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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Terror campaign against new Iraqi government escalates, Are new poll results affecting President Bush? Missing girl, softball coach, found

Aired June 24, 2004 - 19:00   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.


ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening, I'm Anderson Cooper, live from Baghdad.
The terror campaign against the new Iraqi government escalates dramatically.

360 starts now.

ANNOUNCER: Coordinated terror attacks across Iraq kill scores, and a terror mastermind claims credit.

More Americans than ever think the war in Iraq is a mistake. But is it hurting the president?

The heart and soul of the presidential campaign, as the candidates court the faithful.

Missing for nine months, finally found. Where was Mimi Smith, and what was her relationship with the man she called Coach?

This is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, with Anderson Cooper reporting from Iraq and Heidi Collins in New York.

COOPER: Good evening, I'm Anderson Cooper, live from Baghdad. Thanks for joining us.

What a day it has been here in Iraq. Over 100 -- just about 100 people have been killed in a wave of separate attacks in many cities throughout the country. Coalition sources say and Iraqi authorities had warned all along that this sort of thing might happen in the days leading up to the handover of power next week. But that does not lessen the pain and shock felt in cities whose residents endured the dramatic assault.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Iraqi police bore the brunt of violence stretching from Mosul in the north to Fallujah, Baquba, and Ramadi in the center of the country. There were nine separate attacks, including five against police stations that appeared coordinated and killed nearly 100.

Mosul saw the worst of it, with attacks at the Iraqi police academy, two police stations, and a hospital, killing more than 50 people. Further south, in Baquba, the U.S. 1st Armored Division fought a pitched battle with insurgents. Fighters roamed the city with rocket launchers and automatic weapons and attacked police stations, killing several Iraqi policemen and two U.S. soldiers. The local hospital was flooded with patients.

BASSAM ABDEL-HUSSEIN, ASSISTANT DOCTOR, BAQUBA HOSPITAL (through translator): We have had, since 6:00 a.m. this morning, six injured people. Three others were killed, including two children and an elderly man. The wounded people have multiple injuries. Some of them have injuries to the chest and head. One of them had their hand amputated.

COOPER: And in Fallujah, scene of intense fighting earlier this spring, U.S. Marines say they battled insurgents for a couple of hours before the fighting subsided.

On an Islamic Web site, claims of responsibility for the attacks were posted by a group linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the alleged mastermind of many terror attacks in the country, including the beheading of a South Korean contractor and American Nick Berg.

The country's new interim prime minister says the attacks were not coordinated but were the acts of a desperate few.

IYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERMEDIATE PRIME MINISTER: (through translator): And the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) who are trying to inflict damage on the Iraqi people are not only in Fallujah, they are elsewhere in Iraq. They are trying to do this, as we think, as because they are really becoming more and more isolated, more and more despaired, and more and more distressed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: It is understandable, of course, that the headlines in tomorrow's papers and today's news would trumpet the latest violence. But what I've learned here in Iraq is that not everything is what it seems. Yes, the attacks were deadly. Yes, the attacks were brutal.

But not everywhere in Iraq was there violence. I went on patrol today with some members of the U.S. 1st Cavalry. And what they said to me is that what you see at home is often not what they see every day here in Iraq. I'll have their story coming up a little bit later.

A new CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll is out, and President Bush, some bad news for him. In it, all along, President Bush has said the war here in Iraq was a war of necessity. For the first time, a majority of Americans say they do not agree. There was some good economic news, however, today for the White House.

For all of that, let's go to senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): For more than a year, Americans have felt that the U.S. did the right thing sending troops to Iraq. As recently as two and a half weeks ago, a majority rejected the view that the war in Iraq was a mistake.

No longer. For the first time, most Americans now believe the U.S. made a mistake sending troops to Iraq.

What's driving the disillusionment? Two things.

The Bush administration always defended the Iraqi engagement as part of the war on terrorism.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The killers know that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror.

SCHNEIDER: At the end of the war, most Americans said they thought it had made the U.S. safer. They still felt that way after the capture of Saddam Hussein last December. No more.

Now, most Americans feel the war in Iraq has not made the U.S. safer. Moreover, this month, the 9/11 commission reported finding, quote, "no credible evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda cooperated on attacks against the United States."

And the poll shows that for the first time, most Americans believe Saddam Hussein was not personally involved in those attacks.

The turn against Iraq is happening at the very same time things are beginning to look up for President Bush on the economy. The president's approval ratings on the economy have been increasing this month.

Iraq down, economy up. Where does that leave the presidential race? Statistically tied. Bush, 49 percent, Kerry, 48.

(on camera): The ground is shifting in this campaign. Iraq is becoming a problem for President Bush, while the economy may not turn out to have a big payoff for the Democrats.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: At the Supreme Court today, a legal victory for Vice President Dick Cheney, the ruling, 7-2. The court said that Cheney does not have to reveal the secret workings of the energy task force that he headed back in 2001.

For now, that is. The high court is keeping the case alive by sending it back to a lower court. Two groups, the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch, are suing for access to Cheney's task force records. They want to know if the administration's energy policy was secretly influenced by corporate interests.

Now, still on the subject of access and records, criminal investigators made a stop at an address they rarely ever visit, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.

CNN's White House correspondent Dana Bash reports why. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For one hour and 10 minutes, the president was questioned in the Oval Office by a special prosecutor leading a criminal probe of his administration. Mr. Bush was not under oath and had only a newly hired private attorney at his side as U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald tried to find out who may have leaked the covert identity of a CIA agent.

LANNY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SPECIAL COUNSEL: It doesn't mean he did anything wrong, but it means that any thorough prosecutor would be obligated to interview the president.

BASH: At issue is this column last July by Robert Novak, revealing former ambassador Joe Wilson's wife was undercover at the CIA. Wilson accused the White House of blowing his wife's cover as retaliation for saying the president's State of the Union claim Iraq was trying to buy nuclear material was false.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you regret that your State of the Union accusation that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear materials in Africa?

BASH: After Wilson came forward, the president was plagued by questions about the claims, which the White House was forced to disavow.

Administration officials say Mr. Bush was present in what they describe as routine strategy meetings, where responding to Wilson's criticism was discussed.

The Oval Office interview comes nearly one month after a similar session with the vice president. While neither man gave sworn testimony, other senior staffers, including White House counsel Alberto Gonzalez, have testified before a federal grand jury. Although there are still outstanding subpoenas to journalists, legal experts say Thursday's interview could signal the investigation is wrapping up.

LARRY BARCELLA, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Pretty clearly you'd wait and have the vice president and the president be the last of the people that you would likely interview.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: When asked if the president, who vowed to change the culture in Washington, was disturbed about being questioned in a criminal probe of his administration, a spokesman said simply, He too wants to get to the bottom of the issue, Anderson.

COOPER: Dana Bash at the White House, thanks very much, Dana, fascinating.

I'm going to be back from Baghdad throughout the program tonight. A number of reports to bring to you, including my time on patrol today with the 1st Cavalry. Their message, not everything in Iraq is what you see at home. I'll bring you that later on on 360.

For now, let's get the other day's top stories from Heidi Collins in New York. Hey, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Anderson, thanks so much.

We begin in Turkey. Terror in Turkey, that is. It tops our look at international stories we're following in the uplink. Ankara and Istanbul, bombs explode. Just days before President Bush and other world leaders head to Istanbul for a NATO summit, a female suicide bomber blows up a bus, killing herself and three others.

Earlier, a suspicious package exploded outside an Ankara hotel where Mr. Bush is scheduled to spend the night. The White House says the attacks will not affect the president's plans.

Headed for London. Eight British servicemen freed three days after being detained in Iran for crossing into Iranian waters from Iraq. Still being discussed, the fate of their three impounded ships.

Havana, Cuba, tears and anger over new U.S. rules on travel to the communist country that take effect next Wednesday. Cuban- Americans are heading back to the U.S. knowing after June 30 they can only visit again once every three years for a maximum of two weeks.

Vancouver, British Columbia, NHL player Todd Bertuzzie (ph) of the Canucks is charged with assault for an on-ice attack in March that left Colorado's Steve Moore with a broken neck. Bertuzzie remains suspended from the league.

Berlin Zoo, Germany, ape on the loose. The silverback gorilla climbed over his 15-foot glass enclosure and joined horrified tourists for a little stroll through the park. Two zookeepers led him to a park bench, where he sat down and refused to budge. A little persuasive force and a sedative dart got him walking again, but with his head hanging low, dejected, knowing his Hairy Houdini act was over.

And that's tonight's uplink.

360 next, Cheney drops the F-bomb. Shock and awe on Capitol Hill after the vice president gives Senator Leahy an earful. We have the details on how it happened.

Plus, bombshell in the Scott Peterson trial. A cop admits deleting key information from his report. Is this high-profile case heading for a mistrial?

And religion and politics. Have the Democrats given up too easily on the Christian vote? Jerry Falwell and Al Sharpton weigh in.

But first, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: On Capitol Hill today, an annual tradition, the Senate class photo, a time to put partisan politics aside and simply smile for the camera.

But not this year. It seems Vice President Dick Cheney, who serves as president of the Senate, had words with one of the senators. Or should we say a word?

