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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

American Kidnapped in Nablus; Bush, Kerry Hit the Road

Aired July 30, 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.
Breaking news from the Mideast, an American kidnapped in Nablus.

360 starts now.

John Kerry and George Bush hit the road. The race is on, the attacks are coming. But will this be the nastiest campaign in history?

Colin Powell pops up in Baghdad. A surprise visit, and surprise admission. Just how big a setback are the recent kidnappings there?

A boy is murdered, and his mother blames a brutal video game. It may be sick, but does this game really kill?

The FDA approves a new drug to help recovering alcoholics stay off the bottle. But how does it work? And is it too good to be true?

And a remarkable story of survival. Two police officers on a rescue mission get struck by lightning and live to tell. They join us live.

ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.

COOPER: And good evening.

We begin with breaking news out of the Middle East. CNN has confirmed a report that three people, including an American, have been kidnapped in the West Bank.

It happened just a short time ago. The Palestinian Authority tells CNN the American, along with an Irishman and a Finn, were walking to their home in Nablus when they were abducted by a group of armed men. The three kidnapping victims were in the West Bank teaching English. We don't know who abducted them.

Once again, CNN has learned that an American, an Irishman, and a Finn were kidnapped in the West Bank. This information just coming a short time ago. We are following this breaking story and we'll bring you more information as soon as it develops.

Back here at home, the Democratic convention is over. Now the battle has begun. The candidates are suiting up in earnest, buckling on their armor and their swords and shields, sharpening words, ideas, and reflexes. This promises to be very interesting indeed.

Covering the challenger, we have Elaine Quijano in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

First, though, in the incumbent's corner, which corner happens to be in Cleveland, Ohio, at the moment, senior White House correspondent John King. John?

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And Anderson, as is tradition, President Bush stayed quiet and out of sight during the Democratic convention. But now that it is over, he is on the road, quite aggressively, his goal now trying to limit Senator Kerry's post-convention bounce, especially in the states that matter most.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Back on the trail with new urgency, and a retooled stump speech that gets right to the point.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're going to raise your taxes. We're not. We have a clear vision on how to win the war on terror and bring peace to the world. They somehow believe the heart and soul of America can be found in Hollywood.

KING: One urgent goal was disputing Senator Kerry's convention charge that Mr. Bush misled the American people and went to war in Iraq because he wanted to, not because of any imminent threat.

BUSH: Members of the United States Congress from both political parties, including my opponent, looked at the intelligence, and they saw a threat. One of the lessons of September the 11th is we must deal with threats before they fully materialize.

KING: Springfield, Missouri, was the first stop, as Mr. Bush opened a month-long drive to his convention. It's a conservative pocket in a state he carried four years ago. Michigan next, a Gore state last time. Grand Rapids key to Republican chances. Then Cleveland. Ohio was Republican in 2000, a dead heat now, and viewed by both campaigns as potentially decisive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years! Four more years!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four more years! Four more years!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years! Four more years!

KING: Top Bush advisers believe the election will be settled in the industrial Midwest, that by November, jobs, more than Iraq, will tip the scales. So Mr. Bush credited his tax cuts with helping the economy turn the corner, and he's adding a new few ideas aimed at families under strain.

BUSH: I believe that Congress must enact comp time and flextime to help American families better juggle the demands of work and home.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KING: The president's rhetoric turned tougher today. He said 19 years in the Senate, yet Senator Kerry has no notable signature achievements. He also said, though, he does have a proven voting record for higher taxes and bigger government. Privately the Bush campaign, though, acknowledges that they think Senator Kerry's convention appear was very smartly crafted, and they believe, Anderson, it foreshadows a very tough and very bruising campaign to come.

COOPER: And no doubt we will be hearing these kind of allegations a lot over the next couple months. John King, thanks very much.

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: As promised, on now to the challenger's campaign. Let's go to CNN's Elaine Quijano.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fresh off the Democratic National Convention, team Kerry-Edwards wasted no time and set out on a two-week, 22-state campaign push across the country that the Kerry camp dubbed the Believe in America tour.

Before leaving his home town of Boston, Senator Kerry repeated a swipe at the Bush administration.

SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My pledge to you that I made last night, John and I will keep. We're going to restore trust and credibility to the White House.

QUIJANO: Hoping to capitalize on postconvention momentum, Kerry and his number two, John Edwards, started their tour of key battleground states. At a stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Governor Ed Rendell presented Kerry with a Louisville Slugger, telling the Massachusetts senator he hit one out of the park with his speech last night.

But in a state where a recent poll shows Kerry in the lead over President Bush, the campaign is not taking anything for granted, focusing on swinging undecided voters Kerry's way by talking about issues they hope will resonate here.

KERRY: Health care is not a privilege for the wealthy and the connected and the elected. It is a right for all Americans, and we're going to make it available to all Americans.

QUIJANO: The senators plan to cover some 3,500 miles on their tour, and will travel by bus, train, and boat as part of their campaign swing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: Now, one issue that we will likely be hearing more about on the campaign trail, terrorism. And today, some tough talk. Today, John Kerry told the Associated Press that if captured under his watch, if he became president, that Osama bin Laden, he would put him on trial for murder in America, versus an international tribunal, in order to ensure, quote, "the fastest, surest routes to a murder conviction," all of that part of the strategy to paint John Kerry as a man who can be a leader in the continuing war on terrorism.

Meantime, here in Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, we are awaiting a campaign stop by the senators, Kerry and Edwards. We're told that should happen a short time from now. But Pennsylvania, a very important state, a battleground state that Al Gore actually won by 4 percentage points in 2000. This time around, the Democrats are hoping Pennsylvania will come through again for them this year, Anderson.

COOPER: Elaine Quijano, thanks very much, from Harrisburg.

In Washington today, instead of the summer recess they'd otherwise be enjoying, senators filled a hearing room to listen to the chair and vice chair of the 9/11 commission. Thomas Kean of New Jersey and Lee Hamilton of Indiana urged the gathered senators to act as quickly as possible on the most important recommendations made by their commission in its recently delivered report.

Among them, the creation of a new national counterterrorism center and the naming of a national director to oversee the 15 agencies that currently collect intelligence.

To allow bureaucratic wrangling to stall those and other changes, Kean and Hamilton argued, would be to leave America vulnerable.

In Baghdad, the city is well accustomed to surprises, almost all of which are unpleasant. There were certainly some of those today, but there was also a welcome surprise.

CNN's Matthew Chance reports on both.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Captured from a passing vehicle, an insurgent mortar attack on U.S. Marines near Fallujah.

This is only the latest assault on coalition forces in this flashpoint. In response, artillery, tank, and air power was unleashed.

Into Iraq's mayhem, enter the U.S. secretary of state, wearing a bulletproof vest. In Baghdad, Colin Powell had a message of commitment. Washington will be steadfast, he said, on Iraqi security.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have to make sure that these insurgents understand that we will not be deterred, they will not be deterred, insurgents, the terrorists, will be defeated. There can be no other option. The Iraqi people deserve freedom. They deserve democracy. CHANCE: But in the face of mounting violence, like this bomb attack in Baqubah that killed 70, it's achieving those ideals that's proving difficult.

POWELL: We want to speed up the flow of funds into the reconstruction effort. We want to rebuild the infrastructure. We want to create jobs. We want to show the Iraqi people that this money is being used for their benefit, and to do it as quickly as we can.

CHANCE: And kidnapping in Iraq has become a major concern as well. Secretary of State Powell said he had no intelligence on the whereabouts of the foreign contractors being held, but he said hostage taking and insecurity was deterring many companies and countries alike from operating in Iraq.

POWELL: As tragic as these incidents are when they come along, kidnappings, and then the murder of those who have been kidnapped, we must continue to persevere. But obviously it does have a deterring effect.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Well, Anderson, this is a day of diplomacy and gun battles in Iraq. Colin Powell, the highest-ranking U.S. official that's visited Iraq since the transfer of sovereignty that last month. Details of that visit kept very secret right up until the last minute. But now that he's come, the secretary of state's visit is being seen as a strong gesture of support for this interim Iraqi government, which seems increasingly under fire, Anderson.

COOPER: Certainly does. Matthew Chance, thanks for that.

The NATO flag will soon be flying in Baghdad, though it will be a small one. Here's a quick news note for you. After three days of marathon talks, NATO countries have agreed to send a 40-member advance team to Iraq as soon as possible to help train Iraqi security forces. A larger force, they say, will follow in the fall.

Now for now, at least, NATO has sidestepped a dispute between France and the U.S. over who will be commanding that mission. A recommendation will not be made until mid-September.

Responding to rumors that Saddam Hussein is not well, Iraq's human rights minister, Bakhtiyar Amin, today made a fairly detailed statement on the deposed dictator's condition. Here is some of what Minister Amin said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIYAR AMIN, IRAQ'S HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTER: He has certain health problems, but generally his health condition is good. He has suffered from a chronic prostate infection. He was -- he got antibiotics for that, and he seemed to be OK. And they did a chest CAT scan for him and a back MRI, and some blood tests, and it didn't show any cancer. He refused a biopsy in order to be able to determine whether he has really cancer or not. That was a democratic... (END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That was just some of what the minister had to say. Saddam Hussein reportedly has lost about 10 pounds recently.

A potential witness in a case of tainted baby food talks with police. That story tops our look at what's happening cross-country right now. Irvine, California, police met with a man who was seen in the store where three contaminated jars of baby food were purchased. Investigators say, however, the man is not a suspect. They're trying to figure out who put ground-up castor beans in the baby food. The beans can be processed into the poison ricin. Now, two babies ate a small amount of the contaminated food but did not get sick.

