Guest: Bill Majeski, Cyril Wecht, Mariaine, Ken Timmerman, Mike Walker, Suzanne Somers, Antorrick Blash, Sherrita Blash
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY‘S MOTHER: Where is my daughter? Get the answers. Where is she? They know what. They know who. They know where. They know when. They know how and they know why. So I want them. I want the answers.
MONICA CROWLEY, HOST: A developing story tonight. Natalee Holloway‘s mother demands answers as police in Aruba make another arrest. Could he be the key to finding Natalee?
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: I proposed to Kate last night.
CROWLEY: It‘s official. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are getting—married? So is this a match made in heaven or in Hollywood?
SUZANNE SOMERS, ACTRESS/ENTREPRENEUR: It‘s my Broadway debut.
CROWLEY: Suzanne Somers is in SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY tonight to talk about her new Broadway show, her relationship with John Ritter and yes...
SOMERS: ThighMaster is in it, too.
ANNOUNCER: From the press room to the courtroom to the halls of Congress, Joe Scarborough has seen it all. Welcome to SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Good evening and welcome to SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY. I‘m Monica Crowley, sitting in tonight for Joe.
And we begin with the desperate search for Natalee Holloway. She‘s been missing now for 18 days on the island of Aruba and today, in a surprise development, police arrested another suspect. This, as Natalee‘s mother told NBC News that she wants answers.
Joining us live from Aruba is NBC‘s Ron Blome.
Hi, Ron, what can you tell us is the very latest?
RON BLOME, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Monica.
Well, there‘s several developments today. And let me start with the courthouse and the courtroom, because that‘s where a judge today ordered eight more days of detention for the three suspects who already have been in custody for about eight days, being held in connection with the suspicious disappearance of Natalee. Seventeen-year-old Joran Van Der Sloot and two brothers, 18-year-old Satish and 21-year-old Deepak Kalpoe.
All being held for another eight days. They may be transferred to a higher security lockup situation. Under the Dutch law, they do not have to be charged with a crime for quite some time, about 118 days. But there are some legal milestones that they have to cross, and they crossed another one today.
Prosecutors present more evidence and the judge says, “Yes, there is enough, we should continue to hold them as the investigation continues.”
Now, as you said, a fourth suspect picked up early this morning, identified by initials by the government here, but other sources have told us it‘s 26-year-old Steve Croes, and in fact, some cousins and relatives of his have also confirmed this.
He works as a disk jockey on a tour boat. We went out to that boat this evening. We talked to the co-owner of it. His boss, Marcus Wiggins, said that two nights ago that Croes was late for work and he came in and explained it by saying he‘d been picked up by police and questioned about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. He said he didn‘t know much about it, but he knew one of the Surinamese brothers because they hung out together at an Internet cafe.
In any event, he was arrested this morning and brought in, also for part of this investigation. The boss told us tonight that he finds it all hard to believe. Let‘s listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCUS WIGGINS, CO-OWNER OF TATTOO PARTY BOAT: I didn‘t believe it then. I don‘t believe it now. He‘s a—he‘s a nice young hard working man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLOME: And one other development. The father of Joran Van Der Sloot, Paul, who‘s also a judicial official here, he won and he lost in the same day in his bid to try to visit his son.
A court ruling on a hearing yesterday said yes you can visit your son because it‘s a juvenile, but then in a twist of things, the judge who‘s presiding over today‘s hearing said, “No, you can‘t.” A win and a loss, and the bottom line, he doesn‘t get to see his son for now—Monica.
CROWLEY: Ron, what led the authorities to this fourth suspect? Are any of the three that are currently in custody talking to the authorities and perhaps giving them some leads?
BLOME: Well, the details of that, we‘re not hearing. We don‘t know what‘s been said during interrogations. We‘ve heard that interrogations continue each day.
But his boss says that he hung out at the Internet cafe with one of the Surinamese brothers, who‘s been in custody for eight day. They had a friendship from there.
But he stresses that it was nothing to do with his tour boat. He said he never saw any of the younger students who were part of that Mountain Brook, Alabama, field trip taking a trip on his boat. So he doesn‘t think there‘s any connection to his tourism operation. He thinks it was just their association in the off-hours.
CROWLEY: Ron, I also understand that you interviewed Natalee‘s mother today. How is she holding up?