Details from CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry now. Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Heidi.

Early this year, the White House chief of staff criticized Senator John Kerry for using the F-word in a magazine interview. But on Tuesday, it was Vice President Cheney who used the F-word. He got into an angry confrontation, as you mentioned, with Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, who has been leading the attack against Mr. Cheney on the issue of the vice president's ties to Halliburton, the company he used to run.

You will remember that in the 2000 presidential campaign, President Bush had used an expletive to describe a "New York Times" reporter. Vice President Cheney had nodded his approval. But this time, it was Mr. Cheney himself using the F-word as he went up to Mr. Leahy and said, Why are you continuing these attacks related to Halliburton?

We understand from Senator Leahy that he responded, How come the White House did not call off the attack dogs in the Republican Party last year when Democratic senators like Leahy were accused of being anti-Catholic for blocking the nomination of a Catholic, William Pryor, to be nominated? He was a nominee for the federal bench, appointed by President Bush.

Given what Leahy said, Mr. Cheney shot back and used the F-word, a direct confrontation was Senator Leahy. This was confirmed by CNN producer Steve Turnam (ph). Senator Leahy told CNN, quote, "I think he was just having a bad day, and I was kind of shocked to hear that kind of language on the floor."

Obviously, the Senate floor is a place for decorum. Normally, you do not see profanity like that. Vice President Cheney's office confirmed that there was a real confrontation here. They said, quote, "That doesn't sound like the language that the vice president would use, but I can confirm that there was a frank exchange of views."

The bottom line here is that the vice president clearly upset at these continued attacks by Democrats, by Leahy and others. That's been one of the nastiest parts of the presidential campaign. I think it's a clear sign that this campaign is only going to get nastier before it gets better, Heidi.

COLLINS: Ah-ha. All right, Ed Henry, thanks so much for that tonight.

Off the hook, for the most part. That story tops our look at news cross-country now. In Houston, the Air Force has decided not to court-martial an American fighter pilot who accidentally bombed Canadian troops in Afghanistan, killing four of them. Instead, Major Harry Schmidt (ph) will face a far less severe punishment when he attends a nonjudicial hearing next month.

In New York, death to the death penalty. A decision from New York's highest court effectively ended executions in the state. The court ruled that a key part of the state's death penalty law is unconstitutional, since complex instructions given to jurors may confuse them into voting for death when they didn't intend to.

Near Oklahoma City, disorder in the court. Officials say this judge handled his cases while handling himself. Judge Donald Thompson is accused of masturbating and shaving the hair down there all while court was in session. The Oklahoma attorney general wants him removed from the bench.

And in Florida, Houston, we have a problem. Two astronauts walking out of an International Space Station are ordered back inside. The men were on an unusually risky spacewalk when NASA noticed a pressure drop in one of their oxygen tanks. Mission control says neither spacewalker was ever in any real danger.

And that is a look at stories cross-country tonight.

As we first told you last night, the nationwide search that started in September is over for a missing high school softball coach and one of his teenage players. Both were found yesterday.

While police sort out the charges, family and friends are trying to sort out the mystery behind their disappearance.

More now from CNN's Kimberly Osais.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIMBERLY OSAIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police say it was a fluke that 16-year-old Michele "Mimi" Smith and her softball coach, Andrew Garver, were found after nine months of being sought by the FBI. 39-year-old Garver turned himself in to authorities Wednesday after a car wreck in Knoxville, Tennessee. His ex-wife says it was after the wreck that he phoned her, saying he had the girl and was turning himself in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Said he'd been on the run from the FBI from Oregon, and why he told me, I don't know, but just decided to come out with it. And he just said he was hiding out down here.

OSAIS: Because of problems in her own family, Smith even lived with Garver and his now ex-wife for two years. Then, nine months ago, police say Mimi Smith passed a note to a friend, saying she was running away and not to worry.

Garver and Smith have been missing since. A nationwide FBI search, cash rewards, and other efforts failed to find them. Police say Mimi Smith went with Garver willingly. Mimi's family contends Garver sexually abused her. Now her mother says she wants Mimi back in Oregon where they can start again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's in good spirits. She said she loves me and misses me and wants to come home and finish school.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSAIS: Garver's not been charged with anything yet. He remains in a Knoxville jail. As for Mimi Smith, well, her mother says she just wants her back here in Oregon as soon as possible, where she can get her into some psychological counseling for sexual abuse, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Kimberly Osais in Beaverton, Oregon, tonight Thanks so much, Kimberly.

360 next, calls for a mistrial in the Scott Peterson trial. A bombshell on the stand. A detective leaving out key information from his report. Should the prosecution call it quits? We'll have the latest.

Also tonight, a wave of bombings across Iraq, and fighting in Fallujah. Did the U.S. pull out too soon from this key city? We'll take a closer look at that.

And a little later, religion and politics. Does the GOP have a lock on the Christian vote? Jerry Falwell and Al Sharpton weigh in on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Another day of stunning developments in the Scott Peterson trial, one day after a controversial juror was tossed from the group of 12, a bombshell that could blow apart the prosecution's case.

Want to go straight to CNN's Rusty Dornin now live in Redwood City, California. Rusty, good evening.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, the prosecutors took a serious hit on their credibility today. A key theory of the prosecution's case is that Laci Peterson never saw and never even knew about Scott Peterson's boat that was stored at his warehouse.

But in a taped interview that defense attorney Mark Geragos played before the court, a woman who was interviewed by Detective Al Brocchini (ph) claims that Laci Peterson came to the warehouse and asked her to use her restroom, which was in the same building, the day before she disappeared.

But in the transcript written by that detective, he omitted that paragraph completely and admitted to the court, he said, "I guess I did. I excised it."

Now, this is also important to the defense's theory as well as how this piece of hair got in the bottom of Scott Peterson's boat. The prosecution is claiming the only way this hair could have gotten there was because he transported her body to San Francisco Bay. Now the defense is saying, Look, she visited that warehouse the day before she disappeared. That's another possibility for that hair being deposited there.

It was a day of full frontal attacks on the prosecution's case, filled with the defense claiming, again, sloppy police work, omissions from the case. But this particular omission could be very damaging to their case, because it's going to be tough for jurors to believe anything else this police investigator says, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, it comes down to credibility. All right, Rusty Dornin, thanks so much for that tonight.

And covering the case for us in Justice Served tonight is Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom.

All right. We heard it in Rusty's report today or tonight, that is. She didn't know about the boat, she did know about the boat. The hair was there because why? I mean, how explosive is this?

LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR: Well, this is huge. This is a Mark Fuhrman moment for the defense. We've got a detective linked to a key piece of forensic evidence, the single hair of Laci Peterson's that was found in Scott Peterson's boat. The prosecution has said, How could that hair have gotten there if not for him putting her body in the boat? She was never in the boat or in the warehouse.

Now we find out that one of the important detectives in the case, Detective Brocchini, left out of his report that he knew that, in fact, Laci had been in the warehouse and not just been there, been there recently in time, on December 23. Remember, the 24th is when she goes missing.

I think the prosecution had to be hugely embarrassed by this. On cross-examination, Geragos got out from Brocchini's own mouth in front of the jury that he had misled the jury, that essentially, he'd left this out of his report. This is crucial stuff for the defense.

COLLINS: Yes, you know, many times, people have said that this whole case is based on circumstantial evidence. Not to say that many murder cases aren't based on it...

BLOOM: Most are.

COLLINS: ... and are successful. But here in this one, this whole issue of credibility, now, what does the prosecution have to lean on?

BLOOM: I'll tell you why it makes juror number five look like a prophet. Yesterday we were all criticizing him for saying nutty things like, All pregnant women are crazy. While he did say things like that, he also said the prosecution does not have the evidence, the defense has the better part of this case.

Now, today, after juror number five is off the case and he's been replaced, his words are ringing true. How could the lead detective, or one of the most important detectives, anyway, in the case have left this critical evidence out of his report? It makes the entire prosecution and law enforcement smell bad.

COLLINS: There was another thing that happened in court today, and that was a voicemail or a phone message that was left from Scott to Laci, pretty typical between a husband and a wife. I think there were words, he's beautiful, and sweety, and I love you. What did Geragos hope that the jury would take away from that?

BLOOM: That Scott Peterson thought nothing was wrong during the day, that he hadn't, in fact, gone and killed his pregnant wife and disposed of her body, that he had had an ordinary day for him. He had gone fishing, that he thought that she was at home, and he just left her a very typical message.

Now, the prosecution will say, he's cold and calculating, and he's a known liar. We know that he lied to Amber Frey, his mistress, over and over again.

But another very good point, I think, for the defense today.

COLLINS: All right. Mistrial, no mistrial? What's going to happen?

BLOOM: If the prosecution is lucky, they will take a mistrial the next time the defense moves for one and start this case over again, maybe handle it a little better the second time.

COLLINS: Yes, maybe they should have voted for that the first time around, right.

BLOOM: They could have had it yesterday, but they said no.

COLLINS: Yes, that's right. All right, Lisa Bloom, we certainly appreciate your insight in all of this tonight. Thanks a lot.

BLOOM: Thank you.