Los Olivos, California, a teen hurt in an accident at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. The 15-year-old boy was injured when the all-terrain vehicle he was riding flipped over. The boy, a guest at the ranch, was flown by helicopter to a Santa Barbara hospital and is said to be just fine with no broken bones or internal injuries.

Louisville, Kentucky, now, Iron Mike Tyson back in the ring. The infamous boxing champ takes on Danny Williams tonight. The fight is one of Tyson's first steps toward digging out of bankruptcy. Records show Tyson owes more than $38 million to a variety of creditors.

That is a quick look at stories cross-country tonight.

360 next, the Kobe Bryant rape case. The judge says I'm sorry to the accuser. Find out why.

Plus, new hope for alcoholics? A pill that may help them stay on the wagon forever. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with a potential medical breakthrough you won't want to miss.

And violent video games. A mother says a game is responsible for her son's brutal murder. Is she just making excuses, or does she have a case? Find out ahead.

First, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: It's a week of trial and errors for the judge in the Kobe Bryant case. This morning, he told the woman accusing Bryant of rape that he was sorry, sorry for a mistake that happened before, sorry for a mistake that should never have happened again.

National correspondent Gary Tuchman reports from Eagle, Colorado.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three times already, the name of the accuser in the Kobe Bryant case and other sealed testimony have been mistakenly released, including once just this week. She is said to be incensed. On Friday, the judge took an unusual step in open court, saying he was sorry. Judge Terry Ruckriegle declared, "I want to express my sincere apologies to the people of Eagle County, the people of Colorado, and the people who have come here from far away for the mistake made by the courts this week."

The judge did glance at the woman's mother and father but did not refer to them directly, which upset the parents and angered the man with them, John Clune, the accuser's attorney, who, despite a gag order limiting conversation with journalists, told CNN, "In the wake of the judge's repeated mistakes, harmful to only one person, today's self-serving remarks, designed to improve his own image, are insulting. The judge's refusal to apologize to the victim and her family is very telling."

CRAIG SILVERMAN, ATTORNEY: For those of us who were in the courtroom, it was clear that he was looking at the alleged victim's parents, as well as at the prosecution. Now, should he have mentioned that he was specifically apologizing to the alleged victim? It did seem sort of unusual that he didn't utter those words.

TUCHMAN: One of the three mistakes involved information about Kobe Bryant's rape exam being posted on a public Web site. The biggest mistake involved e-mailing 206 pages of secret testimony to reporters regarding the woman's sexual history, which the judge subsequently ordered them to destroy.

The media appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Following a warning from Justice Steven Brier, Judge Ruckriegle will permit most of the testimony to be released publicly on Monday or Tuesday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: However, 19 of those pages have been given to us early, because they pertain to a different topic. What Kobe Bryant's attorneys are asking for in those papers is for the right to tell the jury that this woman has allegedly received $17,000 from a state victim compensation board. The inference, that she's profiting from it, and that she wants to continue with the case because she has that money.

Her attorney is telling us that suggestion is, quote, "disgusting."

By the way, we can tell you, the court is now telling us it will send a personal apology to the woman on behalf of the whole court, so there won't be a signature from the judge on it, Anderson.

COOPER: Gary, I just want to be very clear about this. This money that she got, it wasn't from a tabloid, it wasn't for telling her story to a TV show, it was from a compensation board, yes?

TUCHMAN: It's a state victim compensation board, but they are alleging that this is keeping her going in this case, the fact she has this money, and that if she admits she didn't tell the truth, she would have to give it back. Of course, she and her attorney and her family strongly deny that allegation.

COOPER: OK, Gary Tuchman in Eagle, thanks very much.

For alcoholics and their families, the battle to stay sober is a all-consuming effort. Night and day, it never truly ends. Yet tonight, the nearly 14 million Americans who the NIH say abuse alcohol or are alcoholics, there may be new hope, hope in a small pill.

CNN's senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pop a pill, and stop the craving for alcohol. Sound too good to be true? Well, a pill approved just yesterday by the FDA may do that for millions of people who can't shake the urge to overdrink. It's called Campal (ph). Used in Europe and other countries for decades, Campal works differently than other alcoholism drugs like Antabuse, which makes you violently ill if you have a drink.

DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: It's the first drug that we're going to have in our armamentarium that actually attacks the biology of addiction itself, actually the drive mechanisms.

GUPTA: Campal targets chemicals located in the reward circuit in the brain. Blocking those chemicals blocks the pleasurable effects of drinking. Simply put, alcoholics no longer have the cravings.

Despite the body of research to the contrary, many consider alcoholism to be a personal failure, not a disease, but that is starting to change.

PINSKY: Anyone that works with the disease will tell you that this is clearly a biological process, and it couldn't be anything further from the old notions of it being a moral weakness.

GUPTA: They will also tell you there are chemical changes in the brain associated with alcoholism, largely the result of genetics. And those changes can also be treated with drugs.

Campal, the newest on the U.S. scene, doesn't work if you're still drinking. You have to quit first, and then use the medication to stay dry.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, suicide bombers target the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Uzbekistan. That tops our look at stories in the uplink. At least three Uzbeks were killed and nine others wounded in today's nearly simultaneous attacks. The third target, the chief prosecutor's office. A group claimed responsibility for the attacks on an Islamic Web site linked to al Qaeda and mentioned its anger over the trials under way in Uzbekistan for 15 men accused of terrorist attacks earlier this year. The U.N. vote on Sudan and rejected by Sudan. It doesn't mention sanctions, but the Security Council has adopted a resolution threatening Sudan with economic consequences unless it cracks down on Arab militias within the next 30 days. Militias are blamed for killing at least 30,000 people in the Darfur region in what the U.N. calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Bangkok, Thailand, now, an outrage over kickboxing orangutans? Well, look at this video here. Animal rights groups say these endangered apes were being exploited for easy profits. The operators of the Safari World Animal Park say the fights, which apparently start with a "Rocky" movie theme and include chimpanzees wearing bikinis, are choreographed, and that no animal is harmed. Judge for yourself.

That's tonight's uplink.

360 next, a horrible crime, and a parent's accusation that a violent video game is to blame. Find out why the makers of Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt are making headlines again.

Also tonight, back on the campaign trail and battling it out for the White House. Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson step into the "CROSSFIRE."

And a little later, struck by lightning. Two heroic cops get hit while rescuing some flood-stranded motorists. A remarkable story. They join us to tell it live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In a British courtroom, two grieving parents are trying to comprehend the murder of their son. He was killed after being hit repeatedly with a claw hammer. And it's the boy's so-called friend who's on trial, accused of the murder. The question is, what drove him to do it, if in fact he did it? The dead boy's parents blame a violent video game.

CNN's Diana Muriel takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fourteen-year-old Daniel Major is spending a big chunk of his summer vacation in front of this, playing video games.

DANIEL MAJOR, GAME PLAYER: They're fun to play, because, like, blood, and it's funny when you see people die, especially when you're the one killing them. It's just fun, and you just have a laugh (UNINTELLIGIBLE) because you're just monkeying around killing people.

MURIEL: But in the U.K., 14-year-old Stefan Pakira (ph) was brutally murdered at the hands of a 17-year-old friend, said by the parents of the victim to be obsessed with the video game Manhunt. The game's central character gains points not just by killing, but by killing brutally. The Columbine High School killers were fans of the violent video game Doom. Two teenage boys in Tennessee claimed they were acting out the video game Grand Theft Auto when they shot a man dead on an interstate highway. Grand Theft Auto is made by the same company, Rockstar Games, that produced Manhunt.

The company issued the following statement, "We reject any suggestion or association between the tragic events and the sale of Manhunt."

But a child action group says some kids find it hard to tell fact from fantasy.

CHRIS ATKINSON, CHILDREN'S CHARITY POLICY ADVISER: Unfortunately, for a minority, that can be very difficult, and in a minority of those cases, this is where it actually spills out into someone actually enacting what they have seen in a video game.

MURIEL: Several Viewcase (ph) stores pulled Manhunt from their shelves, but it, and games like it, are already in many homes.

LORNA MAJOR, MOTHER: We held off a long time for getting on particular 18 games for Dan, who's only 14, because he kept on about going to his friends' house to play, and I knew his friends have got responsible parents, and I just felt, Well, if they're all doing it, then he's seen it there already, so we may as well have it here in our house so I can see there while he's watching them and playing them.

MURIEL: CNN found this easily accessible Web site that allows anyone to download 18-and-up-rated games, including Manhunt, for free.

(on camera): Computer-savvy kids with time on their hands and a PC might just find their way to that Web site too.

Diana Muriel, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, the young man in question plead guilty to murder. The question now is, was the video game in any way responsible? The mother whose son was killed in Britain has hired U.S. attorney Jack Thompson. For years he's campaigned against the sale of violent video games to kids. He joins me from Miami.

Jack, good to see you again tonight.

JACK THOMPSON, ATTORNEY: Thank you.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Columbine is often mentioned in this case. It was mentioned in Diana Muriel's piece. Some parents of kids who were killed in Columbine tried to use this line of argument, tried to sue based, saying the video game somehow played a role in the Columbine killings. That was thrown out, wasn't even admitted. Why do you think your case is different?

THOMPSON: Well, it's interesting, that was a poorly prepared lawsuit. We predicted eight days before Columbine happened, on another network, that indeed it would happen, and we identified the game that Klebold and Harris wound up training on.

Our case in Paducah was dismissed by a court which said it's not foreseeable that a kid would act out a video game. Unfortunately, there have now have been dozens of these instances. The FBI, after Columbine, identified violent entertainment as a common denominator in all the school killings.

