reporter: SHE SAYS BOTH SHE AND HER HUSBAND HAVE LOST JOBS WHEN SHE SPOKE OPENLY ABOUT USING MARIJUANA TO TREAT HER SEIZURES. MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE HAS BEEN LEGAL IN MONTANA SINCE 2004, WHEN VOTERS THERE APPROVED AN INITIATIVE ALLOWING DOCTORS TO RECOMMEND IT TO THEIR PATIENTS. HOWEVER, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STILL CLASSIFIES THE PLANT AS A SCHEDULE 1 DRUG. THAT MAKES IT ILLEGAL FOR DOCTORS TO PRESCRIBE IT, AND IT MEANS STATE LAW DOES NOT PROTECT PATIENTS FOR FEDERAL ARREST AND PROSECUTION.

>> BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, SOMEBODY HAS TO SPEAK UP OR NOBODY WILL HEAR THESE STORIES.

>> Reporter: SHE TOLD US HER STORY IN HER ARTIST'S STUDIO. HERE, SHE CREATES MUCH HAPPIER WORKS THAN SHE DID EVEN A FEW YEARS AGO, WHEN HER SELF- PORTRAITS PLAINLY SHOWED THE TOLL EPILEPSY HAD TAKEN SINCE SHE WAS DIAGNOSED AT 15.

>> I'VE TAKEN PRETTY MUCH EVERY ANTI-EPILEPTIC ON THE MARKET, AND SOME WITH A LITTLE MORE SUCCESS THAN OTHERS.

>> Reporter: NONE OF THEM STOPPED HER SEIZURES, AND BY HER EARLY 20s, THE EPILEPSY HAD SPAWNED DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND INSOMNIA. SHE HAD TO WITHDRAW FROM COLLEGE JUST A FEW CREDITS SHORT OF A FINE ARTS DEGREE. UNABLE TO HOLD A JOB, SHE WAS BED-BOUND FOR YEARS WHILE THE EPILEPSY RULED HER LIFE.

>> IT'S NOT A LIFE TO LIVE LIKE THAT.

>> Reporter: THEN, SHE REMEMBERED READING STORIES ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF CANNABIS TO TREAT EPILEPTIC SEIZURES AND SHE DESPERATELY WANTED TO TRY IT, BUT HER HOME STATE DOES NOT HAVE A MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW.

>> SO, I DID WHAT I COULD DO-- I MOVED TO A STATE WHERE I COULD TREAT IT MYSELF.

>> Reporter: MEDICAL MARIJUANA CRITIC DR. ERIC VOTH SAYS THE PROBLEM IS, PATIENTS ARE TREATING THEMSELVES WITH A PLANT THAT'S BEEN VOTER-APPROVED, NOT FDA-APPROVED.

>> SO MUCH OF THE "MEDICAL EXCUSE" MOVEMENT HAS COME THROUGH THE BALLOT INITIATIVES AND LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES, AND THAT'S NOT THE WAY WE BRING MEDICINES TO MARKET. WE BRING THEM TO MARKET THROUGH THE FDA AND A VERY CAREFUL PROCESS OF PROVING SAFETY AND EFFICACY.

>> Reporter: DR. VOTH IS AN ADDICTION AND PAIN SPECIALIST IN KANSAS, AND HE'S ALSO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE INSTITUTE ON GLOBAL DRUG POLICY. HE SAYS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IS THE ONLY LEGITIMATE ROUTE TO UNDERSTANDING MARIJUANA'S MEDICAL POTENTIAL, NOT A HODGE- PODGE OF STATE LAWS AND ANECDOTAL STORIES. HE SAYS WHEN PATIENTS SMOKE OR INGEST MARIJUANA, THEY ARE GETTING A COMPLEX AND LARGELY UNRESEARCHED MIX OF CHEMICALS, KNOWN AS CANNABINOIDS.

>> IF WERE DELIVERING THC, WHICH IS THE MAJOR ACTIVE INGREDIENT, SHOULDN'T WE BE DELIVERING THAT ALONE OR OTHER CANNABINOIDS ALONE? BUT, IN FACT, WHAT WE'RE DELIVERING, NOT ONLY ONE, BUT 66 CANNABINOIDS. ON TOP OF THAT, WERE DELIVERING HUNDREDS OF CONTAMINANTS.