COLLINS: Well, first there was Chanel No. 5, rare, special, only for the few. Now comes an improvement, juror number five, available at no cost whatsoever, day and night, no matter where you turn. The man dismissed from the Laci Peterson panel is this week's overkill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The media fell on 28-year-old Justin Falconer like drowning sailors on a scrap of driftwood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can take you straight to the airport, we'll go out to New York right this minute.

COLLINS: The judge in the Laci Peterson murder case had decided that young Mr. Falconer was a distraction after he was caught on tape passing pleasantries with Laci Peterson's brother on their way into the courtroom. No ill intent alleged, it's just that the jury was paying more attention to the attention he was being paid than to the case. So juror number five was invited off. Off the case, into the public eye. Wherever the public eye wandered. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

DIANE SAWYER, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA," ABC: Scott Peterson is not guilty based on what you've seen, is that correct?

BILL HEMMER, "AMERICAN MORNING": You've said you do not believe he's guilty. Why not?

MATT LAUER, "TODAY," NBC: What stands out in your mind?

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, "ON THE RECORD," FOX NEWS CHANNEL: Justin, have you made up your mind before you were dismissed...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, CBS: You've said that you would find Scott Peterson not guilty according to the testimony that you've heard so far. Why is that?

COLLINS: One of the alternates, a man who is both a doctor and a lawyer, has taken Justin Falconer's seat in court. Just a question, is the new panelist juror five-point-one?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Coordinated terror attacks across Iraq kill scores, and a terror mastermind claims credit.

The heart and soul of the presidential campaign as the candidates court the faithful.

This special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: I'm Anderson Cooper live in Baghdad. Just ahead, I'll take you on patrol with the U.S. Army's first cavalry on this day when violence exploded in Iraq. "360," right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Good evening, again, from Baghdad. Dawn will break here in about an hour, and there is no telling what this day will bring, given what's happened here in the last 24 hours.

Morning is the time of day when most bombs often are set. That's when they explode; time for maximum impact, time to hit during rush hour. Maximum human suffering. That's what happened yesterday morning across the northern and central portion of the country: coordinated attacks targeting mostly police and police stations, about 100 people killed.

At the same time, fighting resumed in Fallujah between U.S. forces and insurgents. That city, you'll recall, was the scene of intense fighting earlier in the spring. The Americans pulled out after a cease-fire was negotiated, but recently, the U.S. has been bombing suspected terror safe houses there. "L.A. Times" reporter Tony Perry spent a great deal of time in Fallujah. His reporting was extraordinary. He was embedded with the 1st Marine division. He is back home now and joins me tonight live from San Diego. Tony, thanks for being with us tonight.

TONY PERRY, REPORTER, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": My pleasure.

COOPER: Explain how Fallujah has become -- basically, from your reporting, it sounds like the epicenter of Islamic extremists in Iraq.

PERRY: Well, it's the epicenter of people who are resisting any improvements in Iraq and people who are dedicatedly anti-western and willing to fight to the death for it. I don't know that it's religious so much as just political and also just localism drawn to an extreme.

Fallujah -- and to a lesser extent Ramadi, the Sunni Triangle -- had always been an area apart from the rest of Iraq, sort of socially and culturally. And apparently, some people there want to keep it that way. And it's become almost a nation state, if you will, a small city that is its own anomaly with the rest of Iraq.

COOPER: Well, also, a Taliban -- I mean, again, I'm taking this directly from your reporting -- a Taliban-style city. You described, I think, foreign fighters almost on many street corners, no music allowed to be sold except for religious music, and very strict laws there, which some people actually seem to approve of.

PERRY: Well, there's always been a very strong criminal element -- a mob element, if you will -- in Fallujah that has held sway, even during Saddam Hussein's years. Even Hussein, with his brutal regime, couldn't really tame Fallujah.

Now, there's -- in many parts of Fallujah, from what I understand -- almost no law whatsoever. It's sort of law of the street, law of the mob. And some of those people holding sway on certain street corners are religious and are sort of enforcing their brand of Islam.

I'm not sure that it's spread to the whole 200,000 population, but it's in certain areas. Fallujah is, to a large degree, lawless at this point. And that's the danger. It becomes a haven for people whose real goal is to confront and fight with the Americans.

COOPER: So, I mean, the last a lot of people started paying attention to Fallujah, there was talk of the Marines going in and it was going to be a big battle. And then, there was that sort of deal with an Iraqi general and then the creation of the Fallujah brigade. It sounds like, basically, the Marines gave the city back to the insurgents. Is that unfair?

PERRY: It's a bit unfair. What the Marines did was cut the best deal possible to stop the fighting and to avoid what would have been horrific, and that is civilian casualties. The Marines realized -- after having been ordered into Fallujah by the White House, they realized they had a tiger by the tail. They couldn't hold on, and they couldn't let go. Easily, they could have won the military battle. They could have moved all the way to the Euphrates, confronted and killed all the insurgents who were eager to fight. But in the process, they would have inflicted both sides, civilian casualties. And that would have been a propaganda nightmare for the Americans. It probably would have set back the transfer of power. We'd be a lot further away from the Iraqis -- assuming sovereignty, I think -- if the Americans had had to go all the way to the Euphrates and fight an urban battle against the insurgents and with the result of civilian casualties.

So, the Marines really cut the best deal they could. They cut a deal with a layer of people in the insurgency, the people they could talk to -- professional military people, former Iraqi generals -- with the idea that they, once brought into the action and given some respectability, could, in essence, bring stability and security to Fallujah.

That has only been partially successful, as we know, but it has at least been partially successful.

COOPER: Making the best deal possible, as you said. All right, Tony Perry, thanks for being with us. Your reporting for the "L.A. Times" has really just been extraordinary from there. Thank you very much.

PERRY: Thank you.

COOPER: Oftentimes, what you see in headlines or see on TV when you talk to soldiers here, they say it's not really like that. We wanted to know why there was that separation between the violence we often hear of in the headlines and what they see on a daily basis.

I, today, spent the day with some soldiers from the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry. This is some of what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): On this deadly day in Baghdad, when bomb blasts rocked the city, life for these soldiers of 1st Cavalry was actually very dull. Based around Baghdad's airport, these soldiers have been shot at and ambushed, but many of them insist it's nothing like you see on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks pretty bad in the states on TV. It's not even close to that bad. You've been shot at out here a few times, but it's nothing like you see on TV at all.

COOPER: Day after day, they go out on patrol. Ryan Peterson is an Illinois Reservist with 3rd Platoon.

RYAN PETERSON, ILLINOIS RESERVIST, 3RD PLATOON: Sometimes it's really hard to keep focused.

COOPER: Hours of boredom; moments of terror. Peterson says he was ambushed back in April.

PETERSON: You see the guys pop up with the RPGs as I was trying to reload. That was probably the most scary moment.

COOPER: Peterson's not sure how things here will turn out.

PETERSON: It seems really unstable, like it could go either way.

COOPER: On patrol, 3rd Platoon searches for insurgents and improvised explosive devices. They also deliver water, one small way they're trying to keep Iraqis on their side.

(on camera): 3rd Platoon has been on patrol for four hours now. They're hot, they're tired, but they're certainly used to that. It's about 110 degrees, and it's only midday. It will get hotter, and 3rd Platoon has another eight hours to go before they get to return to base.

(voice-over): Just days away from the handover of power, 1st Cavalry civil affairs soldiers are increasingly trying to get the Iraqi military and police up to speed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe what it's going to take is just a little bit of time, a lot of perseverance, some patience, and just training.

COOPER: By the end of each day, some soldiers wonder what they've really accomplished. But Michael Kessel (ph) seems to have no doubt.

MICHAEL KESSEL (ph): We live in such a microwave society where we want instant gratification and are used to instant stuff. Here, we don't measure things in feet or yards; it's inches. Sometimes it doesn't look like we're making any difference, but we are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Even on a day of great violence here in Iraq for some U.S. soldiers, today was a day of great boredom.

Well, today's buzz question is this: Is the situation in Iraq better or worse than it's being portrayed in the media? What do you think? Log on to CNN.COM/360. Cast your vote. We'll have results at the end of the program tonight.

Let's go back now to Heidi Collins in New York for some other news of the day. Heidi?

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Anderson. Thanks a lot.

Time for tonight's "Reset." This just in: U.S. officials telling CNN, North Korea threatened to test a nuclear weapon if the U.S. did not accept its proposal for a nuclear freeze. The threat came during a meeting between North Korean and U.S. officials in Beijing aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear program.

On Capitol Hill, the Senate approves a $416 billion Pentagon spending bill for next year. It includes $25 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The next step: a compromise version of the bill, since the House and Senate bills don't match.

Washington, D.C.: "Fahrenheit 9/11" under fire. Citizens United, a conservative advocacy group, has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission. They claim ads after July 31st for Michael Moore's new movie will violate the Federal Election Campaign Act. The film is critical of President Bush's response to the September 11th attacks.

In New York, federal prosecutors are urging a federal judge to turn down Martha Stewart's latest bid for a new trial based on charges that a Secret Service ink expert lied on the witness stand. They say the testimony had no effect on the jury's guilty verdict against Stewart. Stewart is due to be sentenced next month.

