Roberts Collapses, Stevens' Home Raided, Michael Vick, CT Murder Suspect, Raw Politics, O.J. Book, And Chopper Crash (Monday's Show)

Hi everybody! We're kicking it off with Anderson Cooper on the rooftop in Los Angeles tonight and...OMG, Larry King's suspenders. They're never dull are they? Do you think after he retires they'll, like, put them all in a museum or something? Anyway, we begin with the news that Chief Justice John Roberts (not to be confused with American Morning John Roberts) had a bit of a health scare, collapsing at home and then spending the night in the hospital. This is kind of ironic because though some of the members of the court are so up there in age I'd be afraid to breath on them (just saying-the court is split down the middle, you know), Roberts is actually the youngest. For another irony, we're joined by Dr. Katrina Firlik, neurosurgeon. I say this is an irony because she is all up on Sanjay Gupta's turf! This is finally a case involving his actual specialty and he is no where to be found. Still in China, perhaps. I just think it's kind of hilarious that they have him be this all encompassing doctor, ready to explain any ailment. The real medical world doesn't work that way, but this is tv world.

So, Anderson tells us that Roberts had a benign idiopathic seizure and this thunder-stealer, Dr. Firlik (I'm sure she's actually very nice), tells us that basically that just means they don't know what caused it. Jeffrey Toobin then gets in on the conversation and tells us he was "astonished" by the news. Man, this guy is shocked by everything. Then he starts talking like he's a doctor, after giving us the disclaimer that he's not a doctor. Dr. Firlik notes Roberts will get follow up care and he won't be able to drive for a while. Sounds reasonable. No freakout needed. Anderson points out that in the past the health of the Justices has been private. Toobin states that's true, but that was back when the Justices didn't lie to us. Okay, he doesn't say lie. Then he brings up how Chief Justice Rehnquist was addicted to drugs and hallucinating. And I totally forgot about that. How messed up is the government when the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court being addicted to drugs is apparently not one of the most memorable stories?

Next up we have a story that, I gotta say, makes me a little happy. Joe Johns joins us live with the news that Republican Senator Ted Stevens had his Alaskan home raided by federal agents because there's this big investigation into the oil company VECO and it's looking like the company might have paid for remodeling on Stevens' house. Oooh. Schadenfreude! The CEO of VECO, a friend of Stevens', not long ago plead guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators, so we'll see where this goes. For his part, Stevens won't talk about it, but I've seen his Senate floor action. This guy will not go gently into that good night. There will definitely be some raging. And I'll have popcorn. Did I mention I don't like Ted Stevens? Anyway, Anderson then confirms with John that a contractor actually submitted his bills to the oil company. Oh, that doesn't look good. After Joe, Anderson gives us some "Raw Data" on the senator, but he neglects to include the fact that Ted Stevens is frickin crazy. Gotta say, the "Daily Show" segment "Who the F*** is Ted Stevens?" will probably go down as one of my favorites.

Moving on now to an Anderson piece on Michael Vick and how he's a horrible person. Or maybe that's my opinion. We all know by now that Vick is accused of running a dog fighting ring and we learn during the piece that dogs that performed poorly were executed-one even electrocuted. So really, I think that horrible person thing holds up. Vick is speaking out, but the NFL, Nike, and Reebok are letting their voices be heard too and they're not happy. The NAACP is urging people not to rush to judgment. Normally I'm on their side, but this is ridiculous. One of Vick's co-defendants has plead guilty, which is bad for Vick, because I'm guessing he's going to sing like a bird to save himself.

We're then joined by Jeffrey Toobin and ESPN analyst Stephen Smith for discussion. Toobin tells us that if the co-defendant has any credibility then things are about to get sucky (well, suckier) for Vick because the prosecutor will totally flip him. Stephen agrees with the NAACP in that everyone is rushing to judgment. Anderson asks why the NAACP is commenting on the case anyway. Good question. And we all know the answer. They wouldn't care if it was a white player. This kind of stuff just erodes their credibility. Anyway, Stephen doesn't really give a good answer, but points out that the NAACP actually weighed in much later than other groups. I guess that's suppose to be relevant somehow. Then they talk a bit about how the defense will try to attack the flipper's credibility and how many of these athletes own homes that they never go to. Well, maybe they should keep tabs on their property and if they can't do that, maybe they shouldn't have so much property. Just saying.

