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American Morning
Wounded Troops To Arrive in Germany For Treatment; 'They've Got the Goods'
Aired December 22, 2004 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's daybreak in New York City. A great looking shot over Central Park there.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That's nice.
HEMMER: Yes, it's really nice. It's chilly outside, by warmer than yesterday.
O'BRIEN: Exactly.
HEMMER: We're only going up, right? Welcome back, everybody. We've got a winter storm we're watching today in the middle part of the country. Chad is back in a moment with more of that. And some of the wounded from that attack on that base in Mosul are heading now for treatment in Germany. Matthew Chance is there. He'll tell us live in a moment about the preparations that are ongoing. So Matthew is up in a moment as well.
O'BRIEN: Also, on a much lighter note, round three of our series, "They've Got the Goods." We're talking to "Jeopardy" genius Ken Jennings. He was a game show goldmine in 2004. We're going to hear about his new place in pop culture history.
HEMMER: He's one of my heroes from 2004.
O'BRIEN: He is?
HEMMER: He just ripped up on everybody. He took, like, $2.5 million with him along the way.
O'BRIEN: That's a lot of cash for answering questions.
HEMMER: Big time.
O'BRIEN: And I think it was 73 straight games that he won.
HEMMER: He did it.
O'BRIEN: And he did a lot for the ratings, too.
HEMMER: Yes. That he did, too.
O'BRIEN: Good for him.
Let's get right, though, to the big storm that is hitting many states today. It's our top story. The winter storm is already dropping at least three inches of snow in parts of Indiana. And state police say that sleet and snow is covering the roads in southern and central Indiana, making driving obviously very hazardous.
Cincinnati is preparing for the big storm, loading up snow salt into trucks. It's already getting an icy mix of rain and snow.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Back to the headlines now. Carol Costello is with us.
Good morning to you. What's happening?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to both of you. And good morning to all of you.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to arrive in Ramallah at this hour. He's getting ready to meet with Palestinian officials to discuss pushing the Mideast peace process forward. Earlier, he met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon says he'll take part in talks with Palestinians if they curb the violence.
Here in the United States, another court date tomorrow for the woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and snatching her baby. Lisa Montgomery is facing a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death. In the meantime, in Maryville, Missouri, an outpouring of emotion for the victim. Some 300 mourners turned out to pay their last respects to 23-year-old Bobby Jo Stinnett who was buried yesterday.
Out in California, more testimony is set to get under way this morning in the Robert Blake murder trial. Yesterday, jurors heard a videotaped interview with Blake, in which he says he had been dedicated to his marriage. Prosecutors claim the former "Baretta" star killed his wife to gain custody of their daughter.
And in sports, a Major League Baseball deal collapses. Get this: The L.A. Dodgers have apparently withdrawn from a 3-team, 10-player trade. The deal would have sent Randy Johnson from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the New York Yankees. The Dodgers general manager says the deal just didn't make any sense for his team right now. So, see, there is some lucidity in the world of baseball.
HEMMER: Do you think so? Come on. Go find another example out.
O'BRIEN: Well, that's one.
COSTELLO: OK, here's just one instance.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carol.
Back to Iraq. This morning, the scene there with the FBI on the scene of that deadly attack yesterday in the dining hall in Mosul, trying to determine whether or not a rocket, a mortar or a bomb set inside the tent was the cause for the blast. Twenty-two are dead, including 14 American soldiers, 4 U.S. contractors and 4 Iraqi security workers, 72 others wounded, 51 of the 72 are U.S. soldiers. The Iraqi militant group, Jaish Ansar Al-Sunna, has taken responsibility for that attack yesterday in northern Iraq.
In just a short time, though, some of those wounded in the attack will arrive at the Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany. That's a short distance from Ramstein Air Base.
And Matthew Chance is on the scene there with more now.
Matthew -- hello.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, thanks very much.
And you join me here at the Ramstein Air Force Base, where we're anticipating the arrival in the next few hours of a U.S. Air Force transport plane coming from Iraq carrying 35 of the survivors of that devastating attack inside Mosul. Some of them, according to U.S. military officials, are in very critical condition indeed, having sustained extremely serious injuries as a result of that blast, that attack, the series of blasts, whatever it turns out to be.
We're are also told there may be other planes being readied as well to fly more of the injured here to Germany to receive treatment. But that's being done on a priority basis.
From this air base, the injured will be taken immediately to the Landstuhl Medical facility. It's just a few miles down the road from here. It's the biggest U.S. military hospital outside the U.S. And there, they'll get the intensive care and the treatment they'll need to stabilize them sufficiently so they can be put on a plane back home to the U.S.
It's interesting, because this was kind of an unexpected influx of casualties. There was no major offensive under way in Iraq when the attack took place. It's also obviously Christmastime. And over this holiday period a lot of the staff in Landstuhl, a lot of the doctors have been given time off to spend with their families.
And so now, there's a frantic effort under way on the parts of the authorities in Landstuhl to get those staff back in, to recall them in, to get their teams assembled on the ground and in the hospital to give those soldiers the treatment they need when they finally get there -- Bill.
HEMMER: Matthew, thanks. Matthew Chance watching that end of the story there from Germany.