And that is "The Reset."

Religion and raw politics, we'll talk about that with Reverend Al Sharpton and Jerry Falwell just ahead.

Also tonight, super-boy. A little kid with some mighty muscles, but not by choice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: If you want to take a shot at guessing who will win this year's presidential race, you might take a poll on a Sunday morning. In this year's campaign, faith and religion are prominent players. Here's CNN's Adaora Udoji with a story on prayer, politics and a religious divide.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Faith is very close to President Bush's heart. His anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage policies energizing core religious right voters.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Freedom is the almighty God's gift to every man and woman who lives in this world.

UDOJI: He's also gone after traditionally Democratic voters, asking the Vatican to encourage Catholic bishops to promote the conservative agenda he and the church share. His Democratic opponent, John Kerry, the first Catholic who will be nominated for president since John F. Kennedy, finds himself on the defensive. Some conservative Catholic bishops urging that politicians like him who support abortion rights should be refused communion.

JOHN KERRY, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not a spokesman for the church and the church is not a spokesman for the United States of America.

UDOJI (on camera): Between Kerry and Bush supporters, there is a stark religious divide, according to a new "Time" magazine survey.

(voice-over): 42 percent of Bush voters said it's very important for a presidential candidate to be religious, versus 17 percent of Kerry voters. Asked if religious values should guide political leaders, 79 percent of Bush voters said yes, 60 percent of Kerry supporters no, which may explain why the candidate talks less about it.

Still, the vast majority of Americans in many polls say religion plays a role in their life. The question is, how much? The son of Republican revered President Ronald Reagan took what was seen as a thinly veiled swipe at Bush's religious reliance, urging lessons from his father.

RON REAGAN, SON OF FRM. PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: He never made the fatal mistake of so many politicians, wearing his faith on his sleeve to gain parallel advantage.

UDOJI: Others say Kerry's campaign has not gone after these voters effectively.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: One of John Kerry's biggest challenges is to ground himself in the cultural mainstream in a way that those voters can accept him, even if, in all likelihood, they don't agree with him on some of the specific issues.

UDOJI: Turning the nation's faithful into their own true believers, the race is on. That's how religion becomes raw politics. Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Other poll numbers from "Time" magazine also shed light on religious divide. Among Americans who consider themselves very religious, the magazine's survey says 59 percent support President Bush, while 35 percent of them back Kerry.

Here to talk more about the state of religion in politics are the Reverend Al Sharpton, a former Democratic presidential candidate who's in New York. And the Reverend Jerry Falwell of Liberty University. He's in Lynchburg, Virginia, tonight.

Good evening to the both of you and thank you so much for being here.

JERRY FALWELL, LIBERTY UNIVERSITY: Good evening.

REV. AL SHARPTON, FRM. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Good evening.

COLLINS: Reverend Sharpton, you may have read the "New York Times" a couple days ago, David Brooks writing an article about the Democrats' failings in attracting the religious vote. I want to show you just a little piece of that. He said "he," meaning Clinton, "understood that if Democrats are seen -- are not seen that is, as religious, they will be seen as secular ivy league liberals and they'll lose. John Kerry doesn't seem to get that." Do the Democrats get it?

SHARPTON: I think the Democrats do get it. I think the danger that it will become more and more apparent as we go into the election, the danger the Republicans are playing are twofold. One, I think it is the misuse of religion that has caused a lot of problems in the Middle East. And I think when Americans are presented with the fact, you really want to border on theocracy or religious fanaticism and politics, which is what is fueling a lot of the terrorists that we're dealing with.

And secondly, how they're selective with it. You know, as your piece said we want to deal with the issues of gay marriage or the issues of abortion. Well, let's do the whole ten commandments. Let's talk about thou shall not lie, when we talk about weapons of mass destruction. Or bear false witness, when you talk about al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. Let's argue the whole ten commandments if we want to have the debate. I don't think the right wing Republicans really want that.

COLLINS: All right, Reverend Falwell I want to get to you. In the same "Time" magazine poll, I should share some more numbers, 69 percent of nonreligious people favor Kerry while just 22 percent support Bush. Now the GOP have done a pretty good job of appealing to conservatives, but do you think that the party needs to move beyond that in including more people?

FALWELL: Well, I don't think there's any question Mr. Bush would welcome any vote by anybody, atheist, believer, whatever. And Reverend Al Sharpton there is a friend of mine, and Al's an ordained minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ so he certainly does not object to any mixture of religion and politics.

He, at the same time, would, I think agree with me that one's faith, if that faith is genuine, will certainly impact our behavior, both in private and public life. Mr. Bush does not attempt to use religion, but he's a man of faith who has had a born-again experience with faith in Christ as Al Sharpton would, I think, testify to the same. And therefore, he's not ashamed to talk about it, let it govern his views and values and as a Christian who believes in the sanctity of life, born and unborn, he happens to be pro-life as millions of Americans are, as I am. I don't think it is bad for him to use that White House as a bully pulpit, as all presidents have.

COLLINS: Reverend Sharpton, let me ask you generally the same question. As long as mainstream Democrats seem to agree with pro- choice, supporting stem cell research, civil unions, do you believe they can actually attract church-going Americans? Do they have to modify their positions as well?

SHARPTON: No, I think they have to clarify. I think that there's a difference between, say, one believes in something or saying one believes people have the right to choose for themselves what they want to believe. And I think that once that's clarified, that's a big difference in me saying what I believe, and what my family believes. And then that I believe I have the right to impose that on you.

I feel I'm a good enough preacher to convert you. I don't have to use the law to force you to do what I believe in. I think that's where we part ways when many of the right wing Christian, in my judgment, ideologues that are trying to push this.

COLLINS: Reverend Falwell, as you know, Catholics are one of the critical swing voting blocks, almost 64 million Americans being Catholic. But right now, the vote is, as we have all seen, split between Bush and Kerry. Just 33 percent of Catholics know that John Kerry himself is Catholic. Do you think that the party is in jeopardy of losing this bloc once voters know what Kerry's religion is?

FALWELL: Well, I'm not sure I could comment on that intelligently, but I do know there are 80 million Evangelicals in America. Some of those are Catholics and most are Protestants but they cross all lines, black, white, red, yellow. And all of them take the Bible seriously and Mr. Bush, like Billy Graham, happens to be one of them. Mr. Reagan was one of them. I personally believe that unless the Democratic party gets off this anti-Christian, anti-faith, anti, you know, religious heritage in America kick, they're going to lose. Right now, a poll this morning, Fox News Channel has Mr. Bush up 47-40. I think Mr. Bush will win by a landslide unless the Democrats get off this anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-religion kick.

COLLINS: All right. Reverend Jerry Falwell, thanks so much for your time tonight and Reverend Al Sharpton as well. Thanks to the both of you.

SHARPTON: Thank you.

COLLINS: We'll be back in just a moment here on 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: There's a toddler in Germany that may be better suited with a cape than a bib. Born with a genetic mutation, this 4-year-old is muscle bound boy wonder. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A regular baby might not think this newborn looks that impressive from the rear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The poor thing, his butt looked like a Sharpei dog.

MOOS: But look at those leg muscles, those thighs. A gene mutation landed this unidentified German child in the "New England Journal of Medicine." At 7 months the boy was really starting to look like super baby. OK, maybe he couldn't do what Superman could as a toddler, but super baby's muscles are twice the size of a normal child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any mutation going on in the ding a ling a ding dong region?

MOOS: Doesn't ring a bell. Here at the Equinox gym, they start off some adults with mere two and a half pound weights. When it comes to the now 4-year-old super baby, the baby can lift 6.6 pounds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like that really?

MOOS: Horizontally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe it's real but I can imagine it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For a 4-year-old, wow.

MOOS: The baby's mutation was an accident.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Think of the poor mother that had to give birth to that, like, Arnold Schwarzenegger baby. Would you want to give birth to that kind of baby?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would love any baby that I gave birth to.

MOOS: Scientists hope knowledge gained from the gene mutation can someday help create muscle for people with diseases like muscular dystrophy. For now the child is healthy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you have a hulk on your hands.

MOOS: Talk about hulks, they breed cattle called Belgian Blues with the same gene mutation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks better on the cow.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: He's cute no matter what. 360 next. Anderson Cooper, live from Baghdad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Tonight, taking perspective to the "Nth Degree." There were dozens of dead and hundreds of injured in Mosul today. That area in the north of Iraq has been continuously inhabited for nearly as long as any place on earth, something like 4,500 years. Warriors and armies have been sweeping and out, pretty much, all that time. Alexander the Great defeated Darius of Persia in an enormous battle midway between Mosul and Erbil 300 years before the birth of Christ.

The entire history of the U.S. could fit into a corner of a corner of the history of Iraq which has seen everything from stones to swords to smart bombs. And now this place, antique almost beyond measure, is trying to vault into the 21st century. Terrible violence is not exactly new to Iraq. Indeed, almost nothing is exactly new to Iraq except democracy.