The death rate in American schools, Anderson, has tripled in the last year, and we've got now experts saying that because this is an interactive medium, which is actually processed in a different part of the brain of an adolescent than in an adult, that it appears to be preparing children to become killers.

COOPER: Jack, you bring up a couple figures, and I just got to point out a couple discrepancies in some of the figures, though, that you point out. I mean, you say, you know, violent video games basically are causing some of these kids to kill or leading to aggressive behavior. I'm not going to contradict you on that, though there are studies I guess you could point to on either side.

But to say that, I mean, actually school shootings, I think you just said, in the last year are up, but frankly, over the last several years, are actually down overall, I think from, according to FBI, which you mentioned, juvenile arrests for homicide have declined significantly in the last 10 years, and the Justice statistics show that school crimes, I think, have also dropped significantly.

Video games (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

THOMPSON: Well, well, wait a minute. The federal government said two weeks ago that murder -- or the killing rate in American schools is at now at 48 for the school year just concluded. The two prior years were 17 and 16, respectively.

COOPER: OK, so again, you said the last year, but if you look at this over the last several years -- I mean, the point is that video games have been wildly popular now for many years. They're a $30 billion industry. People spent as much on video games last year as they did going to theatrical movies. Can you really link the two? I mean, there's, you can't really prove...

THOMPSON: Yes, I can.

COOPER: ... prove cause and effect.

THOMPSON: Sure I can. The studies that the video game industry cites are paid for by the industry. The studies we cite are relied upon, for example, by the head of the American Medical Association, and no one is paying him to testify this way under oath to Congress that it, that he found, along with the heads of five other health care organizations, a direct causal link between this type of entertainment and school violence.

COOPER: OK, I, I, I... THOMPSON: You've got...

COOPER: ... I got to show, I got to just get in here this statement from Rockstar Games, the company that makes the game in question, Manhunt. They say, quote, "We reject any association between the tragic events and the sale of Manhunt. There's a clear certification structure in place. Manhunt was clearly classified as 18 by the British Board of Film Classification. It should not be in the possession of a juvenile."

Which leads to the question of parental responsibility, Jack. You know, what were this kid's parents doing, allowing him to play this game that's clearly marked for 18 and above, and which clearly is, you know, very disturbing?

THOMPSON: They were doing a very poor job. You know, though, there's plenty of blame to go around. You've got negligent parents, you've got responsible kids who act out these games. But you've also got, the Federal Trade Commission found after Columbine, in our country, that the video game industry worldwide, despite these ratings and despite, in the U.K., regulations which are very mild, they still market the heck out of these games to kids.

We're finding, despite promises after Columbine, ads in American comic books for Grand Theft Auto by city, even though this industry promised to stop doing that.

So, when you create a demand among a generation for something that they shouldn't have, say that you're going to abide by the rules and then don't do so, then I think you have culpability.

And indeed, this child killed in an exact replication of a scenario in the game with a hammer, and there's other testimony that would indicate that he was in almost a trance-like state acting out this game. There was not enmity between these two kids and yet it turned into a killing.

COOPER: Although, he in court didn't say it was the game that made him do it, but we'll leave that...

THOMPSON: He's been interrogated towards that end.

COOPER: All right. Jack Thompson, we're going to leave it there. Thanks very much, Jack.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

COOPER: Today's Buzz is this, what do you think: "Can violent video games compel kids to kill?" Log on to cnn.com/360. Cast your vote. We'll have results at the end of the show.

(voice-over): John Kerry and George Bush hit the road. The race is on. The attacks are coming. But will this be the nastiest campaign in history?

And a remarkable story of survival: Two police officers on a rescue mission get struck by lightning, and live to tell. They join us live. 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Updating the breaking news out of the Middle East on the abduction of an American and 2 others in the West Bank. CNN has now confirmed that all 3 have been released. That word just moments ago.

The Palestinian Authority tell told CNN the American, along with an Irishmen and a Fin were walking to their home in Nablus when they were abducted by a group of armed men. The 3 are on the West Bank teaching English. They're believed to be affiliated with a church run school.

But to repeat, CNN has now learned that all 3 kidnapping victims have been released. We're following this breaking story and I'll bring you more information as soon as it develops.

Turning now to politics, in less than 24 hours after the balloons fell on Democrats in Boston ending their convention, candidate John Kerry was out on the stump today, so too was the man he's challenging, President Bush.

I spoke earlier today with the merry men of CNN "CROSSFIRE," Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala. About which way the Kerry bandwagon is headed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Paul, so for Kerry and Edwards, happens now? They embark on this bus tour. What's the thinking behind that?

PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST CROSSFIRE: Well, you know they had Willie Nelson at the convention last night. His big song is "On The Road Again." Coincidentally, that bus will go that 3,000 miles all through swing states.

COOPER: Wow, what a coincidence!

BEGALA: Who would have thought? Of course, Massachusetts not being a swing state, they got the hell out of Dodge as quickly as they could.

The challenge now will be for Senator Kerry to take his very fine speech last night and trim it down to a nice, tight stump speech that reprises some of those really good lines.

COOPER: Tucker, President bush, what are we going to be seeing from him in the coming weeks?

TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST CROSSFIRE: Well, I think he's going to continue to attack Kerry. And I think that's probably the best tactic. Kerry struck a very moderate, in some places pretty conservative tone, last night. And by the standards of Democratic Party, really conservative, far out, Joe Lieberman, right-wing wacko, conservative tone, which was consistent with the rest of the convention, where of course there were really no interest groups that comprise the Democratic Party under ordinary circumstances.

COOPER: And you didn't hear any of those words that you know, interest groups like to hear in a Democratic convention: gay, abortion, even Iraq.

CARLSON: Exactly. And especially Iraq, where unfortunately nobody is pressing Kerry to explain himself. The Bush people, of course, aren't going to press Kerry to explain what he would do in Iraq, it doesn't help them. You would think the left of the Democratic Party would push. I think it would be useful if they did, because at least we would get to know what he thinks, flesh it out a little bit.

COOPER: Paul, I was talking with Howard Dean last night. He thinks this is going to be the nastiest campaign ever. Do you think that's true?

BEGALA: Yes, I do. I actually knew Governor Bush when he was in Texas, he's a nice guy. But when he gets in a tough fight, he didn't just get in the gutter, he gets in the sewer. He went after, or his supporters, somebody in South Carolina went after John McCain in the most vicious way imaginable. They attacked Al Gore personally. They're already attacking, not just John Kerry, they're attacking his wife...

CARLSON: Nobody's attacks his wife. I mean, look, this is a woman, who by her own description, is a bit of a loose cannon. I find her charming, I'm always defending her, but she talks about her prenuptial agreement in public to reporters on tape, OK?

So, I mean, if that's not sort of newsworthy, I'm not sure what is. Nobody is attack her.

COOPER: Tucker, Paul is making it sound like all the nastiest, though, is just going to come from the Republicans toward the Democrats. I imagine there's going to be flowing from the Democrats to the Republicans.

CARLSON: I think the disappointing thing, though, is not the nasty tone of the election. That doesn't bother me so much personally, as the lack of the debate on the issue that matters, and that's Iraq. I just think 50 years from now, that's the only issue that's going to stand out in the history books that's significant from the year 2004, and nobody is talking about it. And I think that's just wrong.

COOPER: Paul.

BEGALA: They are talking about it. The problem is the president has adopted so much of Senator Kerry's verbiage. He doesn't mean it, but he's stolen so much of Kerry's verbiage all of a sudden now the president's for the 9/11 commission report, now he's for more of a United Nations role, now he for a larger NATO role. Now, he wants more allies.

He doesn't mean any of that. He's a unilateralist of the first order, and that's how he's governed. But it is more difficult to have a debate with someone who deeply disingenuous in his rhetoric.

CARLSON: That's just a brilliant -- it's so brilliant and dumb at the same time.

BEGALA: It's absolutely true, Tucker.

CARLSON: The argument is that Kerry and Bush have the same position of what we ought to do next.

BEGALA: They don't, because Bush is lying. He's trying to pretend that he has Kerry's...

(CROSSTALK)

CARLSON: You don't really know what Bush really thinks, none of us do. But the idea that somehow, Bush has been reading Kerry's Web site and stolen his ideas is a total crock. The fact is neither of them has thought of anything different to do, but stay the course, involve our allies, the obvious solution.

COOPER: We're going to have to leave it there. Paula Begala, Tucker Carlson, good to see you guys. Thanks very much.

BEGALA: Thanks, Anderson.

CARLSON: Thank, Anderson.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, security was extraordinarily tight during the Democratic Convention. Perhaps the most dangerous place to be during the week in Boston was between a camera and Michael Moore. While a lot of celebrities flocked to conventions, none got as much attention as the man promoting "Fahrenheit 9/11." They say Moore's the merrier, we say this week he's "Overkill."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): If the newly anointed candidates barely caused a stir at the convention, then Michael Moore caused a very well-coordinated commotion.

The documentary director sure did make the rounds. Wherever he went, he made sure he was front and center, speaking loud and clear.

MICHAEL MOORE, DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER: The American people for the last four years feel like they haven't been told the whole truth, and both from the White House and the media not doing its job.

COOPER: This week, the media seemed to think its job was covering Michael Moore. According to Video Monitoring Service, Michael Moore was talked about 3,540 times on television over the past four days, 523 stories were dedicated just to him. Put Moore on TV, and you can be sure he talks about the war on Iraq, and of course he'd criticize the media.

MOORE: Much of the media was a cheerleader.

COOPER: Michael may make fun of Fox News, but he didn't pass up a chance to appear on it.