BLOME: She said it‘s very tough. And you can tell that they‘re just trying to stay above the surface of the raw emotion of all this. But being involved and trying to push this search ahead has really given them an activity to keep them occupied.
And she said it‘s her deep faith in God and trust in God that things will turn out. And also the significant support network that has come from Alabama here, not only family but friends. And some of them have been rotating in and out every few days to make sure that they‘re not facing this alone.
But she‘s still holding out hope that Natalee will be found alive.
CROWLEY: All right. NBC‘s Ron Blome, live for us in Aruba. Ron, please stand by.
Now we want to bring in Bill Majeski. He‘s a former detective with the New York City Police Department and also forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being with us.
And Bill, let me begin with you. This fourth expert that was arrested today, the authorities in Aruba have said that this is just the beginning and that to expect more detentions in this case. How wide a net do you think they‘re really casting here?
BILL MAJESKI, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: I think they‘re going to as wide as they possibly can. I mean, one looks at this investigative process that they‘re going through. It‘s kind of foreign to most investigators in this country.
You‘re dealing with a bunch of young suspects up until this last fellow that was brought in as a suspect. He‘s 26 years old. But you have young men that should be able to be broken through good interrogative techniques very early on. Now we‘re into day number 18 and we don‘t seem to be any further along than we were back then.
Now, clearly, there‘s information that they‘re not sharing with everybody. But I think the more people they bring in, the closer they will come to establishing exactly what occurred or what happened and how it happened.
But I still say that, you know, you have those three young men that were known to be with Natalee. They were last ones to be known with her. They clearly are the key to this whole investigative process.
And it seems to me that initially, when they started this investigation, they did not establish a good enough foundation, and they started building on a very poor foundation. Very difficult to do that.
I‘m sure by now they‘ve gone back to the beginning and gone throughout interrogative process in the proper way where they can start gathering facts, gathering information, start picking apart stories, challenging these people this terms of what they‘re saying, what they‘re not saying.
And it‘s surprising to me that it has not been solved up to this point in time. Now bringing in this 26-year-old, that‘s another very interesting aspect because there‘s a good age disparity or a large age disparity between a 26-year-old and a 17-year-old or 18-year-old. Perhaps they went to him for some type of guidance. Perhaps they went to him for some type of help.
So hopefully, they‘ll be a little more successful in interrogating him than they have been in interrogating these other three suspects up to this point in time.
CROWLEY: Doctor Wecht, as Bill points out this is the 18th day since Natalee Holloway has gone missing and the searches have only really just begin, not only of the homes but of the rest of the island from. From your perspective, how valuable would any forensic evidence be at this point?
It would seem that after the passage of time, exposure to the sea and the sun and the wind and perhaps water, that a lot of this evidence, if in fact it exists, would be immensely degraded.
CYRIL WECHT, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: You‘re absolutely right, with each passing day there has been some deterioration, decomposition, destruction and simple physical loss by water or what have you, even by small animals.
I don‘t want to get into things that would be unpleasant for the parents, but let me just say that the passing of time is going to make it much more difficult to make all kinds of definitive determinations.
I hope, as we all do, that this young lady is alive. If she is not and she has been dead for 18 days then much, most, if not all of the kind of things that we would ascertain in a thorough postmortem investigation will not be able to be determined and properly analyzed.
I do not know what has been found. Nothing has been reported since what was mistakenly thought to be a blood stain several days ago. I know that they are tight lipped there, and I‘m not going to criticized that. They may have things which they have not yet released to the news media.
They may have hair fibers or threads, blood, semen, saliva, who knows?
I would agree with the point that Mr. Majeski made that two and a half weeks have gone by and they‘ve got these three young men in custody and there‘s been no breakthrough. That does not bode well for some kind of instant disclosure. However, once again, the authorities there play things differently than they do here. And it could be that they‘re building it all up.
CROWLEY: All right. Gentlemen, please stand by. We want to take you now back to Aruba and bring in Mariaine Croes. She is the spokesperson for the prosecutor‘s office in Aruba. Mariaine, thank you for joining us.
What can you tell us about status of this investigation? Your know, your office has been widely criticized in the United States for being too slow in making these arrests and being too slow in conducting these searches. What can you tell us?
MARIAINE CROES, ARUBA PROSECUTORS OFFICE: We are conducting a lot of
searches. We do what investigation tells us to do at this time. We do not
consider ourselves slow; we consider ourselves very thorough. Everything
we investigate, we do it very thoroughly. So when it has been investigated
· if there is an area that has been searched, we can say OK in this area, we didn‘t find anything.