I'm Anderson Cooper. I'll be back in Baghdad tomorrow with an exclusive trip with Ambassador Paul Bremer into the north of Iraq, a final farewell tour for him. "PAULA ZAHN NOW" is next.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired June 24, 2004 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening, I'm Anderson Cooper, live from Baghdad.
The terror campaign against the new Iraqi government escalates dramatically.

360 starts now.

ANNOUNCER: Coordinated terror attacks across Iraq kill scores, and a terror mastermind claims credit.

More Americans than ever think the war in Iraq is a mistake. But is it hurting the president?

The heart and soul of the presidential campaign, as the candidates court the faithful.

Missing for nine months, finally found. Where was Mimi Smith, and what was her relationship with the man she called Coach?

This is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, with Anderson Cooper reporting from Iraq and Heidi Collins in New York.

COOPER: Good evening, I'm Anderson Cooper, live from Baghdad. Thanks for joining us.

What a day it has been here in Iraq. Over 100 -- just about 100 people have been killed in a wave of separate attacks in many cities throughout the country. Coalition sources say and Iraqi authorities had warned all along that this sort of thing might happen in the days leading up to the handover of power next week. But that does not lessen the pain and shock felt in cities whose residents endured the dramatic assault.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Iraqi police bore the brunt of violence stretching from Mosul in the north to Fallujah, Baquba, and Ramadi in the center of the country. There were nine separate attacks, including five against police stations that appeared coordinated and killed nearly 100.

Mosul saw the worst of it, with attacks at the Iraqi police academy, two police stations, and a hospital, killing more than 50 people. Further south, in Baquba, the U.S. 1st Armored Division fought a pitched battle with insurgents. Fighters roamed the city with rocket launchers and automatic weapons and attacked police stations, killing several Iraqi policemen and two U.S. soldiers. The local hospital was flooded with patients.

BASSAM ABDEL-HUSSEIN, ASSISTANT DOCTOR, BAQUBA HOSPITAL (through translator): We have had, since 6:00 a.m. this morning, six injured people. Three others were killed, including two children and an elderly man. The wounded people have multiple injuries. Some of them have injuries to the chest and head. One of them had their hand amputated.

COOPER: And in Fallujah, scene of intense fighting earlier this spring, U.S. Marines say they battled insurgents for a couple of hours before the fighting subsided.

On an Islamic Web site, claims of responsibility for the attacks were posted by a group linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the alleged mastermind of many terror attacks in the country, including the beheading of a South Korean contractor and American Nick Berg.

The country's new interim prime minister says the attacks were not coordinated but were the acts of a desperate few.

IYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERMEDIATE PRIME MINISTER: (through translator): And the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) who are trying to inflict damage on the Iraqi people are not only in Fallujah, they are elsewhere in Iraq. They are trying to do this, as we think, as because they are really becoming more and more isolated, more and more despaired, and more and more distressed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: It is understandable, of course, that the headlines in tomorrow's papers and today's news would trumpet the latest violence. But what I've learned here in Iraq is that not everything is what it seems. Yes, the attacks were deadly. Yes, the attacks were brutal.

But not everywhere in Iraq was there violence. I went on patrol today with some members of the U.S. 1st Cavalry. And what they said to me is that what you see at home is often not what they see every day here in Iraq. I'll have their story coming up a little bit later.

A new CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll is out, and President Bush, some bad news for him. In it, all along, President Bush has said the war here in Iraq was a war of necessity. For the first time, a majority of Americans say they do not agree. There was some good economic news, however, today for the White House.

For all of that, let's go to senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): For more than a year, Americans have felt that the U.S. did the right thing sending troops to Iraq. As recently as two and a half weeks ago, a majority rejected the view that the war in Iraq was a mistake.

No longer. For the first time, most Americans now believe the U.S. made a mistake sending troops to Iraq.

What's driving the disillusionment? Two things.

The Bush administration always defended the Iraqi engagement as part of the war on terrorism.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The killers know that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror.

SCHNEIDER: At the end of the war, most Americans said they thought it had made the U.S. safer. They still felt that way after the capture of Saddam Hussein last December. No more.

Now, most Americans feel the war in Iraq has not made the U.S. safer. Moreover, this month, the 9/11 commission reported finding, quote, "no credible evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda cooperated on attacks against the United States."

And the poll shows that for the first time, most Americans believe Saddam Hussein was not personally involved in those attacks.

The turn against Iraq is happening at the very same time things are beginning to look up for President Bush on the economy. The president's approval ratings on the economy have been increasing this month.

Iraq down, economy up. Where does that leave the presidential race? Statistically tied. Bush, 49 percent, Kerry, 48.

(on camera): The ground is shifting in this campaign. Iraq is becoming a problem for President Bush, while the economy may not turn out to have a big payoff for the Democrats.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: At the Supreme Court today, a legal victory for Vice President Dick Cheney, the ruling, 7-2. The court said that Cheney does not have to reveal the secret workings of the energy task force that he headed back in 2001.

For now, that is. The high court is keeping the case alive by sending it back to a lower court. Two groups, the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch, are suing for access to Cheney's task force records. They want to know if the administration's energy policy was secretly influenced by corporate interests.

Now, still on the subject of access and records, criminal investigators made a stop at an address they rarely ever visit, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.

CNN's White House correspondent Dana Bash reports why. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For one hour and 10 minutes, the president was questioned in the Oval Office by a special prosecutor leading a criminal probe of his administration. Mr. Bush was not under oath and had only a newly hired private attorney at his side as U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald tried to find out who may have leaked the covert identity of a CIA agent.

LANNY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SPECIAL COUNSEL: It doesn't mean he did anything wrong, but it means that any thorough prosecutor would be obligated to interview the president.

BASH: At issue is this column last July by Robert Novak, revealing former ambassador Joe Wilson's wife was undercover at the CIA. Wilson accused the White House of blowing his wife's cover as retaliation for saying the president's State of the Union claim Iraq was trying to buy nuclear material was false.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you regret that your State of the Union accusation that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear materials in Africa?

BASH: After Wilson came forward, the president was plagued by questions about the claims, which the White House was forced to disavow.

Administration officials say Mr. Bush was present in what they describe as routine strategy meetings, where responding to Wilson's criticism was discussed.

The Oval Office interview comes nearly one month after a similar session with the vice president. While neither man gave sworn testimony, other senior staffers, including White House counsel Alberto Gonzalez, have testified before a federal grand jury. Although there are still outstanding subpoenas to journalists, legal experts say Thursday's interview could signal the investigation is wrapping up.

LARRY BARCELLA, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Pretty clearly you'd wait and have the vice president and the president be the last of the people that you would likely interview.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: When asked if the president, who vowed to change the culture in Washington, was disturbed about being questioned in a criminal probe of his administration, a spokesman said simply, He too wants to get to the bottom of the issue, Anderson.

COOPER: Dana Bash at the White House, thanks very much, Dana, fascinating.

I'm going to be back from Baghdad throughout the program tonight. A number of reports to bring to you, including my time on patrol today with the 1st Cavalry. Their message, not everything in Iraq is what you see at home. I'll bring you that later on on 360.

For now, let's get the other day's top stories from Heidi Collins in New York. Hey, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Anderson, thanks so much.

We begin in Turkey. Terror in Turkey, that is. It tops our look at international stories we're following in the uplink. Ankara and Istanbul, bombs explode. Just days before President Bush and other world leaders head to Istanbul for a NATO summit, a female suicide bomber blows up a bus, killing herself and three others.

Earlier, a suspicious package exploded outside an Ankara hotel where Mr. Bush is scheduled to spend the night. The White House says the attacks will not affect the president's plans.

Headed for London. Eight British servicemen freed three days after being detained in Iran for crossing into Iranian waters from Iraq. Still being discussed, the fate of their three impounded ships.

Havana, Cuba, tears and anger over new U.S. rules on travel to the communist country that take effect next Wednesday. Cuban- Americans are heading back to the U.S. knowing after June 30 they can only visit again once every three years for a maximum of two weeks.

Vancouver, British Columbia, NHL player Todd Bertuzzie (ph) of the Canucks is charged with assault for an on-ice attack in March that left Colorado's Steve Moore with a broken neck. Bertuzzie remains suspended from the league.

Berlin Zoo, Germany, ape on the loose. The silverback gorilla climbed over his 15-foot glass enclosure and joined horrified tourists for a little stroll through the park. Two zookeepers led him to a park bench, where he sat down and refused to budge. A little persuasive force and a sedative dart got him walking again, but with his head hanging low, dejected, knowing his Hairy Houdini act was over.

And that's tonight's uplink.

360 next, Cheney drops the F-bomb. Shock and awe on Capitol Hill after the vice president gives Senator Leahy an earful. We have the details on how it happened.

Plus, bombshell in the Scott Peterson trial. A cop admits deleting key information from his report. Is this high-profile case heading for a mistrial?

And religion and politics. Have the Democrats given up too easily on the Christian vote? Jerry Falwell and Al Sharpton weigh in.

But first, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: On Capitol Hill today, an annual tradition, the Senate class photo, a time to put partisan politics aside and simply smile for the camera.

But not this year. It seems Vice President Dick Cheney, who serves as president of the Senate, had words with one of the senators. Or should we say a word?

Details from CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry now. Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Heidi.