Another note, back in Iraq. After four months in captivity, two French journalists now are on their way home from Iraq. In fact, they're traveling at this hour. Both men were taken hostage back in August. The Islamic Army of Iraq has taken responsibility for their capture, but the group says it released the two men because of France's stance on the war. France refused to join the American-led coalition to oust the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: On a much lighter note, all this week in our series, "They've Got the Goods," we are profiling people who made 2004 a year to remember. This morning, it's the man whose record-setting run on "Jeopardy" had the game show calling him its daddy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ken?
KEN JENNINGS, FORMER "JEOPARDY" CHAMP: What is Cubism?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ken?
JENNINGS: What is global warning?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ken?
JENNINGS: What's a black hole?
O'BRIEN (voice over): You have been living in a black hole if you don't know who Ken Jennings is. This summer and through the falls, he became a game show legend, winning 74 "Jeopardy" games.
(on camera): How much money did you win at the end of the day?
JENNINGS: Two million, five-hundred and twenty thousand and seven hundred dollars.
O'BRIEN: Oh, you know the number off the top of your head. You're like, umm, 2,500,000.
JENNINGS: I know because I've had to do interviews like this.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
JENNINGS: But I didn't know until someone told me.
O'BRIEN: Two-point-five million bucks.
JENNINGS: Just over two and a half million.
O'BRIEN: What are going to do will of that money? Have you spent some of it already?
JENNINGS: That's a lot of money. Really haven't much.
O'BRIEN: You've been busy.
JENNINGS: I've been pretty busy. My wife and I do want to travel quite a bit. We'll probably go to Europe sometime next year.
O'BRIEN: OK. That's $2,000 done.
JENNINGS: Yes. It might take a few more trips to Europe to get down to the bottom. I don't really see myself buying a lot of toys and stuff with the money. I don't think people get happy because they own a lot of stuff. You know? I sort of think it would be cool if the money could buy free times, you know, more time with my family and less time working. You know, more time to work on things that interest me. You know, working on a book or whatever it is. That would be cool if it could finance some stuff like that.
O'BRIEN (voice over): So, after 150 competitors and a 92 percent right answer rate at the buzzer, how did it all end for Jennings?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here is the clue, ladies and gentlemen. Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year.
JENNINGS: What is H&R Block?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're right. His final response was FedEx.
O'BRIEN (on camera): I've got to tell you, I'm terrible at "Jeopardy." I mean, horrifically bad. I thought that was an easy question. I was like, I got that question. I was yelling at the TV, like, 'I know the answer to that.'
JENNINGS: If only I could have heard you, you know. Yes, I think it's the kind of thing that either comes to you or it doesn't.
O'BRIEN: How did you know the answer to all those questions? Because, again, I thought the FedEx question -- the H&R Block that you answered the FedEx question was actually kind of easy. But there were some that were so incredibly tough that I was just amazed that you could get. How do you know the answers to that many questions across a really wide range?
JENNINGS: I guess you could see from the H&R Block question that, you know, nobody knows everything, you know. Even if you think you're pretty good, you don't know everything. But I guess I've just always been interested in a lot of different things. So maybe I sort of have, you know, a very shallow level of knowledge about a very wide range of subjects, just because I'm interested in a lot of stuff. And I think you tend to remember stuff about what you're interested in.
O'BRIEN (voice over): The final Jennings episode, November 30, got a 13 share in major TV markets. The next day it was down in the nines.
(on camera): You raised the ratings tremendously. I mean, do people come up to you on the street? Has it been weird? Have you lost your privacy to a large degree? Do you like it? Do you hate it?
JENNINGS: You know, the whole experience has been so great that it seems like it would be, you know, ungrateful of me to quibble about anything. But I am sort of a quiet person at heart. And it's sort of hard to not to be able to go out anywhere at all without, you know, double-takes and people pointing and stuff. But everyone has been very nice. You know, it's not like anyone has been, like, you suck, you're ruining "Jeopardy." You know, people have been very congratulatory, which is good.
O'BRIEN (voice over): Up next for Jennings is a book for Random House due in the summer of 2006. JENNINGS: There are going to be some other things. There is going to be a Ken trivia board game. I think can you beat Ken, that kind of thing? And I'll do some public speaking. There's a lot of fun things. I'm looking forward to it.
O'BRIEN (on camera): Do you want to do a reality show?
JENNINGS: No, I'd be perfectly happy to go back to the quiet life if that was the option.
O'BRIEN: "Fear Factor?"
JENNINGS: No, see, that's the great thing about "Jeopardy." You don't have to eat maggots, and they still give you lots of money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That's the great thing about "Jeopardy." You don't have to eat maggots. Ken Jennings is a dealmaker now. He has just signed on as a spokesman for Microsoft's Encarta, an electronic and online encyclopedia. You knew that was coming.
HEMMER: Oh, yes. That's a good match, too, huh? Synergy?
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: Ken seems like a good guy.
O'BRIEN: I'm going to go out on a limb and predict mucho mas (ph) for Ken on those kinds of things. Much, much more ahead for him.
HEMMER: And much more ahead for us as well. "90-Second Pop," a healthy dose on a Wednesday morning in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Let's check in with Jack. He has the "Question of the Day." We were just sitting here fighting.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we were just...
O'BRIEN: If I were talking to you, I would say, what's the "Question of the Day?"