>> Reporter: THIS EPILEPSY PATIENT SAYS SHE'S WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK, BECAUSE SOMETHING IN THAT CORNUCOPIA OF SUBSTANCES HAS CHANGED HER LIFE. HOW DOES THAT IMPACT YOUR SEIZURES?

>> THEY STARTED SLOWING DOWN. I HAD TO BUILD IT UP IN MY SYSTEM. IT WASN'T UNTIL I STARTED INGESTING IT THAT THEY REALLY STOPPED COMPLETELY.

>> I'M VERY SUSPICIOUS ABOUT IT, BECAUSE FOR SOMEONE TO HAVE BEEN ON 14 MEDICATIONS AND NOT SOLVE HER PROBLEM, AND THEN HAVE THIS MIRACULOUS BENEFIT FROM ONE MEDICINE, I JUST FIND THAT SUSPECT.

>> Reporter: BUT THE POTENTIAL OF MARIJUANA TO MITIGATE EPILEPTIC SEIZURES HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE U.S. INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE. THE INSTITUTE HAS RELEASED TWO REPORTS ON THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF CANNABIS. THE FIRST REPORT, FROM 1982, FOUND: "SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE FROM ANIMAL STUDIES TO INDICATE THAT CANNABINOIDS ARE EFFECTIVE IN BLOCKING SEIZURES." SCIENTISTS WHO WROTE THE 1999 REPORT ALSO FOUND MARIJUANA HAD ANTI-SEIZURE EFFECTS, BUT DOUBTED IT COULD BE DEVELOPED INTO A PHARMACEUTICAL-GRADE EPILEPSY DRUG. HOWEVER, BOTH REPORTS DETAILED THE PROMISING ABILITY OF CANNABIS TO TREAT PAIN AND DISEASE DIFFERENTLY THAN CONVENTIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT SCIENTISTS AT THE CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR MEDICINAL CANNABIS RESEARCH FOUND DURING SEVERAL PLACEBO- CONTROLLED, CLINICAL TRIALS. DR. IGOR GRANT IS THE CENTER'S DIRECTOR, AND HE SAYS MARIJUANA IS NOT JUST AN ANTI-NAUSEA DRUG.

>> I CAN SAY THAT THE CANNABINOIDS ARE ALMOST CERTAIN TO BE USEFUL IN PAIN, BASED ON THE RESEARCH THAT WE HAVE DONE, AND PROBABLY HAVE A PLACE IN MUSCLE SPASM.

>> MARIJUANA CONTAINS ANTI- INFLAMMATORY, ANTI-OXIDANTS, AND PROBABLY ANTI-CANCER COMPOUNDS.

>> Reporter: DR. DONALD ABRAMS IS AN ONCOLOGY PHYSICIAN WHO CONDUCTED SOME OF THE CENTER'S CLINICAL RESEARCH. HE AGREES THE CANNABIS PLANT IS A COMPLEX MIX OF SUBSTANCES, BUT HE BELIEVES THIS IS A MEDICAL BENEFIT, NOT A DETRIMENT.

>> I'M A CANCER DOCTOR, AND I OFTEN SUGGEST TO MY PATIENTS THAT THEY CONSIDER MARIJUANA FOR THEIR LOSS OF APPETITE, NAUSEA, PAIN, DEPRESSION AND INSOMNIA. IT'S ONE MEDICINE THEY COULD USE INSTEAD OF FIVE.

