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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
New Details in Mess Hall Massacre; Do Video Games Improve Business Skills?
Aired December 22, 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 from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
New details in the mess hall massacre, and new questions about how it could have happened.
360 starts now.
A suicide bomber is blamed for the mess hall massacre. But how did the killer infiltrate a supposedly secure U.S. base?
The alleged baby-snatcher prepares for court, though with evidence building, does she have a legal leg to stand on?
Martha speaks. A holiday greeting to the faithful posted online from behind bars in Alderson.
Kim Jong Il is at it again, making preposterous proclamation. The latest outburst from the Dear Leader of North Korea.
And are you worried about your kids spending too much time playing video games? Tonight, new evidence those games might actually be good for your kids.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Good evening again.
Tonight, as the bodies of the dead from yesterday's attack in Mosul are processed in Kuwait, and the bodies of the wounded arrive in Germany for treatment, and the families of the living and the dead wait on pins and needles for word, there are new developments regarding just how the assault was carried out, and new questions.
They are troubling developments. It appears that the attack wasn't just a lucky shot from an insurgent wielding a rocket, but a targeted attack by a suicide bomber who somehow got through security.
With the latest, here's CNN's Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not a rocket, not a mortar, but a bomb, says the Pentagon, was carried right into the midst of the Camp Mirege (ph) mess hall Tuesday, just as soldiers were sitting down to eat.
GEN. RICHARD B. MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: We have had a suicide bomber apparently strap something to his body, apparently a him, and going into a dining hall. We know how difficult this is to prevent suicide, people bent on suicide, and stopping them.
KOCH: An Iraqi militant group had Tuesday claimed responsibility on a Web site, saying it was a suicide attack carried out by a single individual. The coalition says among the dead is one unidentified non-U.S. person. Pentagon says it does not yet know whether or not that person was the bomber.
Investigators say they found no evidence of a rocket or mortar, only evidence associated with improvised explosive devices like ball bearings used to increase the deadliness of a bomb. Small circular holes were found in metal kitchen equipment in the mess hall.
Secretary Rumsfeld, under fire recently for perceived insensitivity to troops and their families, tried to wipe the slate clean.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I am truly saddened by the thought that anyone could have the impression that I or others here are doing anything other than working urgently to see that the lives of the fighting men and women are protected, and are cared for in every way humanly possible. And I hope and pray that every family member of those who have died so bravely knows how deeply I feel their loss.
KOCH: The Pentagon is looking into how the backgrounds of Iraqis who work at U.S. bases are checked. A multinational force spokesman says they do have to show IDs to gain entry, but are not always bodily searched, nor are they always accompanied once on U.S. military facilities.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOCH: Those are the types of things that could change now because of this attack. What won't is large numbers of troops gathering daily for meals, General Myers saying, quote, "It's not a viable strategy to ask everybody to separate," Anderson.
COOPER: Kathleen Koch, thanks for that.
It seems that a single individual, one man, did all that dreadful damage in Mosul, ended so many lives, jeopardized dozens more, and caused, in the families of those he killed and wounded, a terrible wave of feelings that has only just begun to crest.
From King George, Virginia, tonight, here's CNN's Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the flag already at half-staff at the volunteer fire department where Nick Mason donated his time before leaving for Iraq, his family met Wednesday and shared a hug just inside the station house.
Not long after, a memorial message went up on a billboard outside the building. The news came last night, but it is slow to sink in.
DAN DICKSON, KING GEORGE FIRE DEPARTMENT: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) he was always dedicated (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He was one of the guys that, no matter what kind of condition it was, he always put a smile on your face, always made the best of everything.
JOHNS: There are others, now in the military, who worked for this little firehouse, but Nick Mason is the only to die. He was killed in the mess tent explosion in Mosul on Tuesday, one of the bloodiest attacks on U.S. troops of the war.
DICKSON: It was very hard. It's very hard for everyone right now. Everyone in the community has been struck real hard by this.
JOHNS: It's small-town America here, where everybody knows almost everybody else. Just across the road from the station house, Mason's high school, the only high school in this Virginia County. He was on the wrestling team. His younger sister still goes here. Nick Mason graduated in 2002, the same year as Diane Eskey's daughter.
DIANE ESKEY, KING GEORGE HIGH SCHOOL: I think we're all just really shocked, because you hear about this stuff on the news. We know that it's going on. But the reality is just like a slap in the face.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: Both the firehouse and the school are situated here on Virginia Route 3, which was designated years ago as part of the Purple Heart Trail to honor U.S. service members killed or injured in combat.
A memorial service for Mason is schedule on Thursday, Anderson.
COOPER: Joe, it's just incredible when you think the kid graduated high school two years ago, in 2002. He was 20 years old. Joe, thanks for that report.
JOHNS: Certainly.
COOPER: An interesting juxtaposition to the grief in this country today was the scene on the streets of Paris, the entire French nation celebrating the safe return of two French journalists taken hostage in Iraq in August. There they are, returning. French President Jacques Chirac broke off his holiday to welcome them home. The French government denies paying any ransom for the two. A Web site linked to their captors claims the two were freed because France has proved itself a friend of Iraq. Strange endorsement, that.
We are tracking several other stories right now cross-country. Let's take a look.
New York City, Bernard Kerik resigns from Rudy Giuliani's consulting firm. It had been anticipated, but still came as somewhat of a surprise today. He apologized to the former mayor and President Bush for being a distraction after withdrawing his nomination as homeland security secretary. Kerik's nomination collapsed after revealing he didn't pay taxes for a nanny. Other allegations soon followed.
Washington D.C., now, Fannie Mae shakeup. The chief executive and top financial officer for the mortgage company have been forced to resign. Fannie Mae is struggling to deal with an accounting scandal, and will likely have to wipe out $9 billion in profits over the past four years.
Nationwide now, doctors weighing in on miracles. Did you see this? According to a survey of 1,100 doctors, 55 percent have seen treatment results they would consider miraculous. Forty-five percent say they did not. Also, 59 percent said they pray for each patient, and 67 percent encourage their patients to pray.
Near Greenville, North Carolina, now, a highway of life and death. Remarkable story. A mother has given birth to a baby girl on the same stretch of road that her 5-year-old son was killed in a car accident a year ago. On Monday, in a snowstorm, she went into labor on the way to the hospital, and Dad apparently helped with the delivery. They are all doing well. They've nicknamed their new daughter Snow Angel.
And that's a quick look at stories right now cross-country.
Coming up right next on 360, holiday greetings from prison. Martha Stewart dishes out the good and the bad about life behind bars.
Plus North Korea, the latest bizarre thing. The hermit kingdom is claiming -- well, this one you kind of got to hear it to believe it.
We're also going to have the latest on Lisa Montgomery, a look at her appearance in court tomorrow, what to anticipate in that.
All that ahead. First, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
In Missouri tonight, the tears continue for those who knew Bobbie Jo Stinnett, the woman murdered for the baby inside her. And we discovered today that for the small town where the accused killer is from, there is a sense that things will never be the same.
CNN's Jonathan Freed reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Melvern, Kansas, is one of those smaller dots on the map, a very small dot, fewer than 500 people live here. But federal charges of kidnapping resulting in death against one of their own have changed this place.
GARY SKINS, GENERAL STORE: You know, pop's over here, and we just sell a little bit of everything.
FREED: Gary Deskins owns the general store.
DESKINS: It's about the worst tragedy that's ever happened here. And people are not used to that sort of tragedy. Not here. Everywhere but here.
FREED: Lisa Montgomery is accused of strangling Bobbie Jo Stinnett last Thursday, cutting her unborn child from her womb and abducting the baby girl. The alleged crimes happened in Skidmore, Missouri, 170 miles away.
On Friday, Montgomery toured Melvern, allegedly with a baby she identified as her own, stopping at this cafe, a bank, and going to see her pastor.
Then word started spreading that the police had moved in, and the town's heart skipped a beat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People kept coming in and mentioning it, and finally I seen her picture and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) it dawned on me. Gosh, how could I not know that name? I did know her name, but it just didn't register. I guess I just couldn't think. And maybe my mind didn't want to accept the fact that that's who it was.
FREED: The town is juggling its emotions about what happened.
WENDELL ALLSTON, MELVERN RESIDENT: Well, somebody'll tell you one thing, and somebody'll tell you something else. So you don't know.
FREED: People are trying to balance the desire to help both the Stinnett family in Missouri and support Montgomery's husband and children here in Kansas while she stands trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. All donations are appreciated here.
FREED: The first money collected, though, is going to the victim's family, across a state line in another small dot on the map, also rocked by tragedy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREED: Now, people here in Melvern are anxious to see what happens when Montgomery next appears in court in Kansas City. And, Anderson, that is scheduled at this point to take place tomorrow morning.