CAFFERTY: We're discussing.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: It's a family here, Bill.
O'BRIEN: But I'm not talking to you this morning.
CAFFERTY: You're not talking to me this morning?
O'BRIEN: No. So go ahead and do whatever you're going to do.
HEMMER: I'm talking to Andy, by the way.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: There are small things in life to be grateful for. This is just one of them.
It's a serious topic this morning, so let's push ahead here. Yesterday's rocket attack in Mosul is a sign of a growing desperation among the insurgency in that country. With elections scheduled for January 30, their time might be running out, and they know that. The insurgents want an Islamic fundamentalist dictatorship to rule Iraq.
But if the elections happen, if the Iraqis show up and vote, it could mark the beginning of the end for them. The stakes couldn't be higher, and it's probably going to get worse before it gets better.
Here's the question: How will the escalating violence in Iraq affect the elections?
Johnny in New Orleans writes: "The only election that the violence should have affected was the presidential election here. Unfortunately, the majority of Americans turned a blind eye to their chance to salvage the situation, and therefore naively condemned us to more world fury."
Dave in Japan writes: "The elections will undoubtedly be affected by violence. But without the will of the people, democracy in Iraq doesn't stand a chance. Elections don't create democracy; democracy creates elections."
Larry in Crystal Beach, Texas: "How can we rest assured the safety of Iraqi citizens going to the polls when it cannot even assure the safety of its own troops at their own bases? Would you want to go vote under those conditions?"
Paul in Hellertown writes: "None. The Shiite majority will win the election and turn Bush's fantasy of a democracy into an Iran-like theocracy. Then the real violence will begin."
And finally Dan in Wisconsin: "We should add a referendum to the ballot asking Iraq's voters if the U.S. should leave. What a better way to demonstrate democracy and give us an opportunity to save face."
AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: Thirty-eight days and counting for that.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: January 30. Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes, good stuff.
HEMMER: The EU, the European Union, delivering a major blow to Microsoft. Andy is back with us "Minding Your Business," a second check this morning.
What's happening? SERWER: Good morning. I like that tie, by the way. Purple is very in.
HEMMER: Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Jack, you didn't get the purple tie memo? That's OK.
O'BRIEN: Apparently not.
SERWER: Yes. I don't know if he'd abide by it anyway.
CAFFERTY: Is there some hidden meaning to wearing purple ties?
SERWER: Yes, there is. Yes, there is.
CAFFERTY: Huh?
SERWER: Yes, there is.
CAFFERTY: OK. What is it?
SERWER: We'll reveal it later. No, it's not -- we will tell you later.
O'BRIEN: It means you're cool, cutting edge.
CAFFERTY: It means you're cool. Well...
SERWER: Can I talk about Microsoft?
HEMMER: You may.
SERWER: Thank you. The European Union has dealt the software giant a major blow. This is an unfolding story. Just hours ago the European Court of First Instance -- now, doesn't that sound like something out of "Harry Potter?" Actually, it's a very important entity in Luxemburg, and it has tremendous implications for the company.
You know, they've been involved in this court battle with the European Union for years now. The euros have fined the company $600 million in this latest ruling. It means that the company will have to divulge trade secrets and not bundle its Windows Media Player with its other software. This is the kind of stuff it's been battling for years.
Now, the company can still appeal this ruling, but it will be very interesting to see what happens to the stock this morning in the U.S.
Speaking of stocks, yesterday a banner day on Wall Street. The Dow up nearly 100 points. And that's a good thing. The Santa rally, you see here, in full effect.
HEMMER: Yes.
SERWER: And it looks as if it's going to be in full effect this morning as well, because the futures are higher.
HEMMER: All right. We'll watch that.
SERWER: Indeed.
HEMMER: I like your tie, too, despite what Jack says.
SERWER: I like it. Jack's is fine, too, but it's not purple.
HEMMER: That's right.
CAFFERTY: That's correct.
SERWER: No, it's not.
O'BRIEN: I think you're all among the most handsome men.
HEMMER: That's why we like you.
SERWER: I like your glasses.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: If I were talking to you, I would say that's...
SERWER: This mutual admiration stuff has got to stop at some point.
HEMMER: And I like your glasses.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
CAFFERTY: Could Carol Costello not make it in today? What's the deal?
O'BRIEN: She's here.
HEMMER: What are you talking about?
SERWER: She's here.
O'BRIEN: Whoa!
HEMMER: Geez.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Wedded bliss into an episode of "Cops" for one couple in Hollywood. "90-Second Pop" right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: See what we can do with satellite radio now? It's kind of cool. "90-Second Pop" on a Wednesday. Meet the real Fresh Prince. Andy Borowitz from BorowotzReport.com.
Good morning, Drew. How are you?
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Good morning.
HEMMER: And the Princess Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine. I'm sucking up now.
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Oh, thank you.
HEMMER: And my man, Toured.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: I was...
BERNARD: You don't get a title?
HEMMER: Pop culture correspondent.
TOURE: I don't get to be royalty?
HEMMER: Pop culture correspondent at CNN.
TOURE: Oh!
HEMMER: Take us to California. Josh Brolin and Diane Lane got into a bit of a scrap. What do we know that's fact on this?