>> Reporter: CRITICS LIKE DR. VOTH ARE HIGHLY SKEPTICAL OF CLAIMS IT CAN TREAT JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT ONE PLANT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TREAT SO MANY DIFFERENT AILMENTS? INTRIGUING ANSWERS STARTED APPEARING IN THE EARLY '90s, WHEN RESEARCHERS PINPOINTED RECEPTORS IN THE BRAIN AND THE BODY THAT BIND WITH CANNABIS. RECEPTORS CAN BE DESCRIBED AS LOCKS ON THE SURFACE OF A CELL, AND WHEN THE CORRECT KEY BINDS WITH THE CORRECT LOCK, OR RECEPTOR, IT OPENS THE DOOR AND DELIVERS MESSAGES. SOMETIMES, THE MESSAGES ARE URGENT-- FOR EXAMPLE, THAT THE BODY IS FEELING PAIN, OR THAT THERE'S AN INVADER AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM MUST ATTACK. RESEARCHERS BELIEVE CANNABINOIDS CAN TURN DOWN THOSE MESSAGES, HELPING TO TEMPER CHRONIC PAIN AND AUTO-IMMUNE DISORDERS. THESE SPECIAL RECEPTORS ARE EXTREMELY ABUNDANT IN THE BRAIN, BUT THEY ARE ALSO FOUND ALL OVER THE BODY AND IN THE MAJOR ORGANS-- THE HEART, THE LIVER, KIDNEYS AND PANCREAS. AFTER FINDING ALL THESE LOCKS THAT ACCEPTED THE CANNABIS KEY, RESEARCHERS MADE THE NEXT BIG DISCOVERY-- THE HUMAN BODY MAKES ITS OWN CANNABINOIDS.

>> WE HAVE THESE CIRCULATING CHEMICALS THAT WE PRODUCE OURSELVES THAT REALLY ARE VERY, VERY SIMILAR TO THE CHEMICALS IN THE MARIJUANA PLANT.

>> THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE CANNABINOIDS THAT WE PRODUCE ARE IN SUCH SMALL QUANTITIES, AND THEY'RE ALSO RAPIDLY DEGRADED SO THAT, THEREFORE, WE ARE NOT HIGH ALL THE TIME.

>> Reporter: DR. PRAKASH NAGARKATTI IS A PROFESSOR OF PATHOLOGY AND MICROBIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. HE'S ONE OF MANY SCIENTISTS IN A RACE TO UNLOCK THE MYSTERIES OF THE RECEPTORS BY USING NEWLY- CREATED SYNTHETIC DRUGS INSTEAD OF TIGHTLY RESTRICTED WHOLE CANNABIS. THESE SYNTHETICS HAVE MADE RESEARCH MUCH EASIER AND, POTENTIALLY, LUCRATIVE. THE U.S. PATENT DATABASE SHOWS NUMEROUS LARGE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES HAVE FILED RECENT PATENTS CLAIMING THEIR CANNABINOID RECEPTOR DRUG HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TREAT ALMOST EVERYTHING: MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, ALZHEIMER'S, PARKINSON'S, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, TOURETTE'S, EPILEPSY, HEART DISEASE, OBESITY, VARIOUS MENTAL ILLNESSES-- AND THE HOLY GRAIL OF MEDICINE-- A CANCER CURE. DR. NAGARKATTI AND HIS TEAM OF RESEARCHERS WERE ONE OF THE FIRST LABS TO PROVE A CANNABINOID KEY CAN SEEK OUT A CANCEROUS CELL IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, UNLOCK THE RECEPTOR, AND DIRECT THE CANCER CELL TO SELF- DESTRUCT.

>> SO BASICALLY, TELLING THE CELLS BASICALLY TO COMMIT SUICIDE.

>> Reporter: DR. NAGARKATTI'S EXPERIMENTAL DRUG WAS ABLE TO ERADICATE ALMOST 100% OF THE CANCER IN TEST TUBES, AND WHEN THEY MOVED ON TO LIVE MICE...

>> TO OUR SURPRISE, WE FOUND THAT ALMOST 25% TO 30% OF THE MICE COMPLETELY REJECTED THE TUMOR. THEY WERE COMPLETELY CURED.

>> Reporter: TUMORS IN THE REST OF THE MICE SHRUNK SIGNIFICANTLY. THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN SO PROMISING THAT DR. NAGARKATTI IS ALREADY BEGINNING CLINICAL TRIALS WITH LEUKEMIA PATIENTS. DR. VOTH BELIEVES RESEARCHERS LIKE NAGARKATTI ARE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

>> LET'S KEEP THIS IN THE CORRIDORS OF SCIENCE; LET'S KEEP IT IN THE FDA. LET'S DELIVER WHAT'S REALLY MEDICINE-- THAT IS THE INDIVIDUAL CANNABINOIDS.