CROWLEY: Are you getting any tips? Do you have any real substantial leads?
CROES: At this moment we have a lot of leads. We are still working very hard. And all leads are being investigated.
CROWLEY: Now, we understand that Mr. Van Der Sloot‘s father, who is a prominent judge on the island of Aruba, he was granted permission earlier today to see his son in prison. But late tonight, that decision was overturned and he‘s been barred from seeing his son.
Are there a lot of political sensitivities that you all are attuned to here?
CROES: Yes, we do know how the political situation is here in Aruba but for us, the most important part is to lead this investigation and to solve this case as soon as possible.
MONICA: Well, you have just heard Dr. Wecht talk about the forensics in this case. Are you at all concerned that, with each passing day, any potential evidence that could lead you to the perpetrator might be degraded by the sun, by the sea, by the sun and the water and so on. And that perhaps you should be stepping up your search?
CROES: Of course, we always keep that in mind and it‘s not that we are not stepping up our search. We are searching every day and we‘re doing everything we can at this time.
MONICA: All right. Mariaine Croes of the prosecutor‘s office in Aruba. Thank you very much. And as we mentioned, Natalee‘s mother spoke to NBC “Today” and she talked about the amazing meeting she had with the young man who may be the prime suspect in her daughter‘s disappearance.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TWITTY: He did approach me and with his attitude, very—very condescending. Very arrogant. Seemed to be somewhat powerful, and there were very limited communicated exchanges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Well, you can see her frustration there. We will ask our panel about that meeting and what it could mean.
And then, this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOMERS: In fact, this voice is the other character in my one-woman show. I‘m all by myself on that stage, but the other person that‘s there is the voice in my head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Well, she wowed up in “Three‘s Company,” and now Suzanne Somers is headed for Broadway. But first, she‘s coming to SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY, and that‘s coming up, just ahead.
Plus, actor Sean Penn on assignment in Iran? That‘s right. It‘s a big night in SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
CROWLEY: Welcome back to SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY. I‘m Monica Crowley, sitting in tonight for Joe.
Back now to the search for Natalee Holloway. And still with us are former NYPD detective Bill Majeski, forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht, and NBC‘s Ron Blome, joining us live from Aruba.
And Ron, we know that there is the presence of the FBI, who were sent down to the island pretty soon after Natalee disappeared. What can you tell us about their role? Are they really being allowed to do their job?
BLOME: They are allowed to provided technical assistance and to give some advice and guidance. But one thing they are not allowed to do is to participate in the interrogations. That has to be frustrating to the FBI agents. They are in the loop on the investigation but not involved in those one on one interviews with now four suspects.
CROWLEY: Ron, if her family requested that the FBI be present in those interrogations, would they be allowed to do so?
BLOME: I doubt it. They‘re trying to keep the family up to date and informed, but I would say they are to the in the loop because as this forth arrest was coming down this morning, they didn‘t know much more than we did in that time period when I was interviewing her mother.
CROWLEY: Bill Majeski, the authorities in Aruba have been widely criticized for moving too slow in the investigation, certainly the I‘ll of Aruba, and I‘ve been there, known as a very safe island, not used to this type of high profile attention, certainly not with regard to a homicide, potential homicide. Certainly not in a disappearance like this.
Do you think that the authorities in Aruba are in over their heads in this case?
MAJESKI: I think that they should accept the help that‘s being offered by the FBI and by other agencies. Clearly, they‘re not accustomed to investigating these types of investigations, and one would only hop, for the sake of family and the tourist trade that they can bring this to some kind of a rapid conclusion.
They just have to get out there and do the right kind of an investigation and, you mow know, bring peace to the family. Clearly, they‘re suffering with this whole situation. And it‘s got to be very frustrating for them.
And it‘s frustrating for everybody in this country that‘s watching it. And empathizing with the family. You know, clearly, it‘s essential for them in Aruba to come to terms with what they‘re doing and get the investigation going and reach the conclusions that are there. The answers are there. They just have to reach in and get them.
CROWLEY: Doctor, I presume that in a number of these searches they‘re looking for DNA, evidence of Natalee Holloway in the cars, in her room, perhaps in clothing that may be attached somehow, or connected somehow to some of these suspects.
But don‘t they also need a DNA match to some of these suspects? So they‘re not just looking for her DNA, they should be looking for the DNA of others, correct?