COOPER: Jonathan Freed, thanks for that.
Later on 360, we're going to have more on the case against Montgomery. Now, one defense attorney we talked to claims she's being set up for what she described as a legal ambush. We'll talk about that and look at all sides ahead on 360.
Moving on, now, though, leave it to Martha Stewart to send some season's greetings from prison. In a very special Christmas message, the jailed Ms. Stewart says she's doing well, staying away from the food, and for her fellow inmates, reprezannin (ph), though, sadly, she didn't exactly use that word.
CNN's Sarah Dorsey reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARAH DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It may be called Camp Cupcake, but in the two and a half months Martha Stewart has been in the federal women's prison camp in Alderson, West Virginia, she's found a few things to complain about.
In a holiday statement issued to supporters on her personal Web site, MarthaTalks.com, the 63-year-old spelled out the goods and bads of being behind bars, saying, quote, "I've had time to think, time to write, time to exercise, time to not eat the bad food, and time to walk and contemplate the future. I've had my work here, too. Cleaning has been my job -- washing, scrubbing, sweeping, vacuuming, raking leaves, and much more."
In true Martha form, the queen of cookies, cakes, and Christmas held her head high, speaking more of the 1,200 other inmates than herself. Quote, "So many of the women here in Alderson will never have the joy and well-being that you and I experience. Many of them have been here for years, devoid of care, devoid of love, devoid of family."
Stewart went on to encourage her supporters to ask for sentencing reforms for nonviolent first-time offenders, and better rehab programs for drug users rather than prison.
Stewart said she'd rather be doing all of her chores at her own home instead of the prison.
Rest assured, she'll have plenty of time to catch up on all of that. Stewart's scheduled to be released from prison in March and will then spend five months on home detention. She was sentenced in July after being found guilty for lying to investigators during a government probe into her 2001 sale of ImClone Systems stock.
Sarah Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: well, some more Martha musings. A new Gallup poll of who's naughty and who's nice shows Americans think Ms. Stewart is the fourth-naughtiest American of the year. Can you imagine someone actually conducting this survey? It's almost as embarrassing as telling you about it. But here I go.
The third-naughtiest American, Paris Hilton, 63 percent say she was naughty, very, very naughty, and we think you know why.
Second naughtiest, with 64 percent, Janet Jackson. We're so sick of that Super Bowl video, we're not going to show it to you. It's my holiday gift to you. Remember back in the good old days when Janet was just nasty?
And the naughtiest American of '04, da-da-da-DAH, there she is, gum-smacking Britney Spears. Chin up, little Brit, a whole new year is about to begin.
Worth noting, there's a tie for Mr. and Mrs. Nice Guy. We're not sure be a Mrs. Nice Guy. Anyway, you get the picture. Oprah Winfrey and Tom Hanks each get the nod with 90 percent.
A political test for Palestinians in the West Bank tops our look at global stories right now in the uplink. Let's take a look.
For the first time since 1976, municipal elections were held today in 26 communities. This man is a, holding a campaign card with the names of the candidates in his village. Actually that's not Tony Blair, wrong video. Results are expected later this week. Today's vote was seen as a warmup for the January 9 presidential elections, in which interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, there on the left, is the front runner. He's meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair today.
And we're totally wrong on the video.
Next month's winner will be the successor to late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who, of course, died at a French hospital back in November 11.
Northern Peru now, a bus plunges off a mountain road. It crashed into a jungle river. Forty-nine people were killed. Survivors say the driver lost control of the bus while speeding in a rainstorm.
In Belfast, now, the biggest bank robbery in the Northern Ireland history. About $42 million was taken from Northern Bank. Police say the thieves held hostage the families of two bank officials from Sunday until Monday night, when they got access to bank vaults. Police aren't sure they'll be able to track down the thieves, because there's not much forensic evidence, and they wore gloves and, of course, masks the whole time.
Tokyo, Japan, now, Santa visits a zoo early, bearing gifts for the animals. As you see, he had salmon for the polar bears. Mmm, yum, salmon. There was also fruitcake for the monkeys. Do we have pictures of the fruitcake for the monkeys? It is nice to know, at least, that there is at least one species on earth that seems to actually enjoy eating fruitcake. There's the fruitcake for the monkeys. They love it.
That's the uplink.
You know, we've become used to bizarre statements from North Korea, but now the totalitarian regime in Pyongyang is claiming something new. They now say North Korea is the only country in the world that has no one living with HIV or AIDS. Its secret, according to official sources, it's the "sound and moral lifestyles," that's a quote, of North Koreans. North Korea has reportedly expelled 27 HIV-positive foreigners, they say. And, of course, got us thinking, perhaps the country likes to exaggerate a thing or two, and they've done it in the past. See for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): If you thought Tiger Woods was the best golfer in the world, au contraire, mon frere, think again. The best golfer is him, Kim Jong Il of North Korea. That's right, the only man to ever finish 18 holes 38 strokes under par. And that was his first time he played golf. At least, according to "The Pyongyang Times," North Korea's official newspaper.
And that's not all. According to North Korea's state media, the Dear Leader, that's his nickname, is also the most prolific writer in the world. Who knew? In college alone, they say, he published 1,500 books. That's one a day. Sadly, we've only been able to confirm three books.
Maybe all this is explained by his birth in 1942. According to the very official legend, the moment Kim Jong Il was born in a tiny log cabin on a Korean sacred mount, the sky was suddenly brightened by a star and a double rainbow.
OK, historians believe he was actually born in 1941 on a Russian army base in Siberia, where his dad was stationed. But why quibble with details?
BALBINA HWANG, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Dear Leader writes songs that makes angels weep when they hear, because his music is so brilliant. I mean, these are the kind of stories that the average North Korean citizen is fed on a daily basis. You know, he literally makes the earth move.
COOPER: Course, all of this is impossible to verify. Just like whether he really imports pleasure squads from Sweden, or that he's an NBA fan who loves Michael Jordan. The strange thing is, we don't even know where he is right now. The latest rumor has it, his portrait at the People's Cultural Center Auditorium has been taken down, and that Kim Jong Il is MIA. Who knows? Maybe he's just out trying to improve his golf game.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: 360 next, what are those senators and congressmen who aren't coming back going to do now? Well, some of them are going to be making some big bucks by lobbying guess who? Their old friends. Cashing in on power. That's raw politics, ahead.
Plus, pill-popping nation. First it was Vioxx, now Aleve and Celebrex are under scrutiny. One woman shares how she's trying to overcome her addiction to painkillers.
And the case that America is talking about. The accused woman, the woman accused of murdering someone else for a baby. We'll look at the case in justice served.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's a common problem for people working in Washington. They certainly enjoy the power, but not the pay. Why make thousands in Congress, when you can make millions in the private sector? Well, some outgoing lawmakers are finding that you can be both powerful and wealthy as a lobbyist. Some watchdog groups certainly don't like it, but as Ed Henry reports, it is simply basic raw politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back in January, Republican Billy Tauzin wouldn't talk to CNN about speculation he was going to leave Congress to rake in big bucks running the pharmaceutical industry.
REP. BILLY TAUZIN (R), LOUISIANA: I've stayed out of any discussion with anybody.
HENRY: This month, Tauzin took the $2 million job, a dramatic boost from the $158,000 lawmakers earn. Tauzin is under fire, because he helped write the Medicare prescription drug bill, which helped the industry that just hired him.
CHARLES LEWIS, CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY: They got some Christmas goodies in that legislation, and so there is a bit of a stench around this whole issue.
HENRY (on camera): Critics say the Tauzin case is egregious, but not unique. The revolving door from Congress to K Street keeps on spinning, because ex-lawmakers use their inside knowledge to influence legislation.
(voice-over): Among those cashing in, Republican Senator Don Nichols, the former budget chairman, Democratic Senator John Breaux, a power on the Finance Committee, and former House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt.
Republican Congressman James Greenwood is becoming the biotech industry's top lobbyist. He makes no bones about nearly quadrupling his salary.
FORMER REP. JAMES GREENWOOD (R), PENNSYLVANIA: I think that people need to understand that when one has given 24 years of one's life to public service, that doesn't mean that they owe the next 24 years of their lives.
HENRY: But critics say former lawmakers are really attracted by the ability to keep power with little scrutiny over their contact with former colleagues.
LEWIS: Everything is happening down at K Street. It's a great time to get while the getting's good.
HENRY: Thirty years ago there were 60 lobbyists. Now there are over 20,000, and counting.