>> Reporter: BUT THIS EPILEPSY SUFFERER SAYS PATIENTS CANNOT AFFORD TO WAIT.

>> I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT'S GOING TO BE BEFORE THEY REALLY FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT IS WORKING, FOR ME OR FOR OTHERS.

>> Reporter: MEDICAL MARIJUANA REMAINS LEGAL IN MONTANA, FOR NOW. IN APRIL, LAWMAKERS PASSED A FULL REPEAL OF THE LAW, BUT GOVERNOR BRIAN SCHWEITZER VETOED IT.

>> Brown: ANNA RAU'S ONE-HOUR DOCUMENTARY, "CLEARING THE SMOKE: THE SCIENCE OF CANNABIS," IS AIRING ON MANY PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS THIS SUMMER. YOU CAN ALSO WATCH IT ONLINE. YOU'LL FIND A LINK TO MONTANA PBS ON OUR WEB SITE, newshour.pbs.org.

>> Suarez: AGAIN, THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS OF THE DAY: AN EARTHQUAKE JARRED MUCH OF THE U.S. EAST COAST. IT HAD A MAGNITUDE OF 5.8, ONE OF THE STRONGEST EVER RECORDED IN THE REGION, BUT THERE WERE NO SERIOUS INJURIES AND NO MAJOR DAMAGE. LIBYAN REBELS STORMED AND SEIZED MOAMMAR GADHAFI'S COMPOUND IN TRIPOLI AFTER HOURS OF HEAVY FIGHTING. THE DICTATOR'S WHEREABOUTS REMAINED A MYSTERY. AND WALL STREET SHOT BACK UP-- THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE GAINED MORE THAN 320 POINTS. THERE'S MORE ON RARE EAST COAST EARTHQUAKES ON OUR WEB SITE. KWAME HOLMAN HAS THE DETAILS.

>> Holman: WE HAVE A SEISMIC MAP FROM THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, AND A TOOL THAT CALCULATES THE INTENSITY OF THE QUAKE BY ZIP CODE. THAT'S ON THE RUNDOWN BLOG. AND OUR GLOBAL HEALTH UNIT EXAMINES ETHICAL QUESTIONS THAT CAN EMERGE WHEN PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES CONDUCT CLINICAL TRIALS OVERSEAS. THERE'S BEEN A 2,000% INCREASE IN SUCH TESTING IN THE PAST TWO DECADES. PLUS, IF YOU'RE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT PRESIDENTS READ ON VACATION, "ART BEAT" LISTS SELECTIONS FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA AND OTHERS. ALL THAT AND MORE IS ON OUR WEB SITE, NEWSHOUR DOT PBS DOT ORG. RAY.

>> Suarez: AND THAT'S THE NEWSHOUR FOR TONIGHT. ON WEDNESDAY, WE EXPLORE THE REBEL FORCES POISED TO LEAD LIBYA, AND UPDATE THE PATH OF HURRICANE IRENE. I'M RAY SUAREZ.

>> Brown: AND I'M JEFFREY BROWN. WE'LL SEE YOU ONLINE, AND AGAIN HERE TOMORROW EVENING. THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT. MAJOR FUNDING FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY:

>> AND BY THE BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION. DEDICATED TO THE IDEA THAT ALL PEOPLE DESERVE THE CHANCE TO LIVE A HEALTHY, PRODUCTIVE LIFE.

>> AND WITH THE ONGOING SUPPORT OF THESE INSTITUTIONS AND FOUNDATIONS. AND... THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING. AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU. THANK YOU. Captioning sponsored by MacNEIL/LEHRER PRODUCTIONS Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org

>> THIS IS "BBC WORLD NEWS AMERICA." FUNDING FOR THIS PRESENTATION IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FREEMAN FOUNDATION OF NEW YORK, STOWE, VERMONT, AND HONOLULU. NEWMAN'S OWN FOUNDATION. AND UNION BANK. AND UNION BANK.