BILL O'REILLY, HOST, THE O'REILLY FACTOR: Do you want to apologize to the president now or later?

MOORE: He didn't the tell the truth. He said there were weapons of mass destruction.

COOPER: Of course, Moore filmed himself during all this, and no doubt it will end up in another movie someday.

MOORE: He said to me, I can't think of anyone I would rather have sit with me tonight than you, and...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did you feel about that?

MOORE: I was so blown away.

COOPER: Moore was supposed to leave early to attend a screening of his film, "Fahrenheit 911," in Crawford, Texas. But he then announced he wouldn't attend, shunning the spotlight because, believe it or not, he didn't want this to be all about him.

Hmm, really?

We should point out when the media moved on to other business like the convention itself, Moore called a press conference to tell us about his future. First the Republican Convention, then...

MOORE: I am coming to Florida.

COOPER: Michael Moore back on the road. That could only lead to more overkill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, he says his father has no right to call him son. Next on 360, why one boy says he should be allowed to divorce his dad. Courts agree.

Also tonight, two cops struck by lightning. Hear their story of survival and incredible courage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Patrick Holland was 8 the night his father smashed a window in his Massachusetts home with a golfbag and then shot his mother eight times and beat her with a rifle. Patrick, now 14, has little memory of that dreadful night in 1998, but he still faces heartache each day living life without a mother. This week, Patrick won a legal landmark battle to divorce his father after his father didn't contest. Patrick Holland joins me from Manchester, New Hampshire. By his side, Ron Lazisky, his legal guardian. I appreciate both of you being with us tonight. Patrick, you don't even call Daniel Holland your father. Why not?

PATRICK HOLLAND, "DIVORCED" HIS FATHER: I don't think he deserves to have that title. I think someone else would appreciate it much more, and that someone's Ron, to have, you know, to have that title as my father, and I don't think he deserves it.

COOPER: And Ron is your dad?

HOLLAND: Yes, he is.

COOPER: Well, then out of respect for you, I won't continue to call this guy your dad. I'll just refer to him by his first name, Daniel.

HOLLAND: Sure.

COOPER: How did you come to the decision that divorcing yourself from Daniel would be the right thing?

HOLLAND: Well, I didn't want to have to worry about him being in my life. I didn't want to have to worry about him trying to harass me as far as legal records go, as like reports cards and how I'm doing in therapy, and stuff like that, and I just -- I really didn't want him in my life at all.

COOPER: Because, Ron, a lot of this happened because Daniel, who is in prison about two years ago I guess started requesting some information about Patrick, and legally you had to give it to him?

RON LAZISKY, PATRICK'S LEGAL GUARDIAN: That is correct. Daniel Holland contacted the Department of Social Services in Massachusetts, and asked for certain information, like how he was doing in school, how he was doing in baseball, and his counseling. And the Department of Social Services told me I had no choice but to give the answers, because he had his parental rights, and it was the law.

COOPER: That has certainly now changed. He no longer does have those parental rights. Patrick, you left actually the courtroom before Daniel was able to speak in court. You didn't even want to hear what he had to say. Why?

HOLLAND: I didn't want have him to have any right to get any message across to me. I just really didn't want to have to hear anything that he had to say.

COOPER: I understand, though, that you wanted to confront him, you wanted the ability to speak to him, say stuff to him, but the prison wouldn't allow that. Is that correct?

HOLLAND: That's right. I wanted to confront him just once to say what I wanted to think about him.

COOPER: What would you want to say to him?

HOLLAND: I just wanted to say that I don't even think he's a person. I just -- I think he's less.

COOPER: And yet you've forgiven him?

HOLLAND: Yes.

COOPER: That must have been a tough thing to do.

HOLLAND: It was. I mean, I -- you know, I still want to tell him what I think of him, but, you know, I'm not going to let it consume my life, and I'm going to let justice go to God's hands now.

COOPER: Well, Daniel Holland is out of your life now, and you have got a great dad in Ron Lazisky. Patrick, thanks for being with us.

HOLLAND: No problem.

COOPER: Struck by lightning. Here to tell the tale. Next on 360, caught on tape, two police officers survive a lightning bolt. We're going to talk live with them.

Also tonight, classic political thriller gets a 21st century makeover. "The Manchurian Candidate" and what else you might want to do this weekend. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: It is awesome and terrifying. You're about to meet two very lucky and truly heroic police officers named Lance Bateman and Clint Varnell. Video from their patrol car captures a bolt of lightning striking them. You can actually see the flash as they helped drivers trapped on a flooded road in New Mexico last week. Both men blacked out from the lightning strike, but somehow they recovered and incredibly continued to help the stranded motorists to safety before driving themselves to the hospital.

Joining us now from Clovis, New Mexico is Officer Lance Bateman and Officer Clint Varnell. Gentlemen, it's nice to see you alive and well. Thanks very much for being with us tonight.

Officer Bateman, let me start off with you. There were about 15 cars I guess stranded in floods. You were helping out a family trying to get out of the flood waters when the lightning struck. What happened?

OFFICER LANCE BATEMAN, NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE: Well, we helped some -- two ladies and three kids in the backseat out of a car, got them into a truck. Their car was being overtaken by water in a bar ditch. Moved them to safety. At that time, we were trying to get all the cars turned around so we could get them to safety out of the water, and that's when we heard a loud boom and I had a sharp pain in my head and went down.

COOPER: A loud boom. I mean, it's -- can you describe it? I mean, what, you know, no one can really imagine what it's like actually being hit by lightning. What does it feel like? BATEMAN: I didn't really feel much, just a sharp pain in my head. I've never really heard a sound like that, either, it was almost like an explosion, loud thunder being real close. It was pretty loud.

COOPER: I imagine you hope never to hear a sound like that again. Officer Varnell, now, you were also hit, but when you came to, you saw Officer Bateman down in the water. What went through your mind?

OFFICER CLINT VARNELL, NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE: My first thought when I came back to and saw (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I thought my partner was dead in the water. After a few minutes he moved, and it was quite a relief to know that he was OK.

COOPER: Now, they say, I guess, that the water actually kind of helped save your life. Is that right, Officer Varnell?

VARNELL: Yes, sir. The doctors explained to us that since there was such a big puddle of water that the electricity was dissipated through the water, so we didn't get quite as much electricity through our body.

COOPER: Yeah, because we got some figures from NOAA, saying that 20 percent of people struck by lightning die, 70 percent of survivors suffer long-term damage from this. How do you guys feel, Officer Bateman?

BATEMAN: I feel pretty good. I've had off and on headaches. That's about it.

COOPER: Well, I hope the headaches go away and you guys are truly remarkable. And I know you just continued working for a couple more hours helping other people out before you even went to the hospital. Truly an amazing story. Guys, thanks very much for being with us.

BATEMAN: Thank you, sir.

VARNELL: Thank you, sir.

COOPER: Well, with the convention over, the country now looks to the election, but something's not right. Something is not right at all with one of the running mates. No, this isn't an opinion by Michael Moore. It's the premise of a new film, well, more like an old film that's getting a makeover. Let's check it out and a whole lot more in this edition of "The Weekender."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENZEL WASHINGTON, ACTOR: You ever dream about Kuwait?

COOPER (voice-over): Conspiracy theorists may have a field day with "The Manchurian Candidate," Jonathan Demme's update of the 1962 political thriller starring Frank Sinatra. Denzel Washington is a Gulf War veteran who has nightmares about a vice presidential candidate. Paranoid, Denzel?

WASHINGTON: Somebody got into our heads with big steel-toed boots, cable cutters and a chainsaw.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are marks on the door.

COOPER: If you don't want your chills served up by political conspiracies, try "The Village." M. Night Shyamalan's latest film takes on mysterious creatures and the supernatural. Like "The Sixth Sense," "The Village" promises a surprise ending. Maybe Bruce Willis will show up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I forgot my cell phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to run back and get it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we've gone too far.

COOPER: On the lighter side -- and I mean really lighter side -- there's "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," a Cheech and Chong haze of comedy with a couple of roommates on an all-night quest for some munchies.

On TV, CNN's sister company, TNT, is offering up "The Evel Knievel Story" tonight. Vroom. We follow his rise to stardom and his daredevil, death-defying stunts without, it seems, ever getting his white jumpsuit dirty.

In concert, Rush heads to Tampa tomorrow night. It's part of their 30th anniversary tour, giving fans of all ages a chance to sing along to "Tom Sawyer."

And if you're near Minneapolis this weekend, check out the 13th annual county market Rib America Festival. There's plenty of music, plenty of cooking, and best of all, it's free.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Rush, rock on!

360 next, an occurrence as rare as, well, that's the whole point in "The Nth Degree." First, today's "Buzz." What do you think, can violent videogames cause kids to kill? Log on to cnn.com/360, cast your vote. We'll have the results in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time now for "The Buzz." Earlier we asked you -- can violent videogames compel kids to kill? Fifty-six percent of you said yes; 44 percent no. Not a scientific poll, but it is your buzz. We appreciate you voting.

Tonight, taking good timing to "The Nth Degree." If there's something you've been putting off for a while, waiting for just the right moment, we have good news for you. Tomorrow's the day. Yes, sir, tomorrow's the day to do all those things you only do once in a blue moon, because tomorrow there will be a blue moon.

It's not actually blue, of course. A blue moon, so called, is the second full moon in a single calendar month. This happens, well, you know, once in a blue moon, meaning infrequently, rarely, from time to time. So been a while since you read a book? Can't remember when you last saw a play? Haven't had a Mexican food in a dog's age or talked to a certain someone in donkey's years? Or played poker in a month of Sundays? If it's something you only do once in a blue moon, you can do it tomorrow.