TOURE: It's a -- I mean, the crazy kids had a rough night. You know, they had an argument.
HEMMER: Crazy.
TOURE: He pushed her.
HEMMER: Yes.
TOURE: She went to bed. He was upset that she was able to go to bed during the argument, which we all know is very upsetting.
BERNARD: I was going to say, a very big mistake.
TOURE: So then he then kicked her out of bed, at which point she called 911. And it became a whole other thing. I mean, you know, any sort of domestic abuse is sad. It's wrong. But, you know, it's Hollywood. So we all...
HEMMER: They said it was a misunderstanding? What? Are they living in Malibu?
BOROWITZ: Well, she meant to call 411? I mean, what does that mean?
BERNARD: It's the help line. I just think, you know, they've been married for four months.
HEMMER: Right.
BERNARD: That's really in Hollywood years, that's like 20 years.
BOROWITZ: That's an eternity.
HEMMER: There were...
BOROWITZ: This was one of the matrimonial success stories.
BERNARD: Right. They're reaching the end.
HEMMER: They were engaged, what, two years ago? They have been together a while.
BERNARD: Something like that. But, oh, the other thing that's interesting is...
HEMMER: Yes?
BERNARD: ... he is Barbara Streisand's...
BOROWITZ: Stepson.
BERNARD: ... stepson. And, you know "Meet the Fockers" comes out today. So this is actually just kind of like a little promo.
HEMMER: That's publicity.
BOROWITZ: A promo.
HEMMER: You know, Sarah...
BERNARD: Yes.
HEMMER: ... she's too good for him anyway.
BERNARD: Diane or Barbara?
HEMMER: Diane. Next topic, Anna Kournikova. What's happening here? Is she married or not?
BERNARD: I don't know.
HEMMER: And why do we care?
BERNARD: That's a good question. You know...
TOURE: Weren't you there?
BOROWITZ: I was there, yes.
BERNARD: Oh, right. He was the only person at the wedding.
BOROWITZ: I feel so betrayed.
BERNARD: He's so popular. BOROWITZ: It was I took part in a sham obviously.
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: And so we're not sure. We were talking about how we thought that Anna and Enrique got married secretly in Mexico a week or two ago. And now it turns out that the ring she was wearing was a ring she had for a long time. And she just had it on her finger.
BOROWITZ: This, by the way, is what Diane Lane and Josh Brolin were arguing about, whether or not they were married. So it's kind of...
BERNARD: No, it's very intense. But, I mean, this is the kind of thing where she is a tennis star who doesn't play tennis. He's a pop star who hasn't had an album in two years.
HEMMER: I want that job.
TOURE: And hasn't had a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in much longer than that.
BERNARD: Yes.
HEMMER: So that's how they dribble things along for publicity these days, right?
BERNARD: Right.
HEMMER: You ask them the question. They do not issue a denial.
BERNARD: Right.
TOURE: Part of the story is "US" versus "People." "People" is reporting this did not happen.
BERNARD: "US" magazine.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: Right, "US" magazine, not us.
BERNARD: That was like...
TOURE: "US" magazine. And so "People" is trying to embarrass "US" magazine, which got the scoop on this.
HEMMER: I have another question here. I'm sorry. I think I had asked it before. Does anyone really care?
TOURE: Hello!
HEMMER: Dick Clark may be...
TOURE: Wait. Does anybody really care?
BERNARD: Oh!
HEMMER: We're about to find out. He's going to miss New Year's Eve.
TOURE: Yes.
HEMMER: And apparently not recovering as quickly as some had suggested. Is that the story?
BOROWITZ: Right. I guess the story that Reg, of course, Reg is going to be filling in.
HEMMER: Yes.
BOROWITZ: He's going to do the countdown. The show that I'm going to watch on New Year's Eve, though, is Fox, because they're going to have Ryan Seacrest. And what I hope they do is that they count down his 15 minutes of fame, and then he just disappears.
TOURE: Already over.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: Because the Jumbotron goes to black at that point. Wouldn't that be awesome?
TOURE: I'm going to watch CNN's show.
BOROWITZ: With Toure.
HEMMER: Terrific.
TOURE: Anderson Cooper and Toure.
HEMMER: Come on!
TOURE: Hello!
HEMMER: We're there.
BERNARD: That's fun.
TOURE: That's the fun New Year's Eve show.
HEMMER: And a lot of people do.
TOURE: Exactly.
BERNARD: Well, I think the reason why that they got Regis, though, as opposed to someone saying why didn't they get some sexy young girl is because...
HEMMER: Yes (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
BERNARD: Right. No, it's a testament to Dick Clark's power. I mean, he produces the Golden Globes. He produces the AMAs, "American Dreams," that show. I mean, he is really a power figure in Hollwyood.
HEMMER: How many times do you think ABC will mention his name on New Year's Eve?
BERNARD: A thousand.
HEMMER: A lot.
BOROWITZ: A lot.
HEMMER: Well, we wish him well. He's been around with us for so long on New Year's Eve.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
HEMMER: And a quick recovery, right?
BERNARD: It won't be New Year's without him.
HEMMER: But, Toure, see you. See you guys. Happy holidays.
Here is Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, thanks, Bill. I'm watching Toure. A winter wonderland has turned holiday travel nightmare. Who is going to feel the full force of the winter blast? Ahead, stay with us.