Ed Henry, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Twenty thousand lobbyists. Billy Tauzin and other drug company lobbyists may have their work cut out for them. This week alone, the popular over-the-counter drug Aleve became just the latest painkiller to be linked to heart problems. Troubling news indeed, but it won't stop Americans from taking meds, of course. We are, after all, a pill-popping nation, which, for some, doesn't mean feeling better, it means getting hooked.
CNN's David Mattingly looks at the struggle one mother had with her little helpers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA O'TOOLE, RECOVERING DRUG ADDICT: Five to six.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Used to be, the morning grind of getting up and getting her two teenage boys off to school.
O'TOOLE: You want cereal, bagels. or eggs?
MATTINGLY: Was more than Barbara O'Toole could handle.
O'TOOLE: Oh, you know, it would just be a whole lot easier to just take something, and just take the edge off.
MATTINGLY: She was taking a combination of up to 16 prescription painkillers and tranquilizers a day, Fiorinal (ph) for migraines, Xanax for anxiety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was always laying in bed and not doing anything.
MATTINGLY: With her husband on the road working, Barbara's kids saw the worst of it. There were volatile mood swings, and loud episodes of anger.
(on camera): Everyone could see there was a problem except Barbara. It wasn't until she became concerned about a French drug problem that she actually began to suspect herself, leading to a very public moment of truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "OPRAH")
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST: And so, is this the first time you realized that you're an addict?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: In this tearful confession on the Oprah Winfrey show, everyone finally knew that this mom from a quiet Chicago suburb had become a drug addict. And just four months out of rehab, the mornings are still crazy.
O'TOOLE: Everything is just like...
MATTINGLY: But instead of drugs, there are long horse runs and long walks with the family dog.
O'TOOLE: Get away from everything. It's very therapeutic.
MATTINGLY: Therapeutic, but not a cure for an addiction that began in her own home, the very place where she continues to confront the same old anxieties and the temptations to medicate her problems away.
David Mattingly, CNN, St. Charles, Illinois.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: The alleged baby-snatcher prepares for court, but with evidence building, does she have a legal leg to stand on?
And are you worried about your kids spending too much time playing video games? Tonight, new evidence those games might actually be good for your kids.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Will an insanity plea work for a woman accused of snatching a baby from a mother's womb? 360 next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: In the next -- on 360 the accused baby snatcher and murderer going to court. What will her defense be? Insanity? Our legal experts weigh in.
Plus worried your kids play too many video games? Tonight some new evidence the games might actually be good for your kids' brains. Controversial idea. We'll take a look.
First, we'll check the reset. Our top story is on Wall Street. Big smiles for the second day in a row. Tumbling oil prices boosted stocks once again. The S&P 500 had its biggest performance of the year and the Dow Jones Industrials average ended at another 3 1/2 year high closing at 10,815. Washington D.C. Guerrilla radio calls for massive protest against President Bush's inauguration. The FCC is investigating an unauthorized radio station that's apparently beaming a signal to the nation's capital. The station calls itself Squat and has been airing what sounds like recordings of protests planning and discussions.
In Chicago a tiny wonder prepares to go home. Yesterday Loyola University Medical Center introduced a two-month-old baby girl who weighed just 8.6 ounces. Not pounds, ounces at birth. She's believed to be the smallest baby ever to survive. She could go home by the first week of January.
Tomorrow the woman accused of killing Bobbi Jo Stinnett and stealing her baby from her womb will appear in federal court. You can be sure the public defenders for Lisa Montgomery are already plotting their strategy as the case moves forward. It will not be easy. An insanity plea is a possibility but it is not easy to convince a jury of that especially in federal court. We believe in looking at all stories from all angles so tonight two very different angles on this case, one from CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, the other defense attorney Jayne Weintraub.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Lisa Montgomery is going to court tomorrow for an extradition hearing in federal court. What should we anticipate?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: This will likely be one of the few uncontroversial hearings in this case. All she'll have to acknowledge is that she is the person charged in the case and then she'll be moved to the next court. It's really going to be an uncontroversial hearing.
COOPER: Jayne, you say though that the fact that this is in federal court may make a big difference in the actual case.
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it will. If it's in federal court as opposed to state court, there's very little if any discovery in federal court. It's commonly called trial by ambush because in federal court they don't even have to give you the witness's statements.
COOPER: Commonly called by defense attorneys.
WEINTRAUB: Commonly called by defense attorneys trial by ambush. I'm sure Jeff doesn't agree. But it is, it makes it much more difficult to mount a defense, but in this case it will be no surprise. It will be based on expert testimony.
COOPER: Jeffrey, the defense likely insanity.
TOOBIN: Insanity, but one thing Jayne's right about is federal courts are generally better for prosecutors. You also have the resources of the department of justice which are essentially unlimited and after the Hinkley case where he was, of course, acquitted by reason of insanity for attempting to kill president Reagan, the insanity law in federal court was tightened so it's even harder to get a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity in federal court than it used to be and it wasn't easy in the old days.
COOPER: Jayne, even not in federal court, insanity defenses usually don't work.
WEINTRAUB: Well, it's not that it doesn't work. It's very, very difficult. You know, Anderson, the mind is a powerful thing. What would make, for example, victims of sexual molestation cases black out and block these things out of their minds for ten years at a time. We hear that all of the time and we accept that. This woman was propelled to act by some mental illness. Nobody does this in their right mind.
COOPER: But proving that, Jeff, in a courtroom is a very different thing.
TOOBIN: And legal insanity is very different from what you and I would say. Of course this is crazy. Of course what she did if she did it was insane, but basically under federal law she has to have been thinking that she was chopping down a tree or not -- not even realizing what she was doing. That's very hard to prove.
WEINTRAUB: The first issue that has to come over the hurdle is whether or not she's competent to even stand trial, whether or not she understands the nature of the proceedings.
TOOBIN: But her problems among many are the e-mail trail that led the victim in this case, shows a degree of premeditation, shows a certain degree of rationality. Lisa Montgomery has a million legal problems.
COOPER: I want to put on the screen something from the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984. It says that in the federal system insanity is "a severe mental disease or defect which causes a defendant to be unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of their acts."
TOOBIN: Key word the nature. That means did she understand what she was doing? If she understood she was killing her victim that's all she had -- that's all they need to know.
COOPER: What about her husband? Do you anticipate some sort of charges?
WEINTRAUB: I expect charges.
COOPER: You do? Why?
WEINTRAUB: I do. Because Anderson, no couple in their right minds today that has a baby and that wants the baby don't experience things together. For example, the husband would have put his hand on her belly, would have seen the baby kick, felt the baby kick, go to the doctor, hear a heartbeat.
TOOBIN: But Jayne, what's the crime? What do you charge him with if he committed some crime.
WEINTRAUB: We don't know what his complicity if any is, number one, and number two, if he had knowledge that she was not pregnant, what is the liability of people around this woman that didn't stop her and didn't do anything to help her? I don't know.
TOOBIN: The law rarely imposes any sort of obligation on someone to stop someone else from committing a crime.
WEINTRAUB: And I'll tell you what scares me the most about being in federal court is the federal death penalty. If this becomes a federal death penalty case the judge will not have any power whatsoever over the sentence. It will be a jury unanimous verdict.
COOPER: The charge, kidnapping resulting in death isn't something you don't hear very often.
TOOBIN: Fortunately it doesn't happen very often. Federal death penalty still is fairly rare. Most criminal cases are tried in federal court. Most death penalties are in federal court. Timothy McVeigh is the only person executed.
COOPER: Jayne, What's the number one thing you'll be watching in the coming days and weeks on this case?
WEINTRAUB: With no cameras in the courtroom because it will be a federal proceedings I'll be curious to see whether or not they'll be seeking the death penalty.
TOOBIN: And how the mental illness issue place out, first as Jayne said, the issue of fitness to stand trial and then, of course if and when she stands trial, the insanity defense.
COOPER: Jeffrey Toobin, thanks. Jayne Weintraub, thanks.
360 next. Infidelity in America. Are we hardwired to cheat? Plus the value of video games. How they may actually help your children learn some important skills. A controversial idea next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's a tough time of year for many: Got to buy presents for the kids, got to find something for the wife or the partner and then there's what happened at the office party. We're talking about infidelity. Some are no doubt thinking about a new year's resolution never to cheat, but others say they can't help it, it's just in their genes. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With this ring.
UNIDENTIIFED FEMALE: With this ring.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; I do thee wed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do thee wed.
COOPER (voice-over): It's what we're taught from childhood to believe in, choosing one partner for life, but is monogamy natural? Sure, penguins are known to be monogamous, but most mammals aren't, of 4,000 known species, the vast majority don't couple up forever.