WECHT: Yes, of course. DNA for any kind of forensic, biological, physical material. And these tests may well be under way as we speak.
I think, you know, while there may have been some criticism of a valid nature back two weeks ago to say, that they‘re not moving in an effective fashion now may be hyper critical, because they are not stupid. They understand that everybody is looking at them and watching them worldwide.
And remember this, too. They‘ve got these people in custody. In the United States of America, it may well be there would not have been sufficient evidence to hold them, and so that they have a greater opportunity to learn more.
The fact is they have not yet learned more may not be exactly what some people, the family and others, would like to perceive it to me. You know, don‘t jump yet to too many conclusions here about these particular three men.
CROWLEY: All right, gentlemen, we have to leave the conversation there. Dr. Cyril Wecht, Bill Majesty and Ron Blome, thank you all so much for being here tonight.
BLOME: Thank you.
Turning now to a classic case of Hollywood sticking its nose where it doesn‘t belong. Sean Penn, the actor, now has taken on a new role, that of journalist in Iran. That‘s right, into the terrorist and humanitarian nightmare of Iran waltzed Sean Penn.
Last week he traveled to Tehran as a guest journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle to cover the Iranian presidential election, which happened today. And I‘ve got a few things to say about this.
First off, despite what the Iranians want you to believe, there is no such thing as democracy there. Iran is a terrorist state run by Islamic extremists that torture women for walking outside, unaccompanied by a male. And that‘s the least of their crimes against humanity.
The election Sean Penn is there to cover is nothing more than a sham, a joke, meant to fool the world that there is some form of freedom there.
Penn went to Iran to document what the Iranian tyrants wanted him to document, and so here we go again. Penn is being used by yet another regime of the worst order.
Remember back this 2003 shortly before the war, he went to Iraq as a guest of Saddam Hussein. He later admitted that Saddam Hussein had used him for propaganda purposes. Well, duh, Saddam Hussein was a mass murdering dictator. What on earth did Sean Penn expect?
And now he goes to Iran to become the willing propaganda tool of another bunch of mass murdering terrorists. If Sean Penn has such an affinity for these terrorist states, perhaps he should consider moving to one of them. I can guarantee that he would not have the lush L.A. life to which he is accustomed.
Here‘s another thought for Sean Penn. The United States is the good guy. The terrorist states are the bad guys, and by walking the soil of America‘s sworn enemies, you are aiding and abetting them. And we used to call people who did that kind of thing traitors.
Well, joining me live in SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY to talk about the threat posed by Iran is Ken Timmerman. He is the author of the brand new book, “Countdown to Crisis: The Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran.”
Ken, welcome.
KEN TIMMERMAN, AUTHOR, “COUNTDOWN TO CRISIS”: Thank you, Monica.
CROWLEY: And congratulations. Fantastic and very important book.
First off this presidential election in Iran today. And I used the word “election” loosely. How much of a joke was this, really?
TIMMERMAN: Well, I use the term selection. Because the leaders, the unelected leaders of Iran chose eight candidates. One of them dropped out, so you had seven, eventually, on the ballot who—who were their chosen candidates. They—they rejected all of the women who were candidates. They rejected 1,000 others who tried to run. Basically, anybody who wins this race is the regime—is the regime‘s favorite.
That‘s why we‘ve been getting reports all day today from inside Iran of a massive boycott. Some of the precincts that are populated by revolutionary guards officials that you think would be loyal to the regime. They‘ve been voting at 4, 5, 8 percent. That‘s about it.
CROWLEY: Well, the leading candidate here and the man whom I assume is going to emerge as the selection, as you say, is a man named Rafsanjani, who had been the previous president of Iran. He‘s a favorite of the U.S. State Department. They consider him a reformer, but he‘s not really so. I mean, he is a man certainly behind a lot of terrorist activity, right?
TIMMERMAN: Well, how should—Rafsanjani somebody I profile in great detail in “Countdown to Crisis.” He called the nuclear scientists back in 1985 to relaunch a nuclear weapons program.
He is the patron, if you will, of Iran‘s nuclear weapons program.
He also is man who has a tremendous amount of blood on his hands. Not only did he prolong the war with Iraq well after the Iraqis had given up and asked for a cease-fire in 1982, he also personally ordered, along with the unelected leaders, the supreme leader of Iran, the intelligence minister and a few others, he personally sent hit squads, assassination teams around the world, to murder hundreds of Iranian dissidents.