Early this year, the White House chief of staff criticized Senator John Kerry for using the F-word in a magazine interview. But on Tuesday, it was Vice President Cheney who used the F-word. He got into an angry confrontation, as you mentioned, with Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, who has been leading the attack against Mr. Cheney on the issue of the vice president's ties to Halliburton, the company he used to run.

You will remember that in the 2000 presidential campaign, President Bush had used an expletive to describe a "New York Times" reporter. Vice President Cheney had nodded his approval. But this time, it was Mr. Cheney himself using the F-word as he went up to Mr. Leahy and said, Why are you continuing these attacks related to Halliburton?

We understand from Senator Leahy that he responded, How come the White House did not call off the attack dogs in the Republican Party last year when Democratic senators like Leahy were accused of being anti-Catholic for blocking the nomination of a Catholic, William Pryor, to be nominated? He was a nominee for the federal bench, appointed by President Bush.

Given what Leahy said, Mr. Cheney shot back and used the F-word, a direct confrontation was Senator Leahy. This was confirmed by CNN producer Steve Turnam (ph). Senator Leahy told CNN, quote, "I think he was just having a bad day, and I was kind of shocked to hear that kind of language on the floor."

Obviously, the Senate floor is a place for decorum. Normally, you do not see profanity like that. Vice President Cheney's office confirmed that there was a real confrontation here. They said, quote, "That doesn't sound like the language that the vice president would use, but I can confirm that there was a frank exchange of views."

The bottom line here is that the vice president clearly upset at these continued attacks by Democrats, by Leahy and others. That's been one of the nastiest parts of the presidential campaign. I think it's a clear sign that this campaign is only going to get nastier before it gets better, Heidi.

COLLINS: Ah-ha. All right, Ed Henry, thanks so much for that tonight.

Off the hook, for the most part. That story tops our look at news cross-country now. In Houston, the Air Force has decided not to court-martial an American fighter pilot who accidentally bombed Canadian troops in Afghanistan, killing four of them. Instead, Major Harry Schmidt (ph) will face a far less severe punishment when he attends a nonjudicial hearing next month.

In New York, death to the death penalty. A decision from New York's highest court effectively ended executions in the state. The court ruled that a key part of the state's death penalty law is unconstitutional, since complex instructions given to jurors may confuse them into voting for death when they didn't intend to.

Near Oklahoma City, disorder in the court. Officials say this judge handled his cases while handling himself. Judge Donald Thompson is accused of masturbating and shaving the hair down there all while court was in session. The Oklahoma attorney general wants him removed from the bench.

And in Florida, Houston, we have a problem. Two astronauts walking out of an International Space Station are ordered back inside. The men were on an unusually risky spacewalk when NASA noticed a pressure drop in one of their oxygen tanks. Mission control says neither spacewalker was ever in any real danger.

And that is a look at stories cross-country tonight.

As we first told you last night, the nationwide search that started in September is over for a missing high school softball coach and one of his teenage players. Both were found yesterday.

While police sort out the charges, family and friends are trying to sort out the mystery behind their disappearance.

More now from CNN's Kimberly Osais.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIMBERLY OSAIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police say it was a fluke that 16-year-old Michele "Mimi" Smith and her softball coach, Andrew Garver, were found after nine months of being sought by the FBI. 39-year-old Garver turned himself in to authorities Wednesday after a car wreck in Knoxville, Tennessee. His ex-wife says it was after the wreck that he phoned her, saying he had the girl and was turning himself in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Said he'd been on the run from the FBI from Oregon, and why he told me, I don't know, but just decided to come out with it. And he just said he was hiding out down here.

OSAIS: Because of problems in her own family, Smith even lived with Garver and his now ex-wife for two years. Then, nine months ago, police say Mimi Smith passed a note to a friend, saying she was running away and not to worry.

Garver and Smith have been missing since. A nationwide FBI search, cash rewards, and other efforts failed to find them. Police say Mimi Smith went with Garver willingly. Mimi's family contends Garver sexually abused her. Now her mother says she wants Mimi back in Oregon where they can start again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's in good spirits. She said she loves me and misses me and wants to come home and finish school.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSAIS: Garver's not been charged with anything yet. He remains in a Knoxville jail. As for Mimi Smith, well, her mother says she just wants her back here in Oregon as soon as possible, where she can get her into some psychological counseling for sexual abuse, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Kimberly Osais in Beaverton, Oregon, tonight Thanks so much, Kimberly.

360 next, calls for a mistrial in the Scott Peterson trial. A bombshell on the stand. A detective leaving out key information from his report. Should the prosecution call it quits? We'll have the latest.

Also tonight, a wave of bombings across Iraq, and fighting in Fallujah. Did the U.S. pull out too soon from this key city? We'll take a closer look at that.

And a little later, religion and politics. Does the GOP have a lock on the Christian vote? Jerry Falwell and Al Sharpton weigh in on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Another day of stunning developments in the Scott Peterson trial, one day after a controversial juror was tossed from the group of 12, a bombshell that could blow apart the prosecution's case.

Want to go straight to CNN's Rusty Dornin now live in Redwood City, California. Rusty, good evening.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, the prosecutors took a serious hit on their credibility today. A key theory of the prosecution's case is that Laci Peterson never saw and never even knew about Scott Peterson's boat that was stored at his warehouse.

But in a taped interview that defense attorney Mark Geragos played before the court, a woman who was interviewed by Detective Al Brocchini (ph) claims that Laci Peterson came to the warehouse and asked her to use her restroom, which was in the same building, the day before she disappeared.

But in the transcript written by that detective, he omitted that paragraph completely and admitted to the court, he said, "I guess I did. I excised it."

Now, this is also important to the defense's theory as well as how this piece of hair got in the bottom of Scott Peterson's boat. The prosecution is claiming the only way this hair could have gotten there was because he transported her body to San Francisco Bay. Now the defense is saying, Look, she visited that warehouse the day before she disappeared. That's another possibility for that hair being deposited there.

It was a day of full frontal attacks on the prosecution's case, filled with the defense claiming, again, sloppy police work, omissions from the case. But this particular omission could be very damaging to their case, because it's going to be tough for jurors to believe anything else this police investigator says, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, it comes down to credibility. All right, Rusty Dornin, thanks so much for that tonight.

And covering the case for us in Justice Served tonight is Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom.

All right. We heard it in Rusty's report today or tonight, that is. She didn't know about the boat, she did know about the boat. The hair was there because why? I mean, how explosive is this?

LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR: Well, this is huge. This is a Mark Fuhrman moment for the defense. We've got a detective linked to a key piece of forensic evidence, the single hair of Laci Peterson's that was found in Scott Peterson's boat. The prosecution has said, How could that hair have gotten there if not for him putting her body in the boat? She was never in the boat or in the warehouse.

Now we find out that one of the important detectives in the case, Detective Brocchini, left out of his report that he knew that, in fact, Laci had been in the warehouse and not just been there, been there recently in time, on December 23. Remember, the 24th is when she goes missing.

I think the prosecution had to be hugely embarrassed by this. On cross-examination, Geragos got out from Brocchini's own mouth in front of the jury that he had misled the jury, that essentially, he'd left this out of his report. This is crucial stuff for the defense.

COLLINS: Yes, you know, many times, people have said that this whole case is based on circumstantial evidence. Not to say that many murder cases aren't based on it...

BLOOM: Most are.

COLLINS: ... and are successful. But here in this one, this whole issue of credibility, now, what does the prosecution have to lean on?

BLOOM: I'll tell you why it makes juror number five look like a prophet. Yesterday we were all criticizing him for saying nutty things like, All pregnant women are crazy. While he did say things like that, he also said the prosecution does not have the evidence, the defense has the better part of this case.

Now, today, after juror number five is off the case and he's been replaced, his words are ringing true. How could the lead detective, or one of the most important detectives, anyway, in the case have left this critical evidence out of his report? It makes the entire prosecution and law enforcement smell bad.

COLLINS: There was another thing that happened in court today, and that was a voicemail or a phone message that was left from Scott to Laci, pretty typical between a husband and a wife. I think there were words, he's beautiful, and sweety, and I love you. What did Geragos hope that the jury would take away from that?

BLOOM: That Scott Peterson thought nothing was wrong during the day, that he hadn't, in fact, gone and killed his pregnant wife and disposed of her body, that he had had an ordinary day for him. He had gone fishing, that he thought that she was at home, and he just left her a very typical message.

Now, the prosecution will say, he's cold and calculating, and he's a known liar. We know that he lied to Amber Frey, his mistress, over and over again.

But another very good point, I think, for the defense today.

COLLINS: All right. Mistrial, no mistrial? What's going to happen?

BLOOM: If the prosecution is lucky, they will take a mistrial the next time the defense moves for one and start this case over again, maybe handle it a little better the second time.

COLLINS: Yes, maybe they should have voted for that the first time around, right.

BLOOM: They could have had it yesterday, but they said no.

COLLINS: Yes, that's right. All right, Lisa Bloom, we certainly appreciate your insight in all of this tonight. Thanks a lot.

BLOOM: Thank you.