Male gorillas have harems of females, so do baboons. And female chimps, our closest genetic relatives copulate hundred of times with different partners for each pegnency. Some anthropologists believe our human ancestors settled for monogamy about 3.5 million years ago. The reason, survival throug co- dependence: females needed the the men to hunt and protect, while they raised the kids. The men needed someone to raise the children while they hunted.
This survival coupling slowly evolved into the exclusive relationship, marriage. Despite estimates that as many as one in five people will have an affair at least once in their life time, most modern couples still say monogamy is something they strive for.
For example, a university of chicago survey found 38 percent of adults said they only had one partner or none in the past year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's natural. I think it's a choice that we make.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; I think once you've made the decision to partner with a spouse, then I think it is natural to be with them forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be natural despite urges. Then again, you're always going to have urges.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I spoke with a noted anthroppologist Helen Fisher of Rutgers University about infidelity. I asked her to explain what she calls a person's dual desire: a desire for monogamy and a desire, well, to get around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HELEN FISHER, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: We've evolved the brain circuitry for attachment. And millions of years ago men needed women, women needed men and we formed, we acquired the brain circuitry to fall in love and form a prayer bond. But people cheat.
I've looked in 40 cultures and everywhere around there world where people have the opportunity, a certain number of them will cheat on the relationship.
COOPER: In all cultures across the world, doesn't matter where you are.
FISHER: Yes. No anthroppologist has ever found a culture where it did not occur.
Now, in some societies that it occurs a lot more than others. Americans, in fact, cheat a little bit less regularly than a lot of people in the world because we don't have enough time. And we have a tremendous amount to lose. But in the last study of Americans, apparently something like 25 percent of men cheated and 15 percent of women. And that's probably low. They're, probably a lot of them were lying. COOPER: But you know, some people are going to say this, and look, this is like a guy's excuse, well look, I'm hard wired to cheat. It's a Darwin thing, there's nothing I can do. That's not the case.
FISHER: No, it's not the case. Because this is the part of the brain that makes us human. It's called the prefrontal cortex. And with that part of the brain that evolved during human evolution, we make decisions about what we do in our lives. We lie in bed at night and you say, gee, I feel a deep attachment to a long time partner and I feel a mad love for somebody else and then you decide what you're going to do about it. You can say no to adultery.
COOPER: It's basically will power or religious belief, or whatever it is that keeps you.
FISHER: I would guess that some people have a harder time than others, though. Divorce runs in families. I wouldn't be surprised if adultery runs in families. And probably the brain circuitry for some people makes them a little bit more prone to it than others.
COOPER: I've read that you think there is such a thing as serial monogamy. And that perhaps that is, sor of, the more natural situation human beings are compelled to be in. Serial monogamy, what does that mean?
FISHER: It's a series of peer-bonded relationships. For example, we all know people who have been married for four years and had one child and then they divorce and then remarry again and they have another child. And during the course of their lives they may have several relationships and marry only two or three people. But it's a series of peer-bonded relationships.
And millions of years ago that was probably adaptive, to form a peer-bond, have a child and then, after the child is out of infancy, pick a new partner and create more genetic variety in your young, leaving the human animal with this tremendous desire to pair up. A tendency to be restless in long relationships and also having the roving eye.
COOPER: In the study -- in the cultures that you've looked at around the world, really, I think you said some 40 culture, do nonmonogamous relationships work?
FISHER: Adultery does not work in a marriage. Even in societies where a man is permitted to have several wives and has four wives, the wives are jealous of each other. Sometimes they'll even poison each other's babies. So, you know, where an animal that's built to form a pair bond and we cheat. We then we all decide each one of us how we're going to handle this. And some people have a relatively easy time and a very long, stable marriages. And other people have two unstable marriages and then in the mid-life find stability.
If you really want a good marriage, pick the right person.
COOPER: All right. Good advice. Helen Fisher. It was really fascinating. Thanks very much. I look forward to your new book. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And CNN, of course, working around the clock to bring you the quality reporting you deserve. Let's get a preview of what's coming up tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" and "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN." Bill Hemmer is in for Paula tonight. He and Aaron join me now in their New York studios.
Let's begin with Bill. Hey.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Anderson, good evening to you. Tonight we have 2 very up close and personal stories about what's happening in the war in Iraq. One is through the eyes of those whose duty it is to knock on the door and deliver the very worst of news.
The other from one of our producers who got extraordinary access to those who fight like hell to save the lives of U.S. soldiers wounded in battle. It is medically breaking, it is taking it to a whole new level in a sense of what's happening with the war and trying to get the wounded to safety.
They call it the golden hour, Anderson. It's one hour after you're wounded. Both stories incredibly moving, you'll see them both tonight in a couple of minutes at the top of the hour, Anderson.
COOPER: And they're doing a remarkable work. Bill, thanks very much for that -- Aaron.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we deal again with the attack yesterday in Mosul. We now believe it to be a suicide attack. What does that is a about force protection? How did it happen? What does to do for morale on the American side? And what does it do for the insurgents? We'll take a look at that as well.
How did it change the view of the war back at home? The Mosul story, again tops NEWSNIGHT tonight.
COOPER: 10:00 Eastern time. Aaron, thanks very much.
360, next, do your kids got game? Are they always playing video games? Well, some say it could be good for their brain. A controversial idea? We'll talk about that.
Plus your e-mail as well as some gift ideas for Donald Trump, Donald Rumsfeld and Bernard Kerik. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You may not realize this, but your kids probably do: Video games are big, really, really big. An $11 billion a year industry, in fact. But Illinois is looking to restrict their sale by making illegal for minors to buy the violent or sexually explicit games. And there's a whole lot of those.
It's not often, though, you hear someone arguing that video games can actually be good for young people, even teach them important skills for the workplace. You're about to.
Joining us now from Phoenix are John Beck and Mitchell Wade, co- authors of "Got Game: How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever."
Gentlemen, thanks for being with us. It's a fascinating book. Mitchell, you know, most people think gamers tend to be antisocial, isolated, really not the best team players. Your book says the opposite. What do you think? What critical skills double are developed through video gaming.
MITCHELL WADE, CO-AUTHOR, "GOT GAME": The finding surprised us as much as anyone, Anderson. What we basicly did was look at people who are grown up, out there in the workforce, professionals who had grown up playing video games and measured attitudes toward business and behaviors in business. We've found, they're better competitors, they're more driven to achieve, they're better at team work, they've got a bigger set of tools to manage other people and they're very creative and persistent problem solvers.
COOPER: John, the American Academy of Family Physicians released a study and they said, and I'm going to put it on the screen, said "Violent video games have been linked to antisocial and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents. Another negative effects such as reinforcement of racist or sexist stereotypes have also been associated with the use of video games." Are they wrong?
JOHN BECK, CO-AUTHOR, "GOT GAME": Well, all you've got to video games basically going from zero to almost 100 percent in the population that's 30 or under. And during that same period, violence has actually gone down to almost a 30-year or three decade low. So the correlation doesn't work, particularly well in violence.
COOPER: But do video games have any negative effects, do you find?
BECK: I'm sure they do. You're going to get negative effects from all kinds of things, particularly watching violence all day long, probably. But we were surprised. We expected to see more mixed results actually from a study of playing video games in adults. And we actually found more positive than we really expected then we'd ever find.
COOPER: All right, so Mitchell talk about it, how does it make you more of a team player or how does it make you more effective in business in your opinion?
WADE: There are a couple of things going to. One is that the people who have grown up playing video games understand this and the rest of us don't. They are not an isolated activity. Even if you were playing by yourself, you're interacting with computer generated characters on the screen, where now with other human beings who are on the Internet. More important, kids play video games sitting side by side together. They do that at every age from preschool up to college dorms. So, it's a much more social activity than you think. And the last thing is to win at a game you sort of have to analyze the situation and figure out how to get what you want and usually that involves getting other people to play their part. So they've had a lot of experience, in team work.
COOPER: It's an interesting study, interesting research. Appreciate you guys joining us. Mitchell and John, thanks very much.
WADE: Thanks a lot.
BECK: Thank you.
COOPER: And time again tonight to check some of the e-mails we've been getting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got mail!
COOPER: Bill Brown from Eden Prairie, Minnesota writes about the mess hall attack in Mosul. He writes, "Why would American troops gather together to create a target. It's like the officers on the ground don't seem to get it. It's like they don't understand the war they're fighting." Tim in fairness, I think, it's clear that on a base of any size it would be impossible to avoid a situation where a groups of soldiers who are in the same place, aren't at the same place at the same time whether it's to eat or sleep or to perform their duties. Considering that it was a apparently a suicide bomber, which we learned today, who struck, perhaps the more timely question is how did that person get into the base with explosives?
That is something that's being investigated. And we do appreciate your e-mail.