So this is a man moderate? Not in my book.
CROWLEY: Yes. And certainly, we saw a picture of Sean Penn interviewing Mr. Rafsanjani yesterday.
Now in your book, “Countdown to Crisis,” can you talk about the connection between Al Qaeda and the Iranian regime? They‘ve admitted harboring hundreds of Al Qaeda terrorists.
And you point out that there is evidence to suggest that Osama bin Laden himself has been sheltered in Iran and may, in fact, be there now.
I want to run a comment from President Bush just nine days after the September 11 attacks. President Bush stood before a joint session of Congress and he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every nation, in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Well, Ken, if this in fact is true that the Iranian regime, which we already know is a terrorist regime, is sheltering Osama bin Laden, should the United States be pursuing a more aggressive policy toward that state?
TIMMERMAN: Well, Monica, let me first lay out a little bit of evidence, because I think it‘s very important to get the facts on the table. They have not been reported. I put this in the book because they‘re just not getting out there.
There are a number of sources who have come forward. I have named many of them in my book. One of the individuals I relied on is a former senior official in the supreme leader‘s office. He‘s an intelligence officer. He came out on July 26, 2001, with important information. He walked into the United States embassy, in Baku, Azerbaijan, next door to Iran, and said, “I have information on a massive terrorist attack by Iran and Al Qaeda that‘s going to be carried out against America on September 11.”
Now, the CIA brushed him off. This man, Hamid Razazarkari (ph), came with first-hand, eyewitness reports. He was actually in charge of security for meetings between top Al Qaeda officials and Iranian government officials in January and May of 2001 to plan the September 11 attacks. So September 11 was a joint Iranian/Al Qaeda operation, and that cooperation continues today.
CROWLEY: Well, it seems to me, based on the evidence you lay out in this book, “Countdown to Crisis,” Ken, that the United States should be pursuing a more aggressive policy toward the Iranians. Certainly cannot solve the problem of Iraq without dealing with the problem of Iran.
Ken, sensational book. Thank you so much for being here. Ken Timmerman.
TIMMERMAN: Thanks so much.
CROWLEY: And they‘re in love and—getting married? Yes, next, Tom Cruise‘s Paris surprise to Katie Holmes. But is it real, or written and produced by Tinseltown? We‘ll take on that question, coming up next.
And then, she was given millions after her husband was killed on September 11, and then spent it all, blew it in ways you would not believe. Coming up, she shares her pain in SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: Well, it sounds like a scene out of a movie. Tom Cruise proposing to Katie Holmes atop the Eiffel Tower in Paris. But is this real life or not? Well, some aren‘t so sure. But first, here is the latest news your family needs to know.
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: The premiere, we wanted here in France, because it‘s beautiful and it‘s romantic and, yes, I proposed to Kate last night.
KATIE HOLMES, ACTRESS: I‘m so happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Ah, ain‘t love grand? Tom broke the news at the Paris premiere of “War of the Worlds.” Ever the romantic, Mr. Cruise told the press he gave her this huge ring last night at the top of the Eiffel Tower. But this whirlwind love affair that has been so public—but for such a short amount of time—has many people wondering, can it be real?
With me to talk about it is Mike Walker, gossip columnist for the “National Enquirer” and author of “Rather Dumb: A Top Tabloid Reporter Tells CBS How to do News.”
Mike, great to see you.
MIKE WALKER, “NATIONAL ENQUIRER”: Nice to see you, Monica.
CROWLEY: So what‘s the deal here? Is this true love or is this just a big, fat, phony publicity stunt?
WALKER: Monica, Tom Cruise, as you know, for the last how many years, has been the most private person in the world. The most surprised person of all this behavior is Nicole Kidman. Tom is breaking every rule in the playbook that he taught her about keeping things quiet, keeping things private, keeping the kids out of the spotlight.
Here is a guy, two failed marriage. He meets this young girl, and by the way, I‘m going to break the story, finally, of how they met in my column next week. You remember Regis has asked, Letterman has asked, Oprah has asked...
CROWLEY: Yes, neither one of them could answer it.
WALKER: I‘m going to tell you in my column next week. But the point is that, all of a sudden, you meet this girl who is very young, and then the next thing you know—it‘s about three weeks later—you have got your two kids with her in Cancun. Nicole was not very happy about that.