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Aired December 22, 2004 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's daybreak in New York City. A great looking shot over Central Park there.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That's nice.
HEMMER: Yes, it's really nice. It's chilly outside, by warmer than yesterday.
O'BRIEN: Exactly.
HEMMER: We're only going up, right? Welcome back, everybody. We've got a winter storm we're watching today in the middle part of the country. Chad is back in a moment with more of that. And some of the wounded from that attack on that base in Mosul are heading now for treatment in Germany. Matthew Chance is there. He'll tell us live in a moment about the preparations that are ongoing. So Matthew is up in a moment as well.
O'BRIEN: Also, on a much lighter note, round three of our series, "They've Got the Goods." We're talking to "Jeopardy" genius Ken Jennings. He was a game show goldmine in 2004. We're going to hear about his new place in pop culture history.
HEMMER: He's one of my heroes from 2004.
O'BRIEN: He is?
HEMMER: He just ripped up on everybody. He took, like, $2.5 million with him along the way.
O'BRIEN: That's a lot of cash for answering questions.
HEMMER: Big time.
O'BRIEN: And I think it was 73 straight games that he won.
HEMMER: He did it.
O'BRIEN: And he did a lot for the ratings, too.
HEMMER: Yes. That he did, too.
O'BRIEN: Good for him.
Let's get right, though, to the big storm that is hitting many states today. It's our top story. The winter storm is already dropping at least three inches of snow in parts of Indiana. And state police say that sleet and snow is covering the roads in southern and central Indiana, making driving obviously very hazardous.
Cincinnati is preparing for the big storm, loading up snow salt into trucks. It's already getting an icy mix of rain and snow.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Back to the headlines now. Carol Costello is with us.
Good morning to you. What's happening?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to both of you. And good morning to all of you.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to arrive in Ramallah at this hour. He's getting ready to meet with Palestinian officials to discuss pushing the Mideast peace process forward. Earlier, he met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon says he'll take part in talks with Palestinians if they curb the violence.
Here in the United States, another court date tomorrow for the woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and snatching her baby. Lisa Montgomery is facing a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death. In the meantime, in Maryville, Missouri, an outpouring of emotion for the victim. Some 300 mourners turned out to pay their last respects to 23-year-old Bobby Jo Stinnett who was buried yesterday.
Out in California, more testimony is set to get under way this morning in the Robert Blake murder trial. Yesterday, jurors heard a videotaped interview with Blake, in which he says he had been dedicated to his marriage. Prosecutors claim the former "Baretta" star killed his wife to gain custody of their daughter.
And in sports, a Major League Baseball deal collapses. Get this: The L.A. Dodgers have apparently withdrawn from a 3-team, 10-player trade. The deal would have sent Randy Johnson from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the New York Yankees. The Dodgers general manager says the deal just didn't make any sense for his team right now. So, see, there is some lucidity in the world of baseball.
HEMMER: Do you think so? Come on. Go find another example out.
O'BRIEN: Well, that's one.
COSTELLO: OK, here's just one instance.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carol.
Back to Iraq. This morning, the scene there with the FBI on the scene of that deadly attack yesterday in the dining hall in Mosul, trying to determine whether or not a rocket, a mortar or a bomb set inside the tent was the cause for the blast. Twenty-two are dead, including 14 American soldiers, 4 U.S. contractors and 4 Iraqi security workers, 72 others wounded, 51 of the 72 are U.S. soldiers. The Iraqi militant group, Jaish Ansar Al-Sunna, has taken responsibility for that attack yesterday in northern Iraq.
In just a short time, though, some of those wounded in the attack will arrive at the Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany. That's a short distance from Ramstein Air Base.
And Matthew Chance is on the scene there with more now.
Matthew -- hello.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, thanks very much.
And you join me here at the Ramstein Air Force Base, where we're anticipating the arrival in the next few hours of a U.S. Air Force transport plane coming from Iraq carrying 35 of the survivors of that devastating attack inside Mosul. Some of them, according to U.S. military officials, are in very critical condition indeed, having sustained extremely serious injuries as a result of that blast, that attack, the series of blasts, whatever it turns out to be.
We're are also told there may be other planes being readied as well to fly more of the injured here to Germany to receive treatment. But that's being done on a priority basis.
From this air base, the injured will be taken immediately to the Landstuhl Medical facility. It's just a few miles down the road from here. It's the biggest U.S. military hospital outside the U.S. And there, they'll get the intensive care and the treatment they'll need to stabilize them sufficiently so they can be put on a plane back home to the U.S.
It's interesting, because this was kind of an unexpected influx of casualties. There was no major offensive under way in Iraq when the attack took place. It's also obviously Christmastime. And over this holiday period a lot of the staff in Landstuhl, a lot of the doctors have been given time off to spend with their families.
And so now, there's a frantic effort under way on the parts of the authorities in Landstuhl to get those staff back in, to recall them in, to get their teams assembled on the ground and in the hospital to give those soldiers the treatment they need when they finally get there -- Bill.
HEMMER: Matthew, thanks. Matthew Chance watching that end of the story there from Germany.