I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

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 July 30, 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.
Breaking news from the Mideast, an American kidnapped in Nablus.

360 starts now.

John Kerry and George Bush hit the road. The race is on, the attacks are coming. But will this be the nastiest campaign in history?

Colin Powell pops up in Baghdad. A surprise visit, and surprise admission. Just how big a setback are the recent kidnappings there?

A boy is murdered, and his mother blames a brutal video game. It may be sick, but does this game really kill?

The FDA approves a new drug to help recovering alcoholics stay off the bottle. But how does it work? And is it too good to be true?

And a remarkable story of survival. Two police officers on a rescue mission get struck by lightning and live to tell. They join us live.

ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.

COOPER: And good evening.

We begin with breaking news out of the Middle East. CNN has confirmed a report that three people, including an American, have been kidnapped in the West Bank.

It happened just a short time ago. The Palestinian Authority tells CNN the American, along with an Irishman and a Finn, were walking to their home in Nablus when they were abducted by a group of armed men. The three kidnapping victims were in the West Bank teaching English. We don't know who abducted them.

Once again, CNN has learned that an American, an Irishman, and a Finn were kidnapped in the West Bank. This information just coming a short time ago. We are following this breaking story and we'll bring you more information as soon as it develops.

Back here at home, the Democratic convention is over. Now the battle has begun. The candidates are suiting up in earnest, buckling on their armor and their swords and shields, sharpening words, ideas, and reflexes. This promises to be very interesting indeed.

Covering the challenger, we have Elaine Quijano in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

First, though, in the incumbent's corner, which corner happens to be in Cleveland, Ohio, at the moment, senior White House correspondent John King. John?

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And Anderson, as is tradition, President Bush stayed quiet and out of sight during the Democratic convention. But now that it is over, he is on the road, quite aggressively, his goal now trying to limit Senator Kerry's post-convention bounce, especially in the states that matter most.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Back on the trail with new urgency, and a retooled stump speech that gets right to the point.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're going to raise your taxes. We're not. We have a clear vision on how to win the war on terror and bring peace to the world. They somehow believe the heart and soul of America can be found in Hollywood.

KING: One urgent goal was disputing Senator Kerry's convention charge that Mr. Bush misled the American people and went to war in Iraq because he wanted to, not because of any imminent threat.

BUSH: Members of the United States Congress from both political parties, including my opponent, looked at the intelligence, and they saw a threat. One of the lessons of September the 11th is we must deal with threats before they fully materialize.

KING: Springfield, Missouri, was the first stop, as Mr. Bush opened a month-long drive to his convention. It's a conservative pocket in a state he carried four years ago. Michigan next, a Gore state last time. Grand Rapids key to Republican chances. Then Cleveland. Ohio was Republican in 2000, a dead heat now, and viewed by both campaigns as potentially decisive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years! Four more years!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four more years! Four more years!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years! Four more years!

KING: Top Bush advisers believe the election will be settled in the industrial Midwest, that by November, jobs, more than Iraq, will tip the scales. So Mr. Bush credited his tax cuts with helping the economy turn the corner, and he's adding a new few ideas aimed at families under strain.

BUSH: I believe that Congress must enact comp time and flextime to help American families better juggle the demands of work and home.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KING: The president's rhetoric turned tougher today. He said 19 years in the Senate, yet Senator Kerry has no notable signature achievements. He also said, though, he does have a proven voting record for higher taxes and bigger government. Privately the Bush campaign, though, acknowledges that they think Senator Kerry's convention appear was very smartly crafted, and they believe, Anderson, it foreshadows a very tough and very bruising campaign to come.

COOPER: And no doubt we will be hearing these kind of allegations a lot over the next couple months. John King, thanks very much.

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: As promised, on now to the challenger's campaign. Let's go to CNN's Elaine Quijano.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fresh off the Democratic National Convention, team Kerry-Edwards wasted no time and set out on a two-week, 22-state campaign push across the country that the Kerry camp dubbed the Believe in America tour.

Before leaving his home town of Boston, Senator Kerry repeated a swipe at the Bush administration.

SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My pledge to you that I made last night, John and I will keep. We're going to restore trust and credibility to the White House.

QUIJANO: Hoping to capitalize on postconvention momentum, Kerry and his number two, John Edwards, started their tour of key battleground states. At a stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Governor Ed Rendell presented Kerry with a Louisville Slugger, telling the Massachusetts senator he hit one out of the park with his speech last night.

But in a state where a recent poll shows Kerry in the lead over President Bush, the campaign is not taking anything for granted, focusing on swinging undecided voters Kerry's way by talking about issues they hope will resonate here.

KERRY: Health care is not a privilege for the wealthy and the connected and the elected. It is a right for all Americans, and we're going to make it available to all Americans.

QUIJANO: The senators plan to cover some 3,500 miles on their tour, and will travel by bus, train, and boat as part of their campaign swing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: Now, one issue that we will likely be hearing more about on the campaign trail, terrorism. And today, some tough talk. Today, John Kerry told the Associated Press that if captured under his watch, if he became president, that Osama bin Laden, he would put him on trial for murder in America, versus an international tribunal, in order to ensure, quote, "the fastest, surest routes to a murder conviction," all of that part of the strategy to paint John Kerry as a man who can be a leader in the continuing war on terrorism.

Meantime, here in Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, we are awaiting a campaign stop by the senators, Kerry and Edwards. We're told that should happen a short time from now. But Pennsylvania, a very important state, a battleground state that Al Gore actually won by 4 percentage points in 2000. This time around, the Democrats are hoping Pennsylvania will come through again for them this year, Anderson.

COOPER: Elaine Quijano, thanks very much, from Harrisburg.

In Washington today, instead of the summer recess they'd otherwise be enjoying, senators filled a hearing room to listen to the chair and vice chair of the 9/11 commission. Thomas Kean of New Jersey and Lee Hamilton of Indiana urged the gathered senators to act as quickly as possible on the most important recommendations made by their commission in its recently delivered report.

Among them, the creation of a new national counterterrorism center and the naming of a national director to oversee the 15 agencies that currently collect intelligence.

To allow bureaucratic wrangling to stall those and other changes, Kean and Hamilton argued, would be to leave America vulnerable.

In Baghdad, the city is well accustomed to surprises, almost all of which are unpleasant. There were certainly some of those today, but there was also a welcome surprise.

CNN's Matthew Chance reports on both.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Captured from a passing vehicle, an insurgent mortar attack on U.S. Marines near Fallujah.

This is only the latest assault on coalition forces in this flashpoint. In response, artillery, tank, and air power was unleashed.

Into Iraq's mayhem, enter the U.S. secretary of state, wearing a bulletproof vest. In Baghdad, Colin Powell had a message of commitment. Washington will be steadfast, he said, on Iraqi security.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have to make sure that these insurgents understand that we will not be deterred, they will not be deterred, insurgents, the terrorists, will be defeated. There can be no other option. The Iraqi people deserve freedom. They deserve democracy. CHANCE: But in the face of mounting violence, like this bomb attack in Baqubah that killed 70, it's achieving those ideals that's proving difficult.

POWELL: We want to speed up the flow of funds into the reconstruction effort. We want to rebuild the infrastructure. We want to create jobs. We want to show the Iraqi people that this money is being used for their benefit, and to do it as quickly as we can.

CHANCE: And kidnapping in Iraq has become a major concern as well. Secretary of State Powell said he had no intelligence on the whereabouts of the foreign contractors being held, but he said hostage taking and insecurity was deterring many companies and countries alike from operating in Iraq.

POWELL: As tragic as these incidents are when they come along, kidnappings, and then the murder of those who have been kidnapped, we must continue to persevere. But obviously it does have a deterring effect.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Well, Anderson, this is a day of diplomacy and gun battles in Iraq. Colin Powell, the highest-ranking U.S. official that's visited Iraq since the transfer of sovereignty that last month. Details of that visit kept very secret right up until the last minute. But now that he's come, the secretary of state's visit is being seen as a strong gesture of support for this interim Iraqi government, which seems increasingly under fire, Anderson.

COOPER: Certainly does. Matthew Chance, thanks for that.

The NATO flag will soon be flying in Baghdad, though it will be a small one. Here's a quick news note for you. After three days of marathon talks, NATO countries have agreed to send a 40-member advance team to Iraq as soon as possible to help train Iraqi security forces. A larger force, they say, will follow in the fall.

Now for now, at least, NATO has sidestepped a dispute between France and the U.S. over who will be commanding that mission. A recommendation will not be made until mid-September.

Responding to rumors that Saddam Hussein is not well, Iraq's human rights minister, Bakhtiyar Amin, today made a fairly detailed statement on the deposed dictator's condition. Here is some of what Minister Amin said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAKHTIYAR AMIN, IRAQ'S HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTER: He has certain health problems, but generally his health condition is good. He has suffered from a chronic prostate infection. He was -- he got antibiotics for that, and he seemed to be OK. And they did a chest CAT scan for him and a back MRI, and some blood tests, and it didn't show any cancer. He refused a biopsy in order to be able to determine whether he has really cancer or not. That was a democratic... (END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That was just some of what the minister had to say. Saddam Hussein reportedly has lost about 10 pounds recently.

A potential witness in a case of tainted baby food talks with police. That story tops our look at what's happening cross-country right now. Irvine, California, police met with a man who was seen in the store where three contaminated jars of baby food were purchased. Investigators say, however, the man is not a suspect. They're trying to figure out who put ground-up castor beans in the baby food. The beans can be processed into the poison ricin. Now, two babies ate a small amount of the contaminated food but did not get sick.