Tom‘s breaking every rule. I mean, here he is. He is announcing, you know, his engagement at the foot of the Eiffel tower. Here the two of them have two high-profile movies. I mean, do the math, OK?
CROWLEY: Well, you know what? Tom Cruise seems to have a pattern here of squiring these Hollywood starlets whenever he has a big movie coming out. First, Nicole Kidman, who he ended up marrying, but Penelope Cruz, and now Katie Holmes. Is this relationship any different?
WALKER: Well, Tom always seems to mix everything together. If you notice, this time, it‘s a little different because at the same time he is pushing Katie Holmes and his newfound love out in front of us, he is pushing Scientology.
I was the one who broke the story about—you probably heard about the massage tent that he had on the set of “War of the Worlds” where you could go in and get a massage, but you had Scientologists crooning sweet nothings in you ear. That was something that Steven Spielberg didn‘t want to do, but they did it because, well, Tom is Tom and he gets what he wants.
One of the things to watch here is that Tom‘s—and I‘m not saying he‘s not still a huge box office star, he is—but his grosses have softened. You know, his box office clout is waning just a little bit. He is looking at all these other guys who get—you know, rivals, arch-rivals like Brad Pitt, getting all this attention by being with women.
All of a sudden, bingo, we have got this major romance from a guy who is so private and has always been private, who is suddenly pushing this thing as if it is the most sensational thing that ever happened. Again, and Katie Holmes has gone from being a devote—described this way by her friends as a devout Catholic, and suddenly she is a Scientologist, with a Scientology minder grafted to her, you know, shoulder.
I mean, I‘m sure you‘ve seen that lady in press conferences. I mean, everyone, her friends are saying, “We haven‘t even heard from her.” I mean, here is a girl who is love, she‘s our friend. We are not even hearing from her.
CROWLEY: Yes. The whole thing is really quite bizarre. And the fact that they‘re over-the-top gushing about it seems to be protesting this whole thing too much.
Well, Mike, we are going to be watching your column for the real reason they met.
WALKER: Next week you‘ll find out.
CROWLEY: And the real motivations behind this. And also, I want you to put odds on how long this thing is going to last. Mike Walker from the “National Enquirer,” thank you so much for being with us tonight.
WALKER: Thank you, Monica.
CROWLEY: And whether we know her as Chrissy Snow from “Three‘s Company” or from pitching the Thighmaster, or from any of her best-selling books, we all know Suzanne Somers. And now, she is tackling the great white way. Joe talked to her last night and asked about her new Broadway show “The Blonde in the Thunderbird.”
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE SOMERS, ACTRESS: I have been asked to go on Broadway many, many times, but it was always to revive something or replace someone. And my husband said, “You should really wait until you have something truly original.” And this is truly original. It‘s the story of my life.
And I kind of liken it to—my brother used to have this punching bag. I don‘t know. Maybe you had one when you were a kid. It‘s about life-size, and it‘s got sand on the bottom. And we would punch it, and it would come back up. And you‘d punch it again, and it would come back up.
And even if we laid down on the floor on top of it, when we got off, it would still bounce back up. And that‘s kind of what my life has been like.
JOE SCARBOROUGH, HOST: You took all the bad things that happened, and you‘re like, “OK, you know what? I can‘t control everything, but I can control my career.” What type of message do you have for people out there that say, “You know what? My life is really—it‘s just at the whim of all these other people. And I have no control over it”?
SOMERS: It‘s that punching bag thing again. You have to be resilient. I know, on “Three‘s Company,” after my contract was up after five years, I went in and I said, “Hey, you know, our show‘s the number-one show in the country. And I have the highest demographics with women ages 18-to-49 of all women on television,” which are those coveted demographics with advertisers.
I said, “So I would like you to pay me what you are paying the men.” And they wanted to make an example. And, you know with that, I almost—it was awful at that time.
SCARBOROUGH: Did you almost fold?
SOMERS: I went into a depression. And one day, I‘m sitting in my house feeling sorry for myself, still the victim. And a little voice in my head—and I listen to this voice all the time—in fact, this voice is the other character in my one woman show. I‘m all by myself on that stage, but the other person that‘s there is the voice in my head.
And the little voice said, “Why are you focused on what you don‘t have? Why don‘t you focus on what you do have?” And I sat there and I thought, “What do I have? What do I have? Wow. I have visibility.” Everybody in this country knows my name because of “Three‘s Company.”