Another note, back in Iraq. After four months in captivity, two French journalists now are on their way home from Iraq. In fact, they're traveling at this hour. Both men were taken hostage back in August. The Islamic Army of Iraq has taken responsibility for their capture, but the group says it released the two men because of France's stance on the war. France refused to join the American-led coalition to oust the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: On a much lighter note, all this week in our series, "They've Got the Goods," we are profiling people who made 2004 a year to remember. This morning, it's the man whose record-setting run on "Jeopardy" had the game show calling him its daddy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ken?
KEN JENNINGS, FORMER "JEOPARDY" CHAMP: What is Cubism?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ken?
JENNINGS: What is global warning?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ken?
JENNINGS: What's a black hole?
O'BRIEN (voice over): You have been living in a black hole if you don't know who Ken Jennings is. This summer and through the falls, he became a game show legend, winning 74 "Jeopardy" games.
(on camera): How much money did you win at the end of the day?
JENNINGS: Two million, five-hundred and twenty thousand and seven hundred dollars.
O'BRIEN: Oh, you know the number off the top of your head. You're like, umm, 2,500,000.
JENNINGS: I know because I've had to do interviews like this.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
JENNINGS: But I didn't know until someone told me.
O'BRIEN: Two-point-five million bucks.
JENNINGS: Just over two and a half million.
O'BRIEN: What are going to do will of that money? Have you spent some of it already?
JENNINGS: That's a lot of money. Really haven't much.
O'BRIEN: You've been busy.
JENNINGS: I've been pretty busy. My wife and I do want to travel quite a bit. We'll probably go to Europe sometime next year.
O'BRIEN: OK. That's $2,000 done.
JENNINGS: Yes. It might take a few more trips to Europe to get down to the bottom. I don't really see myself buying a lot of toys and stuff with the money. I don't think people get happy because they own a lot of stuff. You know? I sort of think it would be cool if the money could buy free times, you know, more time with my family and less time working. You know, more time to work on things that interest me. You know, working on a book or whatever it is. That would be cool if it could finance some stuff like that.
O'BRIEN (voice over): So, after 150 competitors and a 92 percent right answer rate at the buzzer, how did it all end for Jennings?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here is the clue, ladies and gentlemen. Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year.
JENNINGS: What is H&R Block?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're right. His final response was FedEx.
O'BRIEN (on camera): I've got to tell you, I'm terrible at "Jeopardy." I mean, horrifically bad. I thought that was an easy question. I was like, I got that question. I was yelling at the TV, like, 'I know the answer to that.'
JENNINGS: If only I could have heard you, you know. Yes, I think it's the kind of thing that either comes to you or it doesn't.
O'BRIEN: How did you know the answer to all those questions? Because, again, I thought the FedEx question -- the H&R Block that you answered the FedEx question was actually kind of easy. But there were some that were so incredibly tough that I was just amazed that you could get. How do you know the answers to that many questions across a really wide range?
JENNINGS: I guess you could see from the H&R Block question that, you know, nobody knows everything, you know. Even if you think you're pretty good, you don't know everything. But I guess I've just always been interested in a lot of different things. So maybe I sort of have, you know, a very shallow level of knowledge about a very wide range of subjects, just because I'm interested in a lot of stuff. And I think you tend to remember stuff about what you're interested in.
O'BRIEN (voice over): The final Jennings episode, November 30, got a 13 share in major TV markets. The next day it was down in the nines.
(on camera): You raised the ratings tremendously. I mean, do people come up to you on the street? Has it been weird? Have you lost your privacy to a large degree? Do you like it? Do you hate it?
JENNINGS: You know, the whole experience has been so great that it seems like it would be, you know, ungrateful of me to quibble about anything. But I am sort of a quiet person at heart. And it's sort of hard to not to be able to go out anywhere at all without, you know, double-takes and people pointing and stuff. But everyone has been very nice. You know, it's not like anyone has been, like, you suck, you're ruining "Jeopardy." You know, people have been very congratulatory, which is good.
O'BRIEN (voice over): Up next for Jennings is a book for Random House due in the summer of 2006. JENNINGS: There are going to be some other things. There is going to be a Ken trivia board game. I think can you beat Ken, that kind of thing? And I'll do some public speaking. There's a lot of fun things. I'm looking forward to it.
O'BRIEN (on camera): Do you want to do a reality show?
JENNINGS: No, I'd be perfectly happy to go back to the quiet life if that was the option.
O'BRIEN: "Fear Factor?"
JENNINGS: No, see, that's the great thing about "Jeopardy." You don't have to eat maggots, and they still give you lots of money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That's the great thing about "Jeopardy." You don't have to eat maggots. Ken Jennings is a dealmaker now. He has just signed on as a spokesman for Microsoft's Encarta, an electronic and online encyclopedia. You knew that was coming.
HEMMER: Oh, yes. That's a good match, too, huh? Synergy?
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: Ken seems like a good guy.
O'BRIEN: I'm going to go out on a limb and predict mucho mas (ph) for Ken on those kinds of things. Much, much more ahead for him.
HEMMER: And much more ahead for us as well. "90-Second Pop," a healthy dose on a Wednesday morning in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Let's check in with Jack. He has the "Question of the Day." We were just sitting here fighting.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we were just...
O'BRIEN: If I were talking to you, I would say, what's the "Question of the Day?"