Los Olivos, California, a teen hurt in an accident at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. The 15-year-old boy was injured when the all-terrain vehicle he was riding flipped over. The boy, a guest at the ranch, was flown by helicopter to a Santa Barbara hospital and is said to be just fine with no broken bones or internal injuries.

Louisville, Kentucky, now, Iron Mike Tyson back in the ring. The infamous boxing champ takes on Danny Williams tonight. The fight is one of Tyson's first steps toward digging out of bankruptcy. Records show Tyson owes more than $38 million to a variety of creditors.

That is a quick look at stories cross-country tonight.

360 next, the Kobe Bryant rape case. The judge says I'm sorry to the accuser. Find out why.

Plus, new hope for alcoholics? A pill that may help them stay on the wagon forever. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with a potential medical breakthrough you won't want to miss.

And violent video games. A mother says a game is responsible for her son's brutal murder. Is she just making excuses, or does she have a case? Find out ahead.

First, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: It's a week of trial and errors for the judge in the Kobe Bryant case. This morning, he told the woman accusing Bryant of rape that he was sorry, sorry for a mistake that happened before, sorry for a mistake that should never have happened again.

National correspondent Gary Tuchman reports from Eagle, Colorado.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three times already, the name of the accuser in the Kobe Bryant case and other sealed testimony have been mistakenly released, including once just this week. She is said to be incensed. On Friday, the judge took an unusual step in open court, saying he was sorry. Judge Terry Ruckriegle declared, "I want to express my sincere apologies to the people of Eagle County, the people of Colorado, and the people who have come here from far away for the mistake made by the courts this week."

The judge did glance at the woman's mother and father but did not refer to them directly, which upset the parents and angered the man with them, John Clune, the accuser's attorney, who, despite a gag order limiting conversation with journalists, told CNN, "In the wake of the judge's repeated mistakes, harmful to only one person, today's self-serving remarks, designed to improve his own image, are insulting. The judge's refusal to apologize to the victim and her family is very telling."

CRAIG SILVERMAN, ATTORNEY: For those of us who were in the courtroom, it was clear that he was looking at the alleged victim's parents, as well as at the prosecution. Now, should he have mentioned that he was specifically apologizing to the alleged victim? It did seem sort of unusual that he didn't utter those words.

TUCHMAN: One of the three mistakes involved information about Kobe Bryant's rape exam being posted on a public Web site. The biggest mistake involved e-mailing 206 pages of secret testimony to reporters regarding the woman's sexual history, which the judge subsequently ordered them to destroy.

The media appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Following a warning from Justice Steven Brier, Judge Ruckriegle will permit most of the testimony to be released publicly on Monday or Tuesday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: However, 19 of those pages have been given to us early, because they pertain to a different topic. What Kobe Bryant's attorneys are asking for in those papers is for the right to tell the jury that this woman has allegedly received $17,000 from a state victim compensation board. The inference, that she's profiting from it, and that she wants to continue with the case because she has that money.

Her attorney is telling us that suggestion is, quote, "disgusting."

By the way, we can tell you, the court is now telling us it will send a personal apology to the woman on behalf of the whole court, so there won't be a signature from the judge on it, Anderson.

COOPER: Gary, I just want to be very clear about this. This money that she got, it wasn't from a tabloid, it wasn't for telling her story to a TV show, it was from a compensation board, yes?

TUCHMAN: It's a state victim compensation board, but they are alleging that this is keeping her going in this case, the fact she has this money, and that if she admits she didn't tell the truth, she would have to give it back. Of course, she and her attorney and her family strongly deny that allegation.

COOPER: OK, Gary Tuchman in Eagle, thanks very much.

For alcoholics and their families, the battle to stay sober is a all-consuming effort. Night and day, it never truly ends. Yet tonight, the nearly 14 million Americans who the NIH say abuse alcohol or are alcoholics, there may be new hope, hope in a small pill.

CNN's senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pop a pill, and stop the craving for alcohol. Sound too good to be true? Well, a pill approved just yesterday by the FDA may do that for millions of people who can't shake the urge to overdrink. It's called Campal (ph). Used in Europe and other countries for decades, Campal works differently than other alcoholism drugs like Antabuse, which makes you violently ill if you have a drink.

DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: It's the first drug that we're going to have in our armamentarium that actually attacks the biology of addiction itself, actually the drive mechanisms.

GUPTA: Campal targets chemicals located in the reward circuit in the brain. Blocking those chemicals blocks the pleasurable effects of drinking. Simply put, alcoholics no longer have the cravings.

Despite the body of research to the contrary, many consider alcoholism to be a personal failure, not a disease, but that is starting to change.

PINSKY: Anyone that works with the disease will tell you that this is clearly a biological process, and it couldn't be anything further from the old notions of it being a moral weakness.

GUPTA: They will also tell you there are chemical changes in the brain associated with alcoholism, largely the result of genetics. And those changes can also be treated with drugs.

Campal, the newest on the U.S. scene, doesn't work if you're still drinking. You have to quit first, and then use the medication to stay dry.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, suicide bombers target the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Uzbekistan. That tops our look at stories in the uplink. At least three Uzbeks were killed and nine others wounded in today's nearly simultaneous attacks. The third target, the chief prosecutor's office. A group claimed responsibility for the attacks on an Islamic Web site linked to al Qaeda and mentioned its anger over the trials under way in Uzbekistan for 15 men accused of terrorist attacks earlier this year. The U.N. vote on Sudan and rejected by Sudan. It doesn't mention sanctions, but the Security Council has adopted a resolution threatening Sudan with economic consequences unless it cracks down on Arab militias within the next 30 days. Militias are blamed for killing at least 30,000 people in the Darfur region in what the U.N. calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Bangkok, Thailand, now, an outrage over kickboxing orangutans? Well, look at this video here. Animal rights groups say these endangered apes were being exploited for easy profits. The operators of the Safari World Animal Park say the fights, which apparently start with a "Rocky" movie theme and include chimpanzees wearing bikinis, are choreographed, and that no animal is harmed. Judge for yourself.

That's tonight's uplink.

360 next, a horrible crime, and a parent's accusation that a violent video game is to blame. Find out why the makers of Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt are making headlines again.

Also tonight, back on the campaign trail and battling it out for the White House. Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson step into the "CROSSFIRE."

And a little later, struck by lightning. Two heroic cops get hit while rescuing some flood-stranded motorists. A remarkable story. They join us to tell it live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In a British courtroom, two grieving parents are trying to comprehend the murder of their son. He was killed after being hit repeatedly with a claw hammer. And it's the boy's so-called friend who's on trial, accused of the murder. The question is, what drove him to do it, if in fact he did it? The dead boy's parents blame a violent video game.

CNN's Diana Muriel takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fourteen-year-old Daniel Major is spending a big chunk of his summer vacation in front of this, playing video games.

DANIEL MAJOR, GAME PLAYER: They're fun to play, because, like, blood, and it's funny when you see people die, especially when you're the one killing them. It's just fun, and you just have a laugh (UNINTELLIGIBLE) because you're just monkeying around killing people.

MURIEL: But in the U.K., 14-year-old Stefan Pakira (ph) was brutally murdered at the hands of a 17-year-old friend, said by the parents of the victim to be obsessed with the video game Manhunt. The game's central character gains points not just by killing, but by killing brutally. The Columbine High School killers were fans of the violent video game Doom. Two teenage boys in Tennessee claimed they were acting out the video game Grand Theft Auto when they shot a man dead on an interstate highway. Grand Theft Auto is made by the same company, Rockstar Games, that produced Manhunt.

The company issued the following statement, "We reject any suggestion or association between the tragic events and the sale of Manhunt."

But a child action group says some kids find it hard to tell fact from fantasy.

CHRIS ATKINSON, CHILDREN'S CHARITY POLICY ADVISER: Unfortunately, for a minority, that can be very difficult, and in a minority of those cases, this is where it actually spills out into someone actually enacting what they have seen in a video game.

MURIEL: Several Viewcase (ph) stores pulled Manhunt from their shelves, but it, and games like it, are already in many homes.

LORNA MAJOR, MOTHER: We held off a long time for getting on particular 18 games for Dan, who's only 14, because he kept on about going to his friends' house to play, and I knew his friends have got responsible parents, and I just felt, Well, if they're all doing it, then he's seen it there already, so we may as well have it here in our house so I can see there while he's watching them and playing them.

MURIEL: CNN found this easily accessible Web site that allows anyone to download 18-and-up-rated games, including Manhunt, for free.

(on camera): Computer-savvy kids with time on their hands and a PC might just find their way to that Web site too.

Diana Muriel, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, the young man in question plead guilty to murder. The question now is, was the video game in any way responsible? The mother whose son was killed in Britain has hired U.S. attorney Jack Thompson. For years he's campaigned against the sale of violent video games to kids. He joins me from Miami.

Jack, good to see you again tonight.

JACK THOMPSON, ATTORNEY: Thank you.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Columbine is often mentioned in this case. It was mentioned in Diana Muriel's piece. Some parents of kids who were killed in Columbine tried to use this line of argument, tried to sue based, saying the video game somehow played a role in the Columbine killings. That was thrown out, wasn't even admitted. Why do you think your case is different?

THOMPSON: Well, it's interesting, that was a poorly prepared lawsuit. We predicted eight days before Columbine happened, on another network, that indeed it would happen, and we identified the game that Klebold and Harris wound up training on.

Our case in Paducah was dismissed by a court which said it's not foreseeable that a kid would act out a video game. Unfortunately, there have now have been dozens of these instances. The FBI, after Columbine, identified violent entertainment as a common denominator in all the school killings.