Chris Stokes from Colombia, Missouri writes, "You state tonight that you don't wear your opinion on your sleeve, and that's how I feel" when I watch your show. "I feel I'm finding out the news not being told, what to think about it." Chris, we appreciate it. It is true I like to ask questions and not force my opinions on viewers, but I have to be honest with you, Chris, I do occasionally try to influence viewers with a Vulcan mind melt.
OK. Thank you.
And Gina from Reno, Nevada, -- Nevada, as I'm constantly corrected, tells me -- e-mails, "This is going to sound like an odd request, but because my 17 birthday is on Friday, I was wondering if you could show the 'seamen' commercial." Gina, it's certainly not an odd request at all. My own mother on her birthday said to me, sonny boy -- that's what she calls me. Sonny boy, she says, I don't want a present and I don't want a card, I just want those dancing "seamen." So, Gina, this one's for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING "SEAMAN" SONG)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: If you're a new viewer to the program, I don't even know how to explain that commercial to you, but it's the Japanese Naval Defense Force made the commercial. Anyways, we kind of like it.
If you've got a 360 request or feedback, send us an e-mail. Just go to our Web site, cnn.com/360, click on the instant feedback link. Thanks very much for the e-mails.
360 next, we're getting our Christmas list together and we've got just the thing for a lot of people. That's next in "The Nth Degree."
And tomorrow, the woman accused of stealing a baby from the womb. She goes back to court and we'll tell you what happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Before we get to tonight's "Nth," I just want to tell you about our New Year's Eve extravaganza. It's going to be live from Times Square in New York for the big ball drop, starting at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time until to the wee hours of the morning. Who knows how late it's going to go. We need your help, however, that's right. It's the second annual invite CNN to a New Year's Eve party contest. If you're having a bash on New Year's Eve or going one, go to cnn.com/360. Tell us why we should send a TV camera to your party. We are planning to bring you the best, biggest New Year's Eve celebrations from around the country. And what would be New Year's Eve without a party at our house. And if you're very, very lucky we'll even send the 360 dancers.
Tonight taking the personal touch to "The Nth Degree." Frankly, a lot of people on our Christmas list this year were going to get lumps of coal, but we had a change of heart and some better, meaning much more personalized, ideas. For instance, we think we may get Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld a super duper G.I. Joe action figure. It won't have all of the body armor it needs, though, he'll have to supply that himself or get Joe's relatives back home to send him some for his birthday.
A couple of ideas for Bernard Kerik, who might have been the new head of Homeland Security. If we could get the president to inscribe a copy, we'd give Mr. Kerik the best-selling book, he's just not that into you. Failing that, we're thinking about one of those cool new fangled vacuum cleaners. There's a whole lot less to sweep up under the rug when you've got one of those babies running around all day.
And then our plan calls for giving a bottle of Donald Trump the Fragrance to Donald Trump the guy. Because really, doesn't he just want more of himself? Yes, it's father counts (ph). Send us a stamped self-addressed envelope and we'll tell you what the thought is. On a personal note, thank you for all you're cards and e-mails wishing us here a happy holiday or merry Christmas or whatever you want to say, we do appreciate it.
I'm Anderson Cooper, thanks for watching 360. CNN's live programing continues now with Paula Zahn. Filling in for Paula tonight, Bill Hemmer.
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 December 22, 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 from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
New details in the mess hall massacre, and new questions about how it could have happened.
360 starts now.
A suicide bomber is blamed for the mess hall massacre. But how did the killer infiltrate a supposedly secure U.S. base?
The alleged baby-snatcher prepares for court, though with evidence building, does she have a legal leg to stand on?
Martha speaks. A holiday greeting to the faithful posted online from behind bars in Alderson.
Kim Jong Il is at it again, making preposterous proclamation. The latest outburst from the Dear Leader of North Korea.
And are you worried about your kids spending too much time playing video games? Tonight, new evidence those games might actually be good for your kids.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Good evening again.
Tonight, as the bodies of the dead from yesterday's attack in Mosul are processed in Kuwait, and the bodies of the wounded arrive in Germany for treatment, and the families of the living and the dead wait on pins and needles for word, there are new developments regarding just how the assault was carried out, and new questions.
They are troubling developments. It appears that the attack wasn't just a lucky shot from an insurgent wielding a rocket, but a targeted attack by a suicide bomber who somehow got through security.
With the latest, here's CNN's Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not a rocket, not a mortar, but a bomb, says the Pentagon, was carried right into the midst of the Camp Mirege (ph) mess hall Tuesday, just as soldiers were sitting down to eat.
GEN. RICHARD B. MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: We have had a suicide bomber apparently strap something to his body, apparently a him, and going into a dining hall. We know how difficult this is to prevent suicide, people bent on suicide, and stopping them.
KOCH: An Iraqi militant group had Tuesday claimed responsibility on a Web site, saying it was a suicide attack carried out by a single individual. The coalition says among the dead is one unidentified non-U.S. person. Pentagon says it does not yet know whether or not that person was the bomber.
Investigators say they found no evidence of a rocket or mortar, only evidence associated with improvised explosive devices like ball bearings used to increase the deadliness of a bomb. Small circular holes were found in metal kitchen equipment in the mess hall.
Secretary Rumsfeld, under fire recently for perceived insensitivity to troops and their families, tried to wipe the slate clean.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I am truly saddened by the thought that anyone could have the impression that I or others here are doing anything other than working urgently to see that the lives of the fighting men and women are protected, and are cared for in every way humanly possible. And I hope and pray that every family member of those who have died so bravely knows how deeply I feel their loss.
KOCH: The Pentagon is looking into how the backgrounds of Iraqis who work at U.S. bases are checked. A multinational force spokesman says they do have to show IDs to gain entry, but are not always bodily searched, nor are they always accompanied once on U.S. military facilities.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOCH: Those are the types of things that could change now because of this attack. What won't is large numbers of troops gathering daily for meals, General Myers saying, quote, "It's not a viable strategy to ask everybody to separate," Anderson.
COOPER: Kathleen Koch, thanks for that.
It seems that a single individual, one man, did all that dreadful damage in Mosul, ended so many lives, jeopardized dozens more, and caused, in the families of those he killed and wounded, a terrible wave of feelings that has only just begun to crest.
From King George, Virginia, tonight, here's CNN's Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the flag already at half-staff at the volunteer fire department where Nick Mason donated his time before leaving for Iraq, his family met Wednesday and shared a hug just inside the station house.
Not long after, a memorial message went up on a billboard outside the building. The news came last night, but it is slow to sink in.
DAN DICKSON, KING GEORGE FIRE DEPARTMENT: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) he was always dedicated (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He was one of the guys that, no matter what kind of condition it was, he always put a smile on your face, always made the best of everything.
JOHNS: There are others, now in the military, who worked for this little firehouse, but Nick Mason is the only to die. He was killed in the mess tent explosion in Mosul on Tuesday, one of the bloodiest attacks on U.S. troops of the war.
DICKSON: It was very hard. It's very hard for everyone right now. Everyone in the community has been struck real hard by this.
JOHNS: It's small-town America here, where everybody knows almost everybody else. Just across the road from the station house, Mason's high school, the only high school in this Virginia County. He was on the wrestling team. His younger sister still goes here. Nick Mason graduated in 2002, the same year as Diane Eskey's daughter.
DIANE ESKEY, KING GEORGE HIGH SCHOOL: I think we're all just really shocked, because you hear about this stuff on the news. We know that it's going on. But the reality is just like a slap in the face.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: Both the firehouse and the school are situated here on Virginia Route 3, which was designated years ago as part of the Purple Heart Trail to honor U.S. service members killed or injured in combat.
A memorial service for Mason is schedule on Thursday, Anderson.
COOPER: Joe, it's just incredible when you think the kid graduated high school two years ago, in 2002. He was 20 years old. Joe, thanks for that report.
JOHNS: Certainly.
COOPER: An interesting juxtaposition to the grief in this country today was the scene on the streets of Paris, the entire French nation celebrating the safe return of two French journalists taken hostage in Iraq in August. There they are, returning. French President Jacques Chirac broke off his holiday to welcome them home. The French government denies paying any ransom for the two. A Web site linked to their captors claims the two were freed because France has proved itself a friend of Iraq. Strange endorsement, that.
We are tracking several other stories right now cross-country. Let's take a look.
New York City, Bernard Kerik resigns from Rudy Giuliani's consulting firm. It had been anticipated, but still came as somewhat of a surprise today. He apologized to the former mayor and President Bush for being a distraction after withdrawing his nomination as homeland security secretary. Kerik's nomination collapsed after revealing he didn't pay taxes for a nanny. Other allegations soon followed.
