CNN Presents Season 2002

The war on terrorism is most visible in the military campaign in Afghanistan, but terrorists may already be inside the United States. Some U.S. government agencies are focusing on technology to perform surveillance on suspected terrorists and their use of the Internet. But there are concerns over how the government's aggressive tactics are infringing upon the civil liberties enshrined into law.

In November 2001, the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis deployed on a half-year journey, leaving its San Diego home base two months earlier than planned. The men and women on board spent the December holidays at war, relieving another carrier in the northern Arabian Sea as the Stennis joined Operation Enduring Freedom in mid-December.

In the 1990s, Yugoslavia fought four wars and lost all of them. Its deposed president, Slobodan Milosevic, is now a prisoner awaiting trial in the Netherlands on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. The International War Crimes Tribunal has accused Milosevic of personally authorizing mass murder in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo while he was president.

CNN's Frank Buckley examines the sinking of the commercial fishing vessel the Arctic Rose and the various theories of what caused the worst commercial fishing disaster in modern history. He also looks at the extraordinary investigation the U.S. Coast Guard mounted into the incident and the federal regulations the fishing industry faces.

High school students across America found last week if they were accepted into the college of their choice. But the road to getting into college is a stressful one, especially for those seeking admission into elite schools. CNN looks at three high school seniors at Santa Monica High School in California, who are struggling with homework, college preparatory classes, extracurricular activities and building the perfect college application resume.

Six out of 10 Americans are overweight or obese, and obesity among American adults has nearly doubled since 1980. CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen examines the issue and finds that losing weight isn't the problem for many people. The problem lies in not regaining the lost weight. Cohen talks to two people who were successful in losing weight and keeping it off, and reports on research that suggests genetics may play a role in predisposing people to be overweight.

Napoleon Beazley was executed by lethal injection May 29, 2002, for a murder he committed in 1994. He was on death row in Texas, which has executed 269 people since 1982, more than any other U.S. state in those 20 years. CNN's Christiane Amanpour examines the death penalty process in Texas by following the Beazley case through the criminal justice system.

CNN's John Zarrella talks to hurricane experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who fears periodic shifts in the climate could lead to a major hurricane in the United States.

It has been six years since the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the Summer Olympics and Eric Robert Rudolph, who also committed three other bombing, remains a fugitive on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. CNN's Art Harris takes a look at Rudolph's life before he became a fugitive and checks out the scaled-back search for him in the mountains of western North Carolina.

In the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya, Russia says it is fighting against terrorism. Chechen rebels say they are fighting for independence. The outcome seems to be ongoing misery for the war-ravaged region -- a cycle of violence where brutality seems to have no limit, and surrender is not an option.

The Ford Crown Victoria is the nation's most popular police car. Yet in the last six years, gas tank fires due to rear-end collisions have killed more than a dozen police officers. Susan Candiotti examines whether U.S. police officers face an extra risk every time they get inside their patrol car.

In Afghanistan, the U.S. military employed some of its oldest aircraft. The 50-year-old B-52 bomber proved its mettle, as did the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, which entered service in 1973, and the F/A-18 Hornet. But while the venerable B-52 will remain in service, the military is beginning to phase out the Tomcat in favor of its next-generation fighter, the F/A-18 Super Hornet.

In November 2001, Northern Alliance forces captured the key city of Mazar-e Sharif. The war in northern Afghanistan appeared to be ending, but instead an uprising exploded. In a matter of days, hundreds died in one of the epic battles of the war.

The U.S Army's Special Forces train extensively for combat. But they also train for the possibility of being captured by the enemy. For nearly three weeks, a CNN camera team was granted exclusive access to the surival training of 50 new Green Berets at Camp Mackall, which is part of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The people, the events, the stories of September 11.

On September 11, 2001, hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center and left a 16-acre hole in the heart of Lower Manhattan. Almost instantly, a debate ensued over how the land should be used. Some envision a memorial, others foresee more skyscrapers and business opportunities. CNN goes into the streets of New York City to look at the fight over the future of Ground Zero.

The terror, the tragedy, the lingering questions.

The U.S. military once again preparing for a possible war in Iraq -- a war driven by a new policy in Washington.

The hunt for the sniper suspects.

The pivotal 2002 mid-term elections.

The dealers pitch it as the new drug -- a potent combination of embalming fluid, tobacco, marijuana and mint leaves. But its most dangerous ingredient is PCP, a chemical developed as an anesthetic but banned in the 1960s because its terrible side effects. Use is soaring nationwide and PCP-related emergency room admissions are up 80 percent in two years.

While American troops train for another battle, the United States is engaged in another diplomatic showdown with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. CNN Presents examines several key questions in the ongoing story on Iraq.

Iraq declared that the United States has no reason to launch an attack and unveiled 11,000 pages of documents that they say will prove they have no weapons of mass destruction. But the U.S. Army General Tommy Franks is preparing computer games, a war exercise that sets the stage for the possibility of war.

U.N. experts are about to begin examining the massive Iraqi documents. If the experts conclude that Iraq is indeed lying, it could give President Bush support to lead a military assault.

More than a year after the U.S. assault on Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden remains at large and the al Qaeda terrorist network reemerges with a new structure and new tactics.