The death rate in American schools, Anderson, has tripled in the last year, and we've got now experts saying that because this is an interactive medium, which is actually processed in a different part of the brain of an adolescent than in an adult, that it appears to be preparing children to become killers.

COOPER: Jack, you bring up a couple figures, and I just got to point out a couple discrepancies in some of the figures, though, that you point out. I mean, you say, you know, violent video games basically are causing some of these kids to kill or leading to aggressive behavior. I'm not going to contradict you on that, though there are studies I guess you could point to on either side.

But to say that, I mean, actually school shootings, I think you just said, in the last year are up, but frankly, over the last several years, are actually down overall, I think from, according to FBI, which you mentioned, juvenile arrests for homicide have declined significantly in the last 10 years, and the Justice statistics show that school crimes, I think, have also dropped significantly.

Video games (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

THOMPSON: Well, well, wait a minute. The federal government said two weeks ago that murder -- or the killing rate in American schools is at now at 48 for the school year just concluded. The two prior years were 17 and 16, respectively.

COOPER: OK, so again, you said the last year, but if you look at this over the last several years -- I mean, the point is that video games have been wildly popular now for many years. They're a $30 billion industry. People spent as much on video games last year as they did going to theatrical movies. Can you really link the two? I mean, there's, you can't really prove...

THOMPSON: Yes, I can.

COOPER: ... prove cause and effect.

THOMPSON: Sure I can. The studies that the video game industry cites are paid for by the industry. The studies we cite are relied upon, for example, by the head of the American Medical Association, and no one is paying him to testify this way under oath to Congress that it, that he found, along with the heads of five other health care organizations, a direct causal link between this type of entertainment and school violence.

COOPER: OK, I, I, I... THOMPSON: You've got...

COOPER: ... I got to show, I got to just get in here this statement from Rockstar Games, the company that makes the game in question, Manhunt. They say, quote, "We reject any association between the tragic events and the sale of Manhunt. There's a clear certification structure in place. Manhunt was clearly classified as 18 by the British Board of Film Classification. It should not be in the possession of a juvenile."

Which leads to the question of parental responsibility, Jack. You know, what were this kid's parents doing, allowing him to play this game that's clearly marked for 18 and above, and which clearly is, you know, very disturbing?

THOMPSON: They were doing a very poor job. You know, though, there's plenty of blame to go around. You've got negligent parents, you've got responsible kids who act out these games. But you've also got, the Federal Trade Commission found after Columbine, in our country, that the video game industry worldwide, despite these ratings and despite, in the U.K., regulations which are very mild, they still market the heck out of these games to kids.

We're finding, despite promises after Columbine, ads in American comic books for Grand Theft Auto by city, even though this industry promised to stop doing that.

So, when you create a demand among a generation for something that they shouldn't have, say that you're going to abide by the rules and then don't do so, then I think you have culpability.

And indeed, this child killed in an exact replication of a scenario in the game with a hammer, and there's other testimony that would indicate that he was in almost a trance-like state acting out this game. There was not enmity between these two kids and yet it turned into a killing.

COOPER: Although, he in court didn't say it was the game that made him do it, but we'll leave that...

THOMPSON: He's been interrogated towards that end.

COOPER: All right. Jack Thompson, we're going to leave it there. Thanks very much, Jack.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

COOPER: Today's Buzz is this, what do you think: "Can violent video games compel kids to kill?" Log on to cnn.com/360. Cast your vote. We'll have results at the end of the show.

(voice-over): John Kerry and George Bush hit the road. The race is on. The attacks are coming. But will this be the nastiest campaign in history?

And a remarkable story of survival: Two police officers on a rescue mission get struck by lightning, and live to tell. They join us live. 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Updating the breaking news out of the Middle East on the abduction of an American and 2 others in the West Bank. CNN has now confirmed that all 3 have been released. That word just moments ago.

The Palestinian Authority tell told CNN the American, along with an Irishmen and a Fin were walking to their home in Nablus when they were abducted by a group of armed men. The 3 are on the West Bank teaching English. They're believed to be affiliated with a church run school.

But to repeat, CNN has now learned that all 3 kidnapping victims have been released. We're following this breaking story and I'll bring you more information as soon as it develops.

Turning now to politics, in less than 24 hours after the balloons fell on Democrats in Boston ending their convention, candidate John Kerry was out on the stump today, so too was the man he's challenging, President Bush.

I spoke earlier today with the merry men of CNN "CROSSFIRE," Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala. About which way the Kerry bandwagon is headed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Paul, so for Kerry and Edwards, happens now? They embark on this bus tour. What's the thinking behind that?

PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST CROSSFIRE: Well, you know they had Willie Nelson at the convention last night. His big song is "On The Road Again." Coincidentally, that bus will go that 3,000 miles all through swing states.

COOPER: Wow, what a coincidence!

BEGALA: Who would have thought? Of course, Massachusetts not being a swing state, they got the hell out of Dodge as quickly as they could.

The challenge now will be for Senator Kerry to take his very fine speech last night and trim it down to a nice, tight stump speech that reprises some of those really good lines.

COOPER: Tucker, President bush, what are we going to be seeing from him in the coming weeks?

TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST CROSSFIRE: Well, I think he's going to continue to attack Kerry. And I think that's probably the best tactic. Kerry struck a very moderate, in some places pretty conservative tone, last night. And by the standards of Democratic Party, really conservative, far out, Joe Lieberman, right-wing wacko, conservative tone, which was consistent with the rest of the convention, where of course there were really no interest groups that comprise the Democratic Party under ordinary circumstances.

COOPER: And you didn't hear any of those words that you know, interest groups like to hear in a Democratic convention: gay, abortion, even Iraq.

CARLSON: Exactly. And especially Iraq, where unfortunately nobody is pressing Kerry to explain himself. The Bush people, of course, aren't going to press Kerry to explain what he would do in Iraq, it doesn't help them. You would think the left of the Democratic Party would push. I think it would be useful if they did, because at least we would get to know what he thinks, flesh it out a little bit.

COOPER: Paul, I was talking with Howard Dean last night. He thinks this is going to be the nastiest campaign ever. Do you think that's true?

BEGALA: Yes, I do. I actually knew Governor Bush when he was in Texas, he's a nice guy. But when he gets in a tough fight, he didn't just get in the gutter, he gets in the sewer. He went after, or his supporters, somebody in South Carolina went after John McCain in the most vicious way imaginable. They attacked Al Gore personally. They're already attacking, not just John Kerry, they're attacking his wife...

CARLSON: Nobody's attacks his wife. I mean, look, this is a woman, who by her own description, is a bit of a loose cannon. I find her charming, I'm always defending her, but she talks about her prenuptial agreement in public to reporters on tape, OK?

So, I mean, if that's not sort of newsworthy, I'm not sure what is. Nobody is attack her.

COOPER: Tucker, Paul is making it sound like all the nastiest, though, is just going to come from the Republicans toward the Democrats. I imagine there's going to be flowing from the Democrats to the Republicans.

CARLSON: I think the disappointing thing, though, is not the nasty tone of the election. That doesn't bother me so much personally, as the lack of the debate on the issue that matters, and that's Iraq. I just think 50 years from now, that's the only issue that's going to stand out in the history books that's significant from the year 2004, and nobody is talking about it. And I think that's just wrong.

COOPER: Paul.

BEGALA: They are talking about it. The problem is the president has adopted so much of Senator Kerry's verbiage. He doesn't mean it, but he's stolen so much of Kerry's verbiage all of a sudden now the president's for the 9/11 commission report, now he's for more of a United Nations role, now he for a larger NATO role. Now, he wants more allies.

He doesn't mean any of that. He's a unilateralist of the first order, and that's how he's governed. But it is more difficult to have a debate with someone who deeply disingenuous in his rhetoric.

CARLSON: That's just a brilliant -- it's so brilliant and dumb at the same time.

BEGALA: It's absolutely true, Tucker.

CARLSON: The argument is that Kerry and Bush have the same position of what we ought to do next.

BEGALA: They don't, because Bush is lying. He's trying to pretend that he has Kerry's...

(CROSSTALK)

CARLSON: You don't really know what Bush really thinks, none of us do. But the idea that somehow, Bush has been reading Kerry's Web site and stolen his ideas is a total crock. The fact is neither of them has thought of anything different to do, but stay the course, involve our allies, the obvious solution.

COOPER: We're going to have to leave it there. Paula Begala, Tucker Carlson, good to see you guys. Thanks very much.

BEGALA: Thanks, Anderson.

CARLSON: Thank, Anderson.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, security was extraordinarily tight during the Democratic Convention. Perhaps the most dangerous place to be during the week in Boston was between a camera and Michael Moore. While a lot of celebrities flocked to conventions, none got as much attention as the man promoting "Fahrenheit 9/11." They say Moore's the merrier, we say this week he's "Overkill."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): If the newly anointed candidates barely caused a stir at the convention, then Michael Moore caused a very well-coordinated commotion.

The documentary director sure did make the rounds. Wherever he went, he made sure he was front and center, speaking loud and clear.

MICHAEL MOORE, DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER: The American people for the last four years feel like they haven't been told the whole truth, and both from the White House and the media not doing its job.

COOPER: This week, the media seemed to think its job was covering Michael Moore. According to Video Monitoring Service, Michael Moore was talked about 3,540 times on television over the past four days, 523 stories were dedicated just to him. Put Moore on TV, and you can be sure he talks about the war on Iraq, and of course he'd criticize the media.

MOORE: Much of the media was a cheerleader.

COOPER: Michael may make fun of Fox News, but he didn't pass up a chance to appear on it.

BILL O'REILLY, HOST, THE O'REILLY FACTOR: Do you want to apologize to the president now or later?