Washington D.C., now, Fannie Mae shakeup. The chief executive and top financial officer for the mortgage company have been forced to resign. Fannie Mae is struggling to deal with an accounting scandal, and will likely have to wipe out $9 billion in profits over the past four years.
Nationwide now, doctors weighing in on miracles. Did you see this? According to a survey of 1,100 doctors, 55 percent have seen treatment results they would consider miraculous. Forty-five percent say they did not. Also, 59 percent said they pray for each patient, and 67 percent encourage their patients to pray.
Near Greenville, North Carolina, now, a highway of life and death. Remarkable story. A mother has given birth to a baby girl on the same stretch of road that her 5-year-old son was killed in a car accident a year ago. On Monday, in a snowstorm, she went into labor on the way to the hospital, and Dad apparently helped with the delivery. They are all doing well. They've nicknamed their new daughter Snow Angel.
And that's a quick look at stories right now cross-country.
Coming up right next on 360, holiday greetings from prison. Martha Stewart dishes out the good and the bad about life behind bars.
Plus North Korea, the latest bizarre thing. The hermit kingdom is claiming -- well, this one you kind of got to hear it to believe it.
We're also going to have the latest on Lisa Montgomery, a look at her appearance in court tomorrow, what to anticipate in that.
All that ahead. First, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
In Missouri tonight, the tears continue for those who knew Bobbie Jo Stinnett, the woman murdered for the baby inside her. And we discovered today that for the small town where the accused killer is from, there is a sense that things will never be the same.
CNN's Jonathan Freed reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Melvern, Kansas, is one of those smaller dots on the map, a very small dot, fewer than 500 people live here. But federal charges of kidnapping resulting in death against one of their own have changed this place.
GARY SKINS, GENERAL STORE: You know, pop's over here, and we just sell a little bit of everything.
FREED: Gary Deskins owns the general store.
DESKINS: It's about the worst tragedy that's ever happened here. And people are not used to that sort of tragedy. Not here. Everywhere but here.
FREED: Lisa Montgomery is accused of strangling Bobbie Jo Stinnett last Thursday, cutting her unborn child from her womb and abducting the baby girl. The alleged crimes happened in Skidmore, Missouri, 170 miles away.
On Friday, Montgomery toured Melvern, allegedly with a baby she identified as her own, stopping at this cafe, a bank, and going to see her pastor.
Then word started spreading that the police had moved in, and the town's heart skipped a beat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People kept coming in and mentioning it, and finally I seen her picture and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) it dawned on me. Gosh, how could I not know that name? I did know her name, but it just didn't register. I guess I just couldn't think. And maybe my mind didn't want to accept the fact that that's who it was.
FREED: The town is juggling its emotions about what happened.
WENDELL ALLSTON, MELVERN RESIDENT: Well, somebody'll tell you one thing, and somebody'll tell you something else. So you don't know.
FREED: People are trying to balance the desire to help both the Stinnett family in Missouri and support Montgomery's husband and children here in Kansas while she stands trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. All donations are appreciated here.
FREED: The first money collected, though, is going to the victim's family, across a state line in another small dot on the map, also rocked by tragedy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREED: Now, people here in Melvern are anxious to see what happens when Montgomery next appears in court in Kansas City. And, Anderson, that is scheduled at this point to take place tomorrow morning.
COOPER: Jonathan Freed, thanks for that.
Later on 360, we're going to have more on the case against Montgomery. Now, one defense attorney we talked to claims she's being set up for what she described as a legal ambush. We'll talk about that and look at all sides ahead on 360.
Moving on, now, though, leave it to Martha Stewart to send some season's greetings from prison. In a very special Christmas message, the jailed Ms. Stewart says she's doing well, staying away from the food, and for her fellow inmates, reprezannin (ph), though, sadly, she didn't exactly use that word.
CNN's Sarah Dorsey reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARAH DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It may be called Camp Cupcake, but in the two and a half months Martha Stewart has been in the federal women's prison camp in Alderson, West Virginia, she's found a few things to complain about.
In a holiday statement issued to supporters on her personal Web site, MarthaTalks.com, the 63-year-old spelled out the goods and bads of being behind bars, saying, quote, "I've had time to think, time to write, time to exercise, time to not eat the bad food, and time to walk and contemplate the future. I've had my work here, too. Cleaning has been my job -- washing, scrubbing, sweeping, vacuuming, raking leaves, and much more."
In true Martha form, the queen of cookies, cakes, and Christmas held her head high, speaking more of the 1,200 other inmates than herself. Quote, "So many of the women here in Alderson will never have the joy and well-being that you and I experience. Many of them have been here for years, devoid of care, devoid of love, devoid of family."
Stewart went on to encourage her supporters to ask for sentencing reforms for nonviolent first-time offenders, and better rehab programs for drug users rather than prison.
Stewart said she'd rather be doing all of her chores at her own home instead of the prison.
Rest assured, she'll have plenty of time to catch up on all of that. Stewart's scheduled to be released from prison in March and will then spend five months on home detention. She was sentenced in July after being found guilty for lying to investigators during a government probe into her 2001 sale of ImClone Systems stock.
Sarah Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: well, some more Martha musings. A new Gallup poll of who's naughty and who's nice shows Americans think Ms. Stewart is the fourth-naughtiest American of the year. Can you imagine someone actually conducting this survey? It's almost as embarrassing as telling you about it. But here I go.
The third-naughtiest American, Paris Hilton, 63 percent say she was naughty, very, very naughty, and we think you know why.
Second naughtiest, with 64 percent, Janet Jackson. We're so sick of that Super Bowl video, we're not going to show it to you. It's my holiday gift to you. Remember back in the good old days when Janet was just nasty?
And the naughtiest American of '04, da-da-da-DAH, there she is, gum-smacking Britney Spears. Chin up, little Brit, a whole new year is about to begin.
Worth noting, there's a tie for Mr. and Mrs. Nice Guy. We're not sure be a Mrs. Nice Guy. Anyway, you get the picture. Oprah Winfrey and Tom Hanks each get the nod with 90 percent.
A political test for Palestinians in the West Bank tops our look at global stories right now in the uplink. Let's take a look.
For the first time since 1976, municipal elections were held today in 26 communities. This man is a, holding a campaign card with the names of the candidates in his village. Actually that's not Tony Blair, wrong video. Results are expected later this week. Today's vote was seen as a warmup for the January 9 presidential elections, in which interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, there on the left, is the front runner. He's meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair today.
And we're totally wrong on the video.
Next month's winner will be the successor to late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who, of course, died at a French hospital back in November 11.
Northern Peru now, a bus plunges off a mountain road. It crashed into a jungle river. Forty-nine people were killed. Survivors say the driver lost control of the bus while speeding in a rainstorm.
In Belfast, now, the biggest bank robbery in the Northern Ireland history. About $42 million was taken from Northern Bank. Police say the thieves held hostage the families of two bank officials from Sunday until Monday night, when they got access to bank vaults. Police aren't sure they'll be able to track down the thieves, because there's not much forensic evidence, and they wore gloves and, of course, masks the whole time.
Tokyo, Japan, now, Santa visits a zoo early, bearing gifts for the animals. As you see, he had salmon for the polar bears. Mmm, yum, salmon. There was also fruitcake for the monkeys. Do we have pictures of the fruitcake for the monkeys? It is nice to know, at least, that there is at least one species on earth that seems to actually enjoy eating fruitcake. There's the fruitcake for the monkeys. They love it.
That's the uplink.
You know, we've become used to bizarre statements from North Korea, but now the totalitarian regime in Pyongyang is claiming something new. They now say North Korea is the only country in the world that has no one living with HIV or AIDS. Its secret, according to official sources, it's the "sound and moral lifestyles," that's a quote, of North Koreans. North Korea has reportedly expelled 27 HIV-positive foreigners, they say. And, of course, got us thinking, perhaps the country likes to exaggerate a thing or two, and they've done it in the past. See for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): If you thought Tiger Woods was the best golfer in the world, au contraire, mon frere, think again. The best golfer is him, Kim Jong Il of North Korea. That's right, the only man to ever finish 18 holes 38 strokes under par. And that was his first time he played golf. At least, according to "The Pyongyang Times," North Korea's official newspaper.
And that's not all. According to North Korea's state media, the Dear Leader, that's his nickname, is also the most prolific writer in the world. Who knew? In college alone, they say, he published 1,500 books. That's one a day. Sadly, we've only been able to confirm three books.
Maybe all this is explained by his birth in 1942. According to the very official legend, the moment Kim Jong Il was born in a tiny log cabin on a Korean sacred mount, the sky was suddenly brightened by a star and a double rainbow.
OK, historians believe he was actually born in 1941 on a Russian army base in Siberia, where his dad was stationed. But why quibble with details?