COLLINS: Well, first there was Chanel No. 5, rare, special, only for the few. Now comes an improvement, juror number five, available at no cost whatsoever, day and night, no matter where you turn. The man dismissed from the Laci Peterson panel is this week's overkill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The media fell on 28-year-old Justin Falconer like drowning sailors on a scrap of driftwood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can take you straight to the airport, we'll go out to New York right this minute.

COLLINS: The judge in the Laci Peterson murder case had decided that young Mr. Falconer was a distraction after he was caught on tape passing pleasantries with Laci Peterson's brother on their way into the courtroom. No ill intent alleged, it's just that the jury was paying more attention to the attention he was being paid than to the case. So juror number five was invited off. Off the case, into the public eye. Wherever the public eye wandered. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

DIANE SAWYER, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA," ABC: Scott Peterson is not guilty based on what you've seen, is that correct?

BILL HEMMER, "AMERICAN MORNING": You've said you do not believe he's guilty. Why not?

MATT LAUER, "TODAY," NBC: What stands out in your mind?

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, "ON THE RECORD," FOX NEWS CHANNEL: Justin, have you made up your mind before you were dismissed...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, CBS: You've said that you would find Scott Peterson not guilty according to the testimony that you've heard so far. Why is that?

COLLINS: One of the alternates, a man who is both a doctor and a lawyer, has taken Justin Falconer's seat in court. Just a question, is the new panelist juror five-point-one?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Coordinated terror attacks across Iraq kill scores, and a terror mastermind claims credit.

The heart and soul of the presidential campaign as the candidates court the faithful.

This special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: I'm Anderson Cooper live in Baghdad. Just ahead, I'll take you on patrol with the U.S. Army's first cavalry on this day when violence exploded in Iraq. "360," right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Good evening, again, from Baghdad. Dawn will break here in about an hour, and there is no telling what this day will bring, given what's happened here in the last 24 hours.

Morning is the time of day when most bombs often are set. That's when they explode; time for maximum impact, time to hit during rush hour. Maximum human suffering. That's what happened yesterday morning across the northern and central portion of the country: coordinated attacks targeting mostly police and police stations, about 100 people killed.

At the same time, fighting resumed in Fallujah between U.S. forces and insurgents. That city, you'll recall, was the scene of intense fighting earlier in the spring. The Americans pulled out after a cease-fire was negotiated, but recently, the U.S. has been bombing suspected terror safe houses there. "L.A. Times" reporter Tony Perry spent a great deal of time in Fallujah. His reporting was extraordinary. He was embedded with the 1st Marine division. He is back home now and joins me tonight live from San Diego. Tony, thanks for being with us tonight.

TONY PERRY, REPORTER, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": My pleasure.

COOPER: Explain how Fallujah has become -- basically, from your reporting, it sounds like the epicenter of Islamic extremists in Iraq.

PERRY: Well, it's the epicenter of people who are resisting any improvements in Iraq and people who are dedicatedly anti-western and willing to fight to the death for it. I don't know that it's religious so much as just political and also just localism drawn to an extreme.

Fallujah -- and to a lesser extent Ramadi, the Sunni Triangle -- had always been an area apart from the rest of Iraq, sort of socially and culturally. And apparently, some people there want to keep it that way. And it's become almost a nation state, if you will, a small city that is its own anomaly with the rest of Iraq.

COOPER: Well, also, a Taliban -- I mean, again, I'm taking this directly from your reporting -- a Taliban-style city. You described, I think, foreign fighters almost on many street corners, no music allowed to be sold except for religious music, and very strict laws there, which some people actually seem to approve of.

PERRY: Well, there's always been a very strong criminal element -- a mob element, if you will -- in Fallujah that has held sway, even during Saddam Hussein's years. Even Hussein, with his brutal regime, couldn't really tame Fallujah.

Now, there's -- in many parts of Fallujah, from what I understand -- almost no law whatsoever. It's sort of law of the street, law of the mob. And some of those people holding sway on certain street corners are religious and are sort of enforcing their brand of Islam.

I'm not sure that it's spread to the whole 200,000 population, but it's in certain areas. Fallujah is, to a large degree, lawless at this point. And that's the danger. It becomes a haven for people whose real goal is to confront and fight with the Americans.

COOPER: So, I mean, the last a lot of people started paying attention to Fallujah, there was talk of the Marines going in and it was going to be a big battle. And then, there was that sort of deal with an Iraqi general and then the creation of the Fallujah brigade. It sounds like, basically, the Marines gave the city back to the insurgents. Is that unfair?

PERRY: It's a bit unfair. What the Marines did was cut the best deal possible to stop the fighting and to avoid what would have been horrific, and that is civilian casualties. The Marines realized -- after having been ordered into Fallujah by the White House, they realized they had a tiger by the tail. They couldn't hold on, and they couldn't let go. Easily, they could have won the military battle. They could have moved all the way to the Euphrates, confronted and killed all the insurgents who were eager to fight. But in the process, they would have inflicted both sides, civilian casualties. And that would have been a propaganda nightmare for the Americans. It probably would have set back the transfer of power. We'd be a lot further away from the Iraqis -- assuming sovereignty, I think -- if the Americans had had to go all the way to the Euphrates and fight an urban battle against the insurgents and with the result of civilian casualties.

So, the Marines really cut the best deal they could. They cut a deal with a layer of people in the insurgency, the people they could talk to -- professional military people, former Iraqi generals -- with the idea that they, once brought into the action and given some respectability, could, in essence, bring stability and security to Fallujah.

That has only been partially successful, as we know, but it has at least been partially successful.

COOPER: Making the best deal possible, as you said. All right, Tony Perry, thanks for being with us. Your reporting for the "L.A. Times" has really just been extraordinary from there. Thank you very much.

PERRY: Thank you.

COOPER: Oftentimes, what you see in headlines or see on TV when you talk to soldiers here, they say it's not really like that. We wanted to know why there was that separation between the violence we often hear of in the headlines and what they see on a daily basis.

I, today, spent the day with some soldiers from the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry. This is some of what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): On this deadly day in Baghdad, when bomb blasts rocked the city, life for these soldiers of 1st Cavalry was actually very dull. Based around Baghdad's airport, these soldiers have been shot at and ambushed, but many of them insist it's nothing like you see on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks pretty bad in the states on TV. It's not even close to that bad. You've been shot at out here a few times, but it's nothing like you see on TV at all.

COOPER: Day after day, they go out on patrol. Ryan Peterson is an Illinois Reservist with 3rd Platoon.

RYAN PETERSON, ILLINOIS RESERVIST, 3RD PLATOON: Sometimes it's really hard to keep focused.

COOPER: Hours of boredom; moments of terror. Peterson says he was ambushed back in April.

PETERSON: You see the guys pop up with the RPGs as I was trying to reload. That was probably the most scary moment.

COOPER: Peterson's not sure how things here will turn out.

PETERSON: It seems really unstable, like it could go either way.

COOPER: On patrol, 3rd Platoon searches for insurgents and improvised explosive devices. They also deliver water, one small way they're trying to keep Iraqis on their side.

(on camera): 3rd Platoon has been on patrol for four hours now. They're hot, they're tired, but they're certainly used to that. It's about 110 degrees, and it's only midday. It will get hotter, and 3rd Platoon has another eight hours to go before they get to return to base.

(voice-over): Just days away from the handover of power, 1st Cavalry civil affairs soldiers are increasingly trying to get the Iraqi military and police up to speed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe what it's going to take is just a little bit of time, a lot of perseverance, some patience, and just training.

COOPER: By the end of each day, some soldiers wonder what they've really accomplished. But Michael Kessel (ph) seems to have no doubt.

MICHAEL KESSEL (ph): We live in such a microwave society where we want instant gratification and are used to instant stuff. Here, we don't measure things in feet or yards; it's inches. Sometimes it doesn't look like we're making any difference, but we are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Even on a day of great violence here in Iraq for some U.S. soldiers, today was a day of great boredom.

Well, today's buzz question is this: Is the situation in Iraq better or worse than it's being portrayed in the media? What do you think? Log on to CNN.COM/360. Cast your vote. We'll have results at the end of the program tonight.

Let's go back now to Heidi Collins in New York for some other news of the day. Heidi?

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Anderson. Thanks a lot.

Time for tonight's "Reset." This just in: U.S. officials telling CNN, North Korea threatened to test a nuclear weapon if the U.S. did not accept its proposal for a nuclear freeze. The threat came during a meeting between North Korean and U.S. officials in Beijing aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear program.

On Capitol Hill, the Senate approves a $416 billion Pentagon spending bill for next year. It includes $25 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The next step: a compromise version of the bill, since the House and Senate bills don't match.

Washington, D.C.: "Fahrenheit 9/11" under fire. Citizens United, a conservative advocacy group, has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission. They claim ads after July 31st for Michael Moore's new movie will violate the Federal Election Campaign Act. The film is critical of President Bush's response to the September 11th attacks.

In New York, federal prosecutors are urging a federal judge to turn down Martha Stewart's latest bid for a new trial based on charges that a Secret Service ink expert lied on the witness stand. They say the testimony had no effect on the jury's guilty verdict against Stewart. Stewart is due to be sentenced next month.