CAFFERTY: We're discussing.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: It's a family here, Bill.
O'BRIEN: But I'm not talking to you this morning.
CAFFERTY: You're not talking to me this morning?
O'BRIEN: No. So go ahead and do whatever you're going to do.
HEMMER: I'm talking to Andy, by the way.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: There are small things in life to be grateful for. This is just one of them.
It's a serious topic this morning, so let's push ahead here. Yesterday's rocket attack in Mosul is a sign of a growing desperation among the insurgency in that country. With elections scheduled for January 30, their time might be running out, and they know that. The insurgents want an Islamic fundamentalist dictatorship to rule Iraq.
But if the elections happen, if the Iraqis show up and vote, it could mark the beginning of the end for them. The stakes couldn't be higher, and it's probably going to get worse before it gets better.
Here's the question: How will the escalating violence in Iraq affect the elections?
Johnny in New Orleans writes: "The only election that the violence should have affected was the presidential election here. Unfortunately, the majority of Americans turned a blind eye to their chance to salvage the situation, and therefore naively condemned us to more world fury."
Dave in Japan writes: "The elections will undoubtedly be affected by violence. But without the will of the people, democracy in Iraq doesn't stand a chance. Elections don't create democracy; democracy creates elections."
Larry in Crystal Beach, Texas: "How can we rest assured the safety of Iraqi citizens going to the polls when it cannot even assure the safety of its own troops at their own bases? Would you want to go vote under those conditions?"
Paul in Hellertown writes: "None. The Shiite majority will win the election and turn Bush's fantasy of a democracy into an Iran-like theocracy. Then the real violence will begin."
And finally Dan in Wisconsin: "We should add a referendum to the ballot asking Iraq's voters if the U.S. should leave. What a better way to demonstrate democracy and give us an opportunity to save face."
AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: Thirty-eight days and counting for that.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: January 30. Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes, good stuff.
HEMMER: The EU, the European Union, delivering a major blow to Microsoft. Andy is back with us "Minding Your Business," a second check this morning.
What's happening? SERWER: Good morning. I like that tie, by the way. Purple is very in.
HEMMER: Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Jack, you didn't get the purple tie memo? That's OK.
O'BRIEN: Apparently not.
SERWER: Yes. I don't know if he'd abide by it anyway.
CAFFERTY: Is there some hidden meaning to wearing purple ties?
SERWER: Yes, there is. Yes, there is.
CAFFERTY: Huh?
SERWER: Yes, there is.
CAFFERTY: OK. What is it?
SERWER: We'll reveal it later. No, it's not -- we will tell you later.
O'BRIEN: It means you're cool, cutting edge.
CAFFERTY: It means you're cool. Well...
SERWER: Can I talk about Microsoft?
HEMMER: You may.
SERWER: Thank you. The European Union has dealt the software giant a major blow. This is an unfolding story. Just hours ago the European Court of First Instance -- now, doesn't that sound like something out of "Harry Potter?" Actually, it's a very important entity in Luxemburg, and it has tremendous implications for the company.
You know, they've been involved in this court battle with the European Union for years now. The euros have fined the company $600 million in this latest ruling. It means that the company will have to divulge trade secrets and not bundle its Windows Media Player with its other software. This is the kind of stuff it's been battling for years.
Now, the company can still appeal this ruling, but it will be very interesting to see what happens to the stock this morning in the U.S.
Speaking of stocks, yesterday a banner day on Wall Street. The Dow up nearly 100 points. And that's a good thing. The Santa rally, you see here, in full effect.
HEMMER: Yes.
SERWER: And it looks as if it's going to be in full effect this morning as well, because the futures are higher.
HEMMER: All right. We'll watch that.
SERWER: Indeed.
HEMMER: I like your tie, too, despite what Jack says.
SERWER: I like it. Jack's is fine, too, but it's not purple.
HEMMER: That's right.
CAFFERTY: That's correct.
SERWER: No, it's not.
O'BRIEN: I think you're all among the most handsome men.
HEMMER: That's why we like you.
SERWER: I like your glasses.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: If I were talking to you, I would say that's...
SERWER: This mutual admiration stuff has got to stop at some point.
HEMMER: And I like your glasses.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
CAFFERTY: Could Carol Costello not make it in today? What's the deal?
O'BRIEN: She's here.
HEMMER: What are you talking about?
SERWER: She's here.
O'BRIEN: Whoa!
HEMMER: Geez.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Wedded bliss into an episode of "Cops" for one couple in Hollywood. "90-Second Pop" right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: See what we can do with satellite radio now? It's kind of cool. "90-Second Pop" on a Wednesday. Meet the real Fresh Prince. Andy Borowitz from BorowotzReport.com.
Good morning, Drew. How are you?
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Good morning.
HEMMER: And the Princess Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine. I'm sucking up now.
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Oh, thank you.
HEMMER: And my man, Toured.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: I was...
BERNARD: You don't get a title?
HEMMER: Pop culture correspondent.
TOURE: I don't get to be royalty?
HEMMER: Pop culture correspondent at CNN.
TOURE: Oh!
HEMMER: Take us to California. Josh Brolin and Diane Lane got into a bit of a scrap. What do we know that's fact on this?
TOURE: It's a -- I mean, the crazy kids had a rough night. You know, they had an argument.