BALBINA HWANG, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Dear Leader writes songs that makes angels weep when they hear, because his music is so brilliant. I mean, these are the kind of stories that the average North Korean citizen is fed on a daily basis. You know, he literally makes the earth move.
COOPER: Course, all of this is impossible to verify. Just like whether he really imports pleasure squads from Sweden, or that he's an NBA fan who loves Michael Jordan. The strange thing is, we don't even know where he is right now. The latest rumor has it, his portrait at the People's Cultural Center Auditorium has been taken down, and that Kim Jong Il is MIA. Who knows? Maybe he's just out trying to improve his golf game.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: 360 next, what are those senators and congressmen who aren't coming back going to do now? Well, some of them are going to be making some big bucks by lobbying guess who? Their old friends. Cashing in on power. That's raw politics, ahead.
Plus, pill-popping nation. First it was Vioxx, now Aleve and Celebrex are under scrutiny. One woman shares how she's trying to overcome her addiction to painkillers.
And the case that America is talking about. The accused woman, the woman accused of murdering someone else for a baby. We'll look at the case in justice served.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's a common problem for people working in Washington. They certainly enjoy the power, but not the pay. Why make thousands in Congress, when you can make millions in the private sector? Well, some outgoing lawmakers are finding that you can be both powerful and wealthy as a lobbyist. Some watchdog groups certainly don't like it, but as Ed Henry reports, it is simply basic raw politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back in January, Republican Billy Tauzin wouldn't talk to CNN about speculation he was going to leave Congress to rake in big bucks running the pharmaceutical industry.
REP. BILLY TAUZIN (R), LOUISIANA: I've stayed out of any discussion with anybody.
HENRY: This month, Tauzin took the $2 million job, a dramatic boost from the $158,000 lawmakers earn. Tauzin is under fire, because he helped write the Medicare prescription drug bill, which helped the industry that just hired him.
CHARLES LEWIS, CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY: They got some Christmas goodies in that legislation, and so there is a bit of a stench around this whole issue.
HENRY (on camera): Critics say the Tauzin case is egregious, but not unique. The revolving door from Congress to K Street keeps on spinning, because ex-lawmakers use their inside knowledge to influence legislation.
(voice-over): Among those cashing in, Republican Senator Don Nichols, the former budget chairman, Democratic Senator John Breaux, a power on the Finance Committee, and former House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt.
Republican Congressman James Greenwood is becoming the biotech industry's top lobbyist. He makes no bones about nearly quadrupling his salary.
FORMER REP. JAMES GREENWOOD (R), PENNSYLVANIA: I think that people need to understand that when one has given 24 years of one's life to public service, that doesn't mean that they owe the next 24 years of their lives.
HENRY: But critics say former lawmakers are really attracted by the ability to keep power with little scrutiny over their contact with former colleagues.
LEWIS: Everything is happening down at K Street. It's a great time to get while the getting's good.
HENRY: Thirty years ago there were 60 lobbyists. Now there are over 20,000, and counting.
Ed Henry, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Twenty thousand lobbyists. Billy Tauzin and other drug company lobbyists may have their work cut out for them. This week alone, the popular over-the-counter drug Aleve became just the latest painkiller to be linked to heart problems. Troubling news indeed, but it won't stop Americans from taking meds, of course. We are, after all, a pill-popping nation, which, for some, doesn't mean feeling better, it means getting hooked.
CNN's David Mattingly looks at the struggle one mother had with her little helpers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA O'TOOLE, RECOVERING DRUG ADDICT: Five to six.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Used to be, the morning grind of getting up and getting her two teenage boys off to school.
O'TOOLE: You want cereal, bagels. or eggs?
MATTINGLY: Was more than Barbara O'Toole could handle.
O'TOOLE: Oh, you know, it would just be a whole lot easier to just take something, and just take the edge off.
MATTINGLY: She was taking a combination of up to 16 prescription painkillers and tranquilizers a day, Fiorinal (ph) for migraines, Xanax for anxiety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was always laying in bed and not doing anything.
MATTINGLY: With her husband on the road working, Barbara's kids saw the worst of it. There were volatile mood swings, and loud episodes of anger.
(on camera): Everyone could see there was a problem except Barbara. It wasn't until she became concerned about a French drug problem that she actually began to suspect herself, leading to a very public moment of truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "OPRAH")
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST: And so, is this the first time you realized that you're an addict?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: In this tearful confession on the Oprah Winfrey show, everyone finally knew that this mom from a quiet Chicago suburb had become a drug addict. And just four months out of rehab, the mornings are still crazy.
O'TOOLE: Everything is just like...
MATTINGLY: But instead of drugs, there are long horse runs and long walks with the family dog.
O'TOOLE: Get away from everything. It's very therapeutic.
MATTINGLY: Therapeutic, but not a cure for an addiction that began in her own home, the very place where she continues to confront the same old anxieties and the temptations to medicate her problems away.
David Mattingly, CNN, St. Charles, Illinois.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: The alleged baby-snatcher prepares for court, but with evidence building, does she have a legal leg to stand on?
And are you worried about your kids spending too much time playing video games? Tonight, new evidence those games might actually be good for your kids.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Will an insanity plea work for a woman accused of snatching a baby from a mother's womb? 360 next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: In the next -- on 360 the accused baby snatcher and murderer going to court. What will her defense be? Insanity? Our legal experts weigh in.
Plus worried your kids play too many video games? Tonight some new evidence the games might actually be good for your kids' brains. Controversial idea. We'll take a look.
First, we'll check the reset. Our top story is on Wall Street. Big smiles for the second day in a row. Tumbling oil prices boosted stocks once again. The S&P 500 had its biggest performance of the year and the Dow Jones Industrials average ended at another 3 1/2 year high closing at 10,815. Washington D.C. Guerrilla radio calls for massive protest against President Bush's inauguration. The FCC is investigating an unauthorized radio station that's apparently beaming a signal to the nation's capital. The station calls itself Squat and has been airing what sounds like recordings of protests planning and discussions.
In Chicago a tiny wonder prepares to go home. Yesterday Loyola University Medical Center introduced a two-month-old baby girl who weighed just 8.6 ounces. Not pounds, ounces at birth. She's believed to be the smallest baby ever to survive. She could go home by the first week of January.
Tomorrow the woman accused of killing Bobbi Jo Stinnett and stealing her baby from her womb will appear in federal court. You can be sure the public defenders for Lisa Montgomery are already plotting their strategy as the case moves forward. It will not be easy. An insanity plea is a possibility but it is not easy to convince a jury of that especially in federal court. We believe in looking at all stories from all angles so tonight two very different angles on this case, one from CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, the other defense attorney Jayne Weintraub.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Lisa Montgomery is going to court tomorrow for an extradition hearing in federal court. What should we anticipate?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: This will likely be one of the few uncontroversial hearings in this case. All she'll have to acknowledge is that she is the person charged in the case and then she'll be moved to the next court. It's really going to be an uncontroversial hearing.
COOPER: Jayne, you say though that the fact that this is in federal court may make a big difference in the actual case.
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it will. If it's in federal court as opposed to state court, there's very little if any discovery in federal court. It's commonly called trial by ambush because in federal court they don't even have to give you the witness's statements.
COOPER: Commonly called by defense attorneys.
WEINTRAUB: Commonly called by defense attorneys trial by ambush. I'm sure Jeff doesn't agree. But it is, it makes it much more difficult to mount a defense, but in this case it will be no surprise. It will be based on expert testimony.
COOPER: Jeffrey, the defense likely insanity.
TOOBIN: Insanity, but one thing Jayne's right about is federal courts are generally better for prosecutors. You also have the resources of the department of justice which are essentially unlimited and after the Hinkley case where he was, of course, acquitted by reason of insanity for attempting to kill president Reagan, the insanity law in federal court was tightened so it's even harder to get a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity in federal court than it used to be and it wasn't easy in the old days.
COOPER: Jayne, even not in federal court, insanity defenses usually don't work.
WEINTRAUB: Well, it's not that it doesn't work. It's very, very difficult. You know, Anderson, the mind is a powerful thing. What would make, for example, victims of sexual molestation cases black out and block these things out of their minds for ten years at a time. We hear that all of the time and we accept that. This woman was propelled to act by some mental illness. Nobody does this in their right mind.
COOPER: But proving that, Jeff, in a courtroom is a very different thing.
TOOBIN: And legal insanity is very different from what you and I would say. Of course this is crazy. Of course what she did if she did it was insane, but basically under federal law she has to have been thinking that she was chopping down a tree or not -- not even realizing what she was doing. That's very hard to prove.