That‘s something. That‘s tangible.
So I—my husband took this thing to Las Vegas and made a two-year deal for me at the MGM Grand Hotel. He had never heard me sing. I just told him I could.
(LAUGHTER)
SCARBOROUGH: Now, that is faith.
Everybody talks about life being a journey and you have got to enjoy the trip. It sounds like you have done that, despite the fact, again, that you have been knocked over time and time again.
SOMERS: Yes, you know, I‘m not—I have no bitterness at all.
SCARBOROUGH: How important is that for you not to look back in anger? I mean, like, for instance, John Ritter. I know that there had to be a falling out when you left the TV show. But at the end, obviously—a tragic death with him—but you didn‘t look back in anger and actually had made up with him by the end?
SOMERS: You know, I would sure like to say that I was the one who made the call, but it was John who called me. We went so many years without talking to one another. What a waste of time.
The problem with John and I was that we loved each other. And I see his wife all the time because his daughter now goes to school, and they are in the same class as my granddaughter. I mean, think of the irony of that.
And I see Amy Ritter all the time. And I was talking to her the other day, and I said, “You know, I have been watching Nick at Night. And I‘ve been watching the reruns.” And I said, “John was remarkable. Just a remarkable talent.” And I said, “And our chemistry together was remarkable.”
And I remember one day watching John—I would say he was my teacher.
And I watched him and one day I went, “Oh, I get it.”
SCARBOROUGH: An epiphany. Well, how early did you know that you and John had this special chemistry?
SOMERS: That was right away. Even when I wasn‘t in my peak form, there was just something—it was like a ping-pong ball game with him. I loved it.
In fact, in my one-woman show, “Blonde in the Thunderbird,” I bring Chrissy Snow to life. You know, I never got to finish her, so I bring her to life for a little while, just for a little while, because, in the big picture, Chrissy Snow, “Three‘s Company,” was just a small part of it over here.
Lives are a lot of different passages. And I finally reached a passage where I can look back and have that “Aha” moment of that‘s what it all meant. That‘s why I had that thought.
SCARBOROUGH: So if we want to find out what happened to Chrissy...
SOMERS: You have got to come see “The Blonde in the Thunderbird.”
SCARBOROUGH: That‘s right. Now are we...
SOMERS: And if you want to know how it all turned out, you have to come see “The Blonde in the Thunderbird.” It is the biggest thrill of my professional career to do a one-woman show because this one‘s for me. This is the one I‘ve really worked my you-know-what off for the last almost...
SCARBOROUGH: Your thigh, your thigh.
SOMERS: My thigh, yes.
(LAUGHTER)
SCARBOROUGH: Will the Thighmaster be the co-star in this?
SOMERS: Thighmaster is in it, too.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: And coming up, she lost her husband on 9/11 and is now making headlines over what happened to the victim‘s compensation she received. Tonight, she is in SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY to fight back.
And she gave birth with her husband half a world away in Iraq.
Tonight, we bring them together. Don‘t miss it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
CROWLEY: The families of World Trade Center victims gathering one year later to remember their loved ones. You may have heard about Kathy Trant. She lost her husband, Dan, who was a trader with Cantor Fitzgerald in the 9/11 attacks. And recent press reports have mocked her for spending some $5 million of the compensation money she received, everything from fancy shoes, to exotic trips, to breast augmentation surgery.
But Kathy says this isn‘t about the money, and she told her side of the story to Joe last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHY TRANT, LOST HUSBAND IN 9/11 ATTACK: First of all, this is not 9/11 cash, it‘s my cash. I signed on the dotted line for money for my family because my husband was murdered by terrorists.
SCARBOROUGH: By they say that you blew $5 million. We talked before you came on the air here, and you actually said that your children get $2.5 million of it. You invested in $1.5 million in real estate, your own home, also, which of course has been appreciating. So where do they get this $5 million figure from?
TRANT: Well, that‘s how much money I got all together.
SCARBOROUGH: Tell me about this whole situation. Obviously, again, you didn‘t blow through $5 million worth of cash. But you say you have wasted about $500,000. Talk about that. You say it‘s part of an addiction problem that‘s happened since 9/11. Let us understand what you‘ve been going through.
TRANT: Yes, well, pretty much, I wake up in the morning, get my children to school, feed them breakfast. And then I go on to the computer, and I learn about September 11th through a man that lost his son, Joseph, Bill Doyle (ph), who e-mails all the victims.