MOORE: He didn't the tell the truth. He said there were weapons of mass destruction.

COOPER: Of course, Moore filmed himself during all this, and no doubt it will end up in another movie someday.

MOORE: He said to me, I can't think of anyone I would rather have sit with me tonight than you, and...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did you feel about that?

MOORE: I was so blown away.

COOPER: Moore was supposed to leave early to attend a screening of his film, "Fahrenheit 911," in Crawford, Texas. But he then announced he wouldn't attend, shunning the spotlight because, believe it or not, he didn't want this to be all about him.

Hmm, really?

We should point out when the media moved on to other business like the convention itself, Moore called a press conference to tell us about his future. First the Republican Convention, then...

MOORE: I am coming to Florida.

COOPER: Michael Moore back on the road. That could only lead to more overkill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, he says his father has no right to call him son. Next on 360, why one boy says he should be allowed to divorce his dad. Courts agree.

Also tonight, two cops struck by lightning. Hear their story of survival and incredible courage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Patrick Holland was 8 the night his father smashed a window in his Massachusetts home with a golfbag and then shot his mother eight times and beat her with a rifle. Patrick, now 14, has little memory of that dreadful night in 1998, but he still faces heartache each day living life without a mother. This week, Patrick won a legal landmark battle to divorce his father after his father didn't contest. Patrick Holland joins me from Manchester, New Hampshire. By his side, Ron Lazisky, his legal guardian. I appreciate both of you being with us tonight. Patrick, you don't even call Daniel Holland your father. Why not?

PATRICK HOLLAND, "DIVORCED" HIS FATHER: I don't think he deserves to have that title. I think someone else would appreciate it much more, and that someone's Ron, to have, you know, to have that title as my father, and I don't think he deserves it.

COOPER: And Ron is your dad?

HOLLAND: Yes, he is.

COOPER: Well, then out of respect for you, I won't continue to call this guy your dad. I'll just refer to him by his first name, Daniel.

HOLLAND: Sure.

COOPER: How did you come to the decision that divorcing yourself from Daniel would be the right thing?

HOLLAND: Well, I didn't want to have to worry about him being in my life. I didn't want to have to worry about him trying to harass me as far as legal records go, as like reports cards and how I'm doing in therapy, and stuff like that, and I just -- I really didn't want him in my life at all.

COOPER: Because, Ron, a lot of this happened because Daniel, who is in prison about two years ago I guess started requesting some information about Patrick, and legally you had to give it to him?

RON LAZISKY, PATRICK'S LEGAL GUARDIAN: That is correct. Daniel Holland contacted the Department of Social Services in Massachusetts, and asked for certain information, like how he was doing in school, how he was doing in baseball, and his counseling. And the Department of Social Services told me I had no choice but to give the answers, because he had his parental rights, and it was the law.

COOPER: That has certainly now changed. He no longer does have those parental rights. Patrick, you left actually the courtroom before Daniel was able to speak in court. You didn't even want to hear what he had to say. Why?

HOLLAND: I didn't want have him to have any right to get any message across to me. I just really didn't want to have to hear anything that he had to say.

COOPER: I understand, though, that you wanted to confront him, you wanted the ability to speak to him, say stuff to him, but the prison wouldn't allow that. Is that correct?

HOLLAND: That's right. I wanted to confront him just once to say what I wanted to think about him.

COOPER: What would you want to say to him?

HOLLAND: I just wanted to say that I don't even think he's a person. I just -- I think he's less.

COOPER: And yet you've forgiven him?

HOLLAND: Yes.

COOPER: That must have been a tough thing to do.

HOLLAND: It was. I mean, I -- you know, I still want to tell him what I think of him, but, you know, I'm not going to let it consume my life, and I'm going to let justice go to God's hands now.

COOPER: Well, Daniel Holland is out of your life now, and you have got a great dad in Ron Lazisky. Patrick, thanks for being with us.

HOLLAND: No problem.

COOPER: Struck by lightning. Here to tell the tale. Next on 360, caught on tape, two police officers survive a lightning bolt. We're going to talk live with them.

Also tonight, classic political thriller gets a 21st century makeover. "The Manchurian Candidate" and what else you might want to do this weekend. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: It is awesome and terrifying. You're about to meet two very lucky and truly heroic police officers named Lance Bateman and Clint Varnell. Video from their patrol car captures a bolt of lightning striking them. You can actually see the flash as they helped drivers trapped on a flooded road in New Mexico last week. Both men blacked out from the lightning strike, but somehow they recovered and incredibly continued to help the stranded motorists to safety before driving themselves to the hospital.

Joining us now from Clovis, New Mexico is Officer Lance Bateman and Officer Clint Varnell. Gentlemen, it's nice to see you alive and well. Thanks very much for being with us tonight.

Officer Bateman, let me start off with you. There were about 15 cars I guess stranded in floods. You were helping out a family trying to get out of the flood waters when the lightning struck. What happened?

OFFICER LANCE BATEMAN, NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE: Well, we helped some -- two ladies and three kids in the backseat out of a car, got them into a truck. Their car was being overtaken by water in a bar ditch. Moved them to safety. At that time, we were trying to get all the cars turned around so we could get them to safety out of the water, and that's when we heard a loud boom and I had a sharp pain in my head and went down.

COOPER: A loud boom. I mean, it's -- can you describe it? I mean, what, you know, no one can really imagine what it's like actually being hit by lightning. What does it feel like? BATEMAN: I didn't really feel much, just a sharp pain in my head. I've never really heard a sound like that, either, it was almost like an explosion, loud thunder being real close. It was pretty loud.

COOPER: I imagine you hope never to hear a sound like that again. Officer Varnell, now, you were also hit, but when you came to, you saw Officer Bateman down in the water. What went through your mind?

OFFICER CLINT VARNELL, NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE: My first thought when I came back to and saw (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I thought my partner was dead in the water. After a few minutes he moved, and it was quite a relief to know that he was OK.

COOPER: Now, they say, I guess, that the water actually kind of helped save your life. Is that right, Officer Varnell?

VARNELL: Yes, sir. The doctors explained to us that since there was such a big puddle of water that the electricity was dissipated through the water, so we didn't get quite as much electricity through our body.

COOPER: Yeah, because we got some figures from NOAA, saying that 20 percent of people struck by lightning die, 70 percent of survivors suffer long-term damage from this. How do you guys feel, Officer Bateman?

BATEMAN: I feel pretty good. I've had off and on headaches. That's about it.

COOPER: Well, I hope the headaches go away and you guys are truly remarkable. And I know you just continued working for a couple more hours helping other people out before you even went to the hospital. Truly an amazing story. Guys, thanks very much for being with us.

BATEMAN: Thank you, sir.

VARNELL: Thank you, sir.

COOPER: Well, with the convention over, the country now looks to the election, but something's not right. Something is not right at all with one of the running mates. No, this isn't an opinion by Michael Moore. It's the premise of a new film, well, more like an old film that's getting a makeover. Let's check it out and a whole lot more in this edition of "The Weekender."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENZEL WASHINGTON, ACTOR: You ever dream about Kuwait?

COOPER (voice-over): Conspiracy theorists may have a field day with "The Manchurian Candidate," Jonathan Demme's update of the 1962 political thriller starring Frank Sinatra. Denzel Washington is a Gulf War veteran who has nightmares about a vice presidential candidate. Paranoid, Denzel?

WASHINGTON: Somebody got into our heads with big steel-toed boots, cable cutters and a chainsaw.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are marks on the door.

COOPER: If you don't want your chills served up by political conspiracies, try "The Village." M. Night Shyamalan's latest film takes on mysterious creatures and the supernatural. Like "The Sixth Sense," "The Village" promises a surprise ending. Maybe Bruce Willis will show up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I forgot my cell phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to run back and get it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we've gone too far.

COOPER: On the lighter side -- and I mean really lighter side -- there's "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," a Cheech and Chong haze of comedy with a couple of roommates on an all-night quest for some munchies.

On TV, CNN's sister company, TNT, is offering up "The Evel Knievel Story" tonight. Vroom. We follow his rise to stardom and his daredevil, death-defying stunts without, it seems, ever getting his white jumpsuit dirty.

In concert, Rush heads to Tampa tomorrow night. It's part of their 30th anniversary tour, giving fans of all ages a chance to sing along to "Tom Sawyer."

And if you're near Minneapolis this weekend, check out the 13th annual county market Rib America Festival. There's plenty of music, plenty of cooking, and best of all, it's free.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Rush, rock on!

360 next, an occurrence as rare as, well, that's the whole point in "The Nth Degree." First, today's "Buzz." What do you think, can violent videogames cause kids to kill? Log on to cnn.com/360, cast your vote. We'll have the results in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time now for "The Buzz." Earlier we asked you -- can violent videogames compel kids to kill? Fifty-six percent of you said yes; 44 percent no. Not a scientific poll, but it is your buzz. We appreciate you voting.

Tonight, taking good timing to "The Nth Degree." If there's something you've been putting off for a while, waiting for just the right moment, we have good news for you. Tomorrow's the day. Yes, sir, tomorrow's the day to do all those things you only do once in a blue moon, because tomorrow there will be a blue moon.

It's not actually blue, of course. A blue moon, so called, is the second full moon in a single calendar month. This happens, well, you know, once in a blue moon, meaning infrequently, rarely, from time to time. So been a while since you read a book? Can't remember when you last saw a play? Haven't had a Mexican food in a dog's age or talked to a certain someone in donkey's years? Or played poker in a month of Sundays? If it's something you only do once in a blue moon, you can do it tomorrow.

I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

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