WEINTRAUB: The first issue that has to come over the hurdle is whether or not she's competent to even stand trial, whether or not she understands the nature of the proceedings.
TOOBIN: But her problems among many are the e-mail trail that led the victim in this case, shows a degree of premeditation, shows a certain degree of rationality. Lisa Montgomery has a million legal problems.
COOPER: I want to put on the screen something from the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984. It says that in the federal system insanity is "a severe mental disease or defect which causes a defendant to be unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of their acts."
TOOBIN: Key word the nature. That means did she understand what she was doing? If she understood she was killing her victim that's all she had -- that's all they need to know.
COOPER: What about her husband? Do you anticipate some sort of charges?
WEINTRAUB: I expect charges.
COOPER: You do? Why?
WEINTRAUB: I do. Because Anderson, no couple in their right minds today that has a baby and that wants the baby don't experience things together. For example, the husband would have put his hand on her belly, would have seen the baby kick, felt the baby kick, go to the doctor, hear a heartbeat.
TOOBIN: But Jayne, what's the crime? What do you charge him with if he committed some crime.
WEINTRAUB: We don't know what his complicity if any is, number one, and number two, if he had knowledge that she was not pregnant, what is the liability of people around this woman that didn't stop her and didn't do anything to help her? I don't know.
TOOBIN: The law rarely imposes any sort of obligation on someone to stop someone else from committing a crime.
WEINTRAUB: And I'll tell you what scares me the most about being in federal court is the federal death penalty. If this becomes a federal death penalty case the judge will not have any power whatsoever over the sentence. It will be a jury unanimous verdict.
COOPER: The charge, kidnapping resulting in death isn't something you don't hear very often.
TOOBIN: Fortunately it doesn't happen very often. Federal death penalty still is fairly rare. Most criminal cases are tried in federal court. Most death penalties are in federal court. Timothy McVeigh is the only person executed.
COOPER: Jayne, What's the number one thing you'll be watching in the coming days and weeks on this case?
WEINTRAUB: With no cameras in the courtroom because it will be a federal proceedings I'll be curious to see whether or not they'll be seeking the death penalty.
TOOBIN: And how the mental illness issue place out, first as Jayne said, the issue of fitness to stand trial and then, of course if and when she stands trial, the insanity defense.
COOPER: Jeffrey Toobin, thanks. Jayne Weintraub, thanks.
360 next. Infidelity in America. Are we hardwired to cheat? Plus the value of video games. How they may actually help your children learn some important skills. A controversial idea next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's a tough time of year for many: Got to buy presents for the kids, got to find something for the wife or the partner and then there's what happened at the office party. We're talking about infidelity. Some are no doubt thinking about a new year's resolution never to cheat, but others say they can't help it, it's just in their genes. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With this ring.
UNIDENTIIFED FEMALE: With this ring.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; I do thee wed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do thee wed.
COOPER (voice-over): It's what we're taught from childhood to believe in, choosing one partner for life, but is monogamy natural? Sure, penguins are known to be monogamous, but most mammals aren't, of 4,000 known species, the vast majority don't couple up forever.
Male gorillas have harems of females, so do baboons. And female chimps, our closest genetic relatives copulate hundred of times with different partners for each pegnency. Some anthropologists believe our human ancestors settled for monogamy about 3.5 million years ago. The reason, survival throug co- dependence: females needed the the men to hunt and protect, while they raised the kids. The men needed someone to raise the children while they hunted.
This survival coupling slowly evolved into the exclusive relationship, marriage. Despite estimates that as many as one in five people will have an affair at least once in their life time, most modern couples still say monogamy is something they strive for.
For example, a university of chicago survey found 38 percent of adults said they only had one partner or none in the past year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's natural. I think it's a choice that we make.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; I think once you've made the decision to partner with a spouse, then I think it is natural to be with them forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be natural despite urges. Then again, you're always going to have urges.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I spoke with a noted anthroppologist Helen Fisher of Rutgers University about infidelity. I asked her to explain what she calls a person's dual desire: a desire for monogamy and a desire, well, to get around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HELEN FISHER, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: We've evolved the brain circuitry for attachment. And millions of years ago men needed women, women needed men and we formed, we acquired the brain circuitry to fall in love and form a prayer bond. But people cheat.
I've looked in 40 cultures and everywhere around there world where people have the opportunity, a certain number of them will cheat on the relationship.
COOPER: In all cultures across the world, doesn't matter where you are.
FISHER: Yes. No anthroppologist has ever found a culture where it did not occur.
Now, in some societies that it occurs a lot more than others. Americans, in fact, cheat a little bit less regularly than a lot of people in the world because we don't have enough time. And we have a tremendous amount to lose. But in the last study of Americans, apparently something like 25 percent of men cheated and 15 percent of women. And that's probably low. They're, probably a lot of them were lying. COOPER: But you know, some people are going to say this, and look, this is like a guy's excuse, well look, I'm hard wired to cheat. It's a Darwin thing, there's nothing I can do. That's not the case.
FISHER: No, it's not the case. Because this is the part of the brain that makes us human. It's called the prefrontal cortex. And with that part of the brain that evolved during human evolution, we make decisions about what we do in our lives. We lie in bed at night and you say, gee, I feel a deep attachment to a long time partner and I feel a mad love for somebody else and then you decide what you're going to do about it. You can say no to adultery.
COOPER: It's basically will power or religious belief, or whatever it is that keeps you.
FISHER: I would guess that some people have a harder time than others, though. Divorce runs in families. I wouldn't be surprised if adultery runs in families. And probably the brain circuitry for some people makes them a little bit more prone to it than others.
COOPER: I've read that you think there is such a thing as serial monogamy. And that perhaps that is, sor of, the more natural situation human beings are compelled to be in. Serial monogamy, what does that mean?
FISHER: It's a series of peer-bonded relationships. For example, we all know people who have been married for four years and had one child and then they divorce and then remarry again and they have another child. And during the course of their lives they may have several relationships and marry only two or three people. But it's a series of peer-bonded relationships.
And millions of years ago that was probably adaptive, to form a peer-bond, have a child and then, after the child is out of infancy, pick a new partner and create more genetic variety in your young, leaving the human animal with this tremendous desire to pair up. A tendency to be restless in long relationships and also having the roving eye.
COOPER: In the study -- in the cultures that you've looked at around the world, really, I think you said some 40 culture, do nonmonogamous relationships work?
FISHER: Adultery does not work in a marriage. Even in societies where a man is permitted to have several wives and has four wives, the wives are jealous of each other. Sometimes they'll even poison each other's babies. So, you know, where an animal that's built to form a pair bond and we cheat. We then we all decide each one of us how we're going to handle this. And some people have a relatively easy time and a very long, stable marriages. And other people have two unstable marriages and then in the mid-life find stability.
If you really want a good marriage, pick the right person.
COOPER: All right. Good advice. Helen Fisher. It was really fascinating. Thanks very much. I look forward to your new book. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And CNN, of course, working around the clock to bring you the quality reporting you deserve. Let's get a preview of what's coming up tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" and "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN." Bill Hemmer is in for Paula tonight. He and Aaron join me now in their New York studios.
Let's begin with Bill. Hey.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Anderson, good evening to you. Tonight we have 2 very up close and personal stories about what's happening in the war in Iraq. One is through the eyes of those whose duty it is to knock on the door and deliver the very worst of news.
The other from one of our producers who got extraordinary access to those who fight like hell to save the lives of U.S. soldiers wounded in battle. It is medically breaking, it is taking it to a whole new level in a sense of what's happening with the war and trying to get the wounded to safety.
They call it the golden hour, Anderson. It's one hour after you're wounded. Both stories incredibly moving, you'll see them both tonight in a couple of minutes at the top of the hour, Anderson.
COOPER: And they're doing a remarkable work. Bill, thanks very much for that -- Aaron.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we deal again with the attack yesterday in Mosul. We now believe it to be a suicide attack. What does that is a about force protection? How did it happen? What does to do for morale on the American side? And what does it do for the insurgents? We'll take a look at that as well.
How did it change the view of the war back at home? The Mosul story, again tops NEWSNIGHT tonight.
COOPER: 10:00 Eastern time. Aaron, thanks very much.
360, next, do your kids got game? Are they always playing video games? Well, some say it could be good for their brain. A controversial idea? We'll talk about that.
Plus your e-mail as well as some gift ideas for Donald Trump, Donald Rumsfeld and Bernard Kerik. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You may not realize this, but your kids probably do: Video games are big, really, really big. An $11 billion a year industry, in fact. But Illinois is looking to restrict their sale by making illegal for minors to buy the violent or sexually explicit games. And there's a whole lot of those.
It's not often, though, you hear someone arguing that video games