HEMMER: Crazy.
TOURE: He pushed her.
HEMMER: Yes.
TOURE: She went to bed. He was upset that she was able to go to bed during the argument, which we all know is very upsetting.
BERNARD: I was going to say, a very big mistake.
TOURE: So then he then kicked her out of bed, at which point she called 911. And it became a whole other thing. I mean, you know, any sort of domestic abuse is sad. It's wrong. But, you know, it's Hollywood. So we all...
HEMMER: They said it was a misunderstanding? What? Are they living in Malibu?
BOROWITZ: Well, she meant to call 411? I mean, what does that mean?
BERNARD: It's the help line. I just think, you know, they've been married for four months.
HEMMER: Right.
BERNARD: That's really in Hollywood years, that's like 20 years.
BOROWITZ: That's an eternity.
HEMMER: There were...
BOROWITZ: This was one of the matrimonial success stories.
BERNARD: Right. They're reaching the end.
HEMMER: They were engaged, what, two years ago? They have been together a while.
BERNARD: Something like that. But, oh, the other thing that's interesting is...
HEMMER: Yes?
BERNARD: ... he is Barbara Streisand's...
BOROWITZ: Stepson.
BERNARD: ... stepson. And, you know "Meet the Fockers" comes out today. So this is actually just kind of like a little promo.
HEMMER: That's publicity.
BOROWITZ: A promo.
HEMMER: You know, Sarah...
BERNARD: Yes.
HEMMER: ... she's too good for him anyway.
BERNARD: Diane or Barbara?
HEMMER: Diane. Next topic, Anna Kournikova. What's happening here? Is she married or not?
BERNARD: I don't know.
HEMMER: And why do we care?
BERNARD: That's a good question. You know...
TOURE: Weren't you there?
BOROWITZ: I was there, yes.
BERNARD: Oh, right. He was the only person at the wedding.
BOROWITZ: I feel so betrayed.
BERNARD: He's so popular. BOROWITZ: It was I took part in a sham obviously.
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: And so we're not sure. We were talking about how we thought that Anna and Enrique got married secretly in Mexico a week or two ago. And now it turns out that the ring she was wearing was a ring she had for a long time. And she just had it on her finger.
BOROWITZ: This, by the way, is what Diane Lane and Josh Brolin were arguing about, whether or not they were married. So it's kind of...
BERNARD: No, it's very intense. But, I mean, this is the kind of thing where she is a tennis star who doesn't play tennis. He's a pop star who hasn't had an album in two years.
HEMMER: I want that job.
TOURE: And hasn't had a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in much longer than that.
BERNARD: Yes.
HEMMER: So that's how they dribble things along for publicity these days, right?
BERNARD: Right.
HEMMER: You ask them the question. They do not issue a denial.
BERNARD: Right.
TOURE: Part of the story is "US" versus "People." "People" is reporting this did not happen.
BERNARD: "US" magazine.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: Right, "US" magazine, not us.
BERNARD: That was like...
TOURE: "US" magazine. And so "People" is trying to embarrass "US" magazine, which got the scoop on this.
HEMMER: I have another question here. I'm sorry. I think I had asked it before. Does anyone really care?
TOURE: Hello!
HEMMER: Dick Clark may be...
TOURE: Wait. Does anybody really care?
BERNARD: Oh!
HEMMER: We're about to find out. He's going to miss New Year's Eve.
TOURE: Yes.
HEMMER: And apparently not recovering as quickly as some had suggested. Is that the story?
BOROWITZ: Right. I guess the story that Reg, of course, Reg is going to be filling in.
HEMMER: Yes.
BOROWITZ: He's going to do the countdown. The show that I'm going to watch on New Year's Eve, though, is Fox, because they're going to have Ryan Seacrest. And what I hope they do is that they count down his 15 minutes of fame, and then he just disappears.
TOURE: Already over.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: Because the Jumbotron goes to black at that point. Wouldn't that be awesome?
TOURE: I'm going to watch CNN's show.
BOROWITZ: With Toure.
HEMMER: Terrific.
TOURE: Anderson Cooper and Toure.
HEMMER: Come on!
TOURE: Hello!
HEMMER: We're there.
BERNARD: That's fun.
TOURE: That's the fun New Year's Eve show.
HEMMER: And a lot of people do.
TOURE: Exactly.
BERNARD: Well, I think the reason why that they got Regis, though, as opposed to someone saying why didn't they get some sexy young girl is because...
HEMMER: Yes (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
BERNARD: Right. No, it's a testament to Dick Clark's power. I mean, he produces the Golden Globes. He produces the AMAs, "American Dreams," that show. I mean, he is really a power figure in Hollwyood.
HEMMER: How many times do you think ABC will mention his name on New Year's Eve?
BERNARD: A thousand.
HEMMER: A lot.
BOROWITZ: A lot.
HEMMER: Well, we wish him well. He's been around with us for so long on New Year's Eve.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
HEMMER: And a quick recovery, right?
BERNARD: It won't be New Year's without him.
HEMMER: But, Toure, see you. See you guys. Happy holidays.
Here is Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, thanks, Bill. I'm watching Toure. A winter wonderland has turned holiday travel nightmare. Who is going to feel the full force of the winter blast? Ahead, stay with us.
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