And that is "The Reset."

Religion and raw politics, we'll talk about that with Reverend Al Sharpton and Jerry Falwell just ahead.

Also tonight, super-boy. A little kid with some mighty muscles, but not by choice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: If you want to take a shot at guessing who will win this year's presidential race, you might take a poll on a Sunday morning. In this year's campaign, faith and religion are prominent players. Here's CNN's Adaora Udoji with a story on prayer, politics and a religious divide.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Faith is very close to President Bush's heart. His anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage policies energizing core religious right voters.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Freedom is the almighty God's gift to every man and woman who lives in this world.

UDOJI: He's also gone after traditionally Democratic voters, asking the Vatican to encourage Catholic bishops to promote the conservative agenda he and the church share. His Democratic opponent, John Kerry, the first Catholic who will be nominated for president since John F. Kennedy, finds himself on the defensive. Some conservative Catholic bishops urging that politicians like him who support abortion rights should be refused communion.

JOHN KERRY, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not a spokesman for the church and the church is not a spokesman for the United States of America.

UDOJI (on camera): Between Kerry and Bush supporters, there is a stark religious divide, according to a new "Time" magazine survey.

(voice-over): 42 percent of Bush voters said it's very important for a presidential candidate to be religious, versus 17 percent of Kerry voters. Asked if religious values should guide political leaders, 79 percent of Bush voters said yes, 60 percent of Kerry supporters no, which may explain why the candidate talks less about it.

Still, the vast majority of Americans in many polls say religion plays a role in their life. The question is, how much? The son of Republican revered President Ronald Reagan took what was seen as a thinly veiled swipe at Bush's religious reliance, urging lessons from his father.

RON REAGAN, SON OF FRM. PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: He never made the fatal mistake of so many politicians, wearing his faith on his sleeve to gain parallel advantage.

UDOJI: Others say Kerry's campaign has not gone after these voters effectively.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: One of John Kerry's biggest challenges is to ground himself in the cultural mainstream in a way that those voters can accept him, even if, in all likelihood, they don't agree with him on some of the specific issues.

UDOJI: Turning the nation's faithful into their own true believers, the race is on. That's how religion becomes raw politics. Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Other poll numbers from "Time" magazine also shed light on religious divide. Among Americans who consider themselves very religious, the magazine's survey says 59 percent support President Bush, while 35 percent of them back Kerry.

Here to talk more about the state of religion in politics are the Reverend Al Sharpton, a former Democratic presidential candidate who's in New York. And the Reverend Jerry Falwell of Liberty University. He's in Lynchburg, Virginia, tonight.

Good evening to the both of you and thank you so much for being here.

JERRY FALWELL, LIBERTY UNIVERSITY: Good evening.

REV. AL SHARPTON, FRM. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Good evening.

COLLINS: Reverend Sharpton, you may have read the "New York Times" a couple days ago, David Brooks writing an article about the Democrats' failings in attracting the religious vote. I want to show you just a little piece of that. He said "he," meaning Clinton, "understood that if Democrats are seen -- are not seen that is, as religious, they will be seen as secular ivy league liberals and they'll lose. John Kerry doesn't seem to get that." Do the Democrats get it?

SHARPTON: I think the Democrats do get it. I think the danger that it will become more and more apparent as we go into the election, the danger the Republicans are playing are twofold. One, I think it is the misuse of religion that has caused a lot of problems in the Middle East. And I think when Americans are presented with the fact, you really want to border on theocracy or religious fanaticism and politics, which is what is fueling a lot of the terrorists that we're dealing with.

And secondly, how they're selective with it. You know, as your piece said we want to deal with the issues of gay marriage or the issues of abortion. Well, let's do the whole ten commandments. Let's talk about thou shall not lie, when we talk about weapons of mass destruction. Or bear false witness, when you talk about al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. Let's argue the whole ten commandments if we want to have the debate. I don't think the right wing Republicans really want that.

COLLINS: All right, Reverend Falwell I want to get to you. In the same "Time" magazine poll, I should share some more numbers, 69 percent of nonreligious people favor Kerry while just 22 percent support Bush. Now the GOP have done a pretty good job of appealing to conservatives, but do you think that the party needs to move beyond that in including more people?

FALWELL: Well, I don't think there's any question Mr. Bush would welcome any vote by anybody, atheist, believer, whatever. And Reverend Al Sharpton there is a friend of mine, and Al's an ordained minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ so he certainly does not object to any mixture of religion and politics.

He, at the same time, would, I think agree with me that one's faith, if that faith is genuine, will certainly impact our behavior, both in private and public life. Mr. Bush does not attempt to use religion, but he's a man of faith who has had a born-again experience with faith in Christ as Al Sharpton would, I think, testify to the same. And therefore, he's not ashamed to talk about it, let it govern his views and values and as a Christian who believes in the sanctity of life, born and unborn, he happens to be pro-life as millions of Americans are, as I am. I don't think it is bad for him to use that White House as a bully pulpit, as all presidents have.

COLLINS: Reverend Sharpton, let me ask you generally the same question. As long as mainstream Democrats seem to agree with pro- choice, supporting stem cell research, civil unions, do you believe they can actually attract church-going Americans? Do they have to modify their positions as well?

SHARPTON: No, I think they have to clarify. I think that there's a difference between, say, one believes in something or saying one believes people have the right to choose for themselves what they want to believe. And I think that once that's clarified, that's a big difference in me saying what I believe, and what my family believes. And then that I believe I have the right to impose that on you.

I feel I'm a good enough preacher to convert you. I don't have to use the law to force you to do what I believe in. I think that's where we part ways when many of the right wing Christian, in my judgment, ideologues that are trying to push this.

COLLINS: Reverend Falwell, as you know, Catholics are one of the critical swing voting blocks, almost 64 million Americans being Catholic. But right now, the vote is, as we have all seen, split between Bush and Kerry. Just 33 percent of Catholics know that John Kerry himself is Catholic. Do you think that the party is in jeopardy of losing this bloc once voters know what Kerry's religion is?

FALWELL: Well, I'm not sure I could comment on that intelligently, but I do know there are 80 million Evangelicals in America. Some of those are Catholics and most are Protestants but they cross all lines, black, white, red, yellow. And all of them take the Bible seriously and Mr. Bush, like Billy Graham, happens to be one of them. Mr. Reagan was one of them. I personally believe that unless the Democratic party gets off this anti-Christian, anti-faith, anti, you know, religious heritage in America kick, they're going to lose. Right now, a poll this morning, Fox News Channel has Mr. Bush up 47-40. I think Mr. Bush will win by a landslide unless the Democrats get off this anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-religion kick.

COLLINS: All right. Reverend Jerry Falwell, thanks so much for your time tonight and Reverend Al Sharpton as well. Thanks to the both of you.

SHARPTON: Thank you.

COLLINS: We'll be back in just a moment here on 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: There's a toddler in Germany that may be better suited with a cape than a bib. Born with a genetic mutation, this 4-year-old is muscle bound boy wonder. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A regular baby might not think this newborn looks that impressive from the rear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The poor thing, his butt looked like a Sharpei dog.

MOOS: But look at those leg muscles, those thighs. A gene mutation landed this unidentified German child in the "New England Journal of Medicine." At 7 months the boy was really starting to look like super baby. OK, maybe he couldn't do what Superman could as a toddler, but super baby's muscles are twice the size of a normal child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any mutation going on in the ding a ling a ding dong region?

MOOS: Doesn't ring a bell. Here at the Equinox gym, they start off some adults with mere two and a half pound weights. When it comes to the now 4-year-old super baby, the baby can lift 6.6 pounds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like that really?

MOOS: Horizontally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe it's real but I can imagine it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For a 4-year-old, wow.

MOOS: The baby's mutation was an accident.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Think of the poor mother that had to give birth to that, like, Arnold Schwarzenegger baby. Would you want to give birth to that kind of baby?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would love any baby that I gave birth to.

MOOS: Scientists hope knowledge gained from the gene mutation can someday help create muscle for people with diseases like muscular dystrophy. For now the child is healthy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you have a hulk on your hands.

MOOS: Talk about hulks, they breed cattle called Belgian Blues with the same gene mutation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks better on the cow.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: He's cute no matter what. 360 next. Anderson Cooper, live from Baghdad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Tonight, taking perspective to the "Nth Degree." There were dozens of dead and hundreds of injured in Mosul today. That area in the north of Iraq has been continuously inhabited for nearly as long as any place on earth, something like 4,500 years. Warriors and armies have been sweeping and out, pretty much, all that time. Alexander the Great defeated Darius of Persia in an enormous battle midway between Mosul and Erbil 300 years before the birth of Christ.

The entire history of the U.S. could fit into a corner of a corner of the history of Iraq which has seen everything from stones to swords to smart bombs. And now this place, antique almost beyond measure, is trying to vault into the 21st century. Terrible violence is not exactly new to Iraq. Indeed, almost nothing is exactly new to Iraq except democracy.

I'm Anderson Cooper. I'll be back in Baghdad tomorrow with an exclusive trip with Ambassador Paul Bremer into the north of Iraq, a final farewell tour for him. "PAULA ZAHN NOW" is next.

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