And every day, when I read something that really bothers me, I start making about 100 phone calls a day. And when I get nowhere, I get so frustrated, I go out and I shop, because it‘s the only thing that makes me feel good, because I run into a brick wall with city hall.
SCARBOROUGH: And you say it takes your mind off the problems. And you say actually you‘ve yet to really face down the demons caused by September 11th. Tell us about that.
TRANT: No, I keep trying to fight for my husband. When I was signing for the compensation money, I had no idea that our country would allow for 1,500 victims to be dumped in a Staten Island landfill. I feel that‘s against the law...
SCARBOROUGH: All right, Kathy. You know what? You need to educate Americans about that, because I‘ll guarantee you most Americans would be shocked that there are still victims who have yet to be found after 9/11 that are in a landfill on Staten Island. Tell us about that.
TRANT: Yes. When they removed all the remains, I guess the coroners felt he did as much as he could, and they didn‘t know what to do with the remains, which still had bone fragments, teeth—horrible things to hear about, but there were still in the remains.
And so they put them in this huge container and brought them to a dump and threw them down there. I cannot believe the world is more—think it‘s more important to learn about how many shoes I have. They are calling me Carrie Bradshaw of 9/11 instead of the fact that I am hurting and I am dying inside because I have no rights to get my husband out of a dump.
Who would dump our heroes? Some of these firemen and policemen didn‘t have to be in there. They stayed in there trying to put the fire out so my husband could possibly get out of that building, and other people.
SCARBOROUGH: But you know, Kathy, though, you told me that, because you signed a release, when you got the $5 million, you now have absolutely no say over your husband‘s remains, over the memorial, how the city of New York or America remembers him. And for that reason, you are calling this $5 million blood-money. Talk about it.
TRANT: Yes, it is blood-money, because, in hindsight, if I knew what I know today, I don‘t think any of us would have signed it.
SCARBOROUGH: All right. Thanks a lot, Kathy.
TRANT: Thanks, Joe. I really appreciate it. You are a great man.
SCARBOROUGH: All right, thanks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: And as we can see by that interview almost four years after the September 11th attacks, the wounds of that day still really fresh and expressing themselves in different ways.
Well, changing gears now, he talked to his wife and through labor from the war zone in Iraq. And tonight, he is our SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY champion, and he he‘ll have the chance to talk live with his wife and new baby live from Iraq where he is still fighting for all of our freedoms. Stick around for that. It‘s a Father‘s Day special, right here on SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: And now it‘s time for a very special Father‘s Day SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY champion. Here‘s the story in a nutshell: When Sherrita Blash went into labor on Monday, her husband was certainly there for her. The thing is, he‘s 6,700 miles away in Iraq.
Sergeant Blash joins us now from Baghdad, and Sherrita Blash joins us live from Macon, Georgia, with baby Elijah.
OK, Dad. Go ahead and say hi to your new son and your wife.
SERGEANT ANTORRICK BLASH, U.S. ARMY: How are you all doing?
CROWLEY: Now, Sergeant, I understand that you are seeing your brand-new son, Elijah, for the very first time?
A. BLASH: Yes, I am.
CROWLEY: He is beautiful.
A. BLASH: Yes, I can see that.
CROWLEY: Look at that smile on Dad‘s face, just in time for Father‘s Day. Sherrita, now, I understand that your husband, who is serving in Iraq, was able to walk you through your labor on the phone at least part of the time, but then you lost the connection just as you were about to give birth?
SHERRITA BLASH, HUSBAND SERVING IN IRAQ: Yes, I did.
CROWLEY: Well, were you disappointed that he wasn‘t there on the phone with you at that moment?
S. BLASH: No, not really. I was glad he called in time, because when he called, I was just going to get ready to start pushing.
CROWLEY: Well, you must miss him.
S. BLASH: Yes, a lot, yes.
CROWLEY: Your son is beautiful.
And Sergeant, I want you to know how much we appreciate what you‘re doing for us over in Iraq, as well as your service to the country. And congratulations to both of you on the birth of your son. Thank you so much for joining us.
And that‘s going to do it for us tonight. I‘m Monica Crowley in for Joe Scarborough. Got something to say? Drop Joe an e-mail at joe@msnbc.com. And I will see you on Monday at noon Eastern on “CONNECTED,” right here on MSNBC. Until then, have a great weekend and a good night.
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