On now to an EXCLUSIVE piece from Randi Kaye where she sits down with the friend of one of the suspects in that Connecticut murder. The friend does not wish to be shown, but she shares the letters that the suspect wrote her while he was in prison. Apparently they show a softer side to the murder. So I guess this is going to be one of those stories, huh? " No doubt, we're going to have a lot more on this story in the days and weeks ahead," says Anderson. Sigh. After this there's a preview of a Dan Simon piece airing tomorrow. What's with these previews?

Tom Foreman has our "Raw Politics" as usual and I guess you all have noticed they've completely dropped all talk of a theme song. Are we supposed to pretend that never happened? It's still on the website though, so I guess we'll see. Anyway, the segment begins tonight with a pretty cool intro of the "Blair Switch Project," focusing on Bush meeting with new British Prime Minster Gordon Brown. Get it? Ha ha ha. But there was a total missed opportunity to have a close up of Tom going, "I'm so scared." Too much? Yeah, probably. I hope my readers have seen the cult hit or, yeah, you have no idea what I'm talking about. Next up Tom compares the democrats' recent inability to pass pork reform to a slow waitress failing to deliver. Well, yeah, but at least the democrats are doing their best to get you a good meal. Any dish the republicans managed to produce would probably result in hepatitis. We also learn that Michele Obama has made "Vanity Fair's" best dressed list, college letters from Clinton reveal why she used to be a republican, Romney does not like Hezbollah, and Al Gore Jr. has plead guilty to being an environmentally friendly pothead.

So, remember Zsa Zsa Gabor's crazy husband? Well, in tonight's "What Were They Thinking?" we get us a little story about him. He claims that three women flagged down his Rolls Royce, but then he was made to strip naked at gunpoint, was robbed, and left handcuffed to the steering wheel. And there's a picture, which 360 helpfully shows us. Oh, no one needs to see that. What is up with them lately and the disturbing images? Anderson, ever the journalist, asks how there just happened to be a photographer there to take the picture. Now that is a very good question. Surely the naked crazy man isn't, gasp, lying? Erica notes that the robbers kindly let him keep his cap. Dude, that is so not the area I would choose to cover up.

Transitioning now to a John Zarella piece on the story that will never end: O.J.! Okay, so O.J. writes this horrible book about him hypothetically murdering the people that most of America think he actually murdered, there's a public outcry, and the book gets pulled. Now the father of Ron Goldman wants the book published, so he can get some of the money O.J. owes him from the civil suit. Nicole's sister, Denise Brown, does not want the book to be published, but if it does, she wants to be in on the money too. Actually, it's the estate that's getting involved in the lawsuit. Denise's father is the executor and she says that if they don't try to get money for the kids now, they could sue her father for failing to act. That seems pretty messed up. And what's with family members suing each other. It's not right. After John's piece, Anderson is joined by Denise Brown who again explains the whole estate thing and reinterates that she thinks the book is disgusting. No argument there.

Next up we have a Rick Sanchez piece on two news choppers that crashed in Phoenix while covering a slow speed police chase. It looks like one chopper was directly above the other and the bottom one rose without realizing the other was there. In all, four people died. After the piece we have Rick live and they kind of discuss ways to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. But, you know, no one is really saying that maybe they shouldn't have been up there for a police chase to begin with. Is covering a police chase really that important? Because it just cost four lives. The Shot tonight is "splash diving" in Germany. It's basically belly-flopping. Looks kind of painful. Erica then raises a dramatic animal video, which intro-ed with a graphic incorporating the dramatic prairie dog. Bwah! Now that's a graphic I can get behind! Except what Erica shows us is not an animal (well, depending on your definition); it's naked Zsa Zsa Gabor husband guy again. Anderson then does his "Shot" speech, saying, "If you see some alleged princes handcuffed to an automobile tell us about it." Do they have to be nakid? The show was okay. Half the stories tilted toward the sensational regarding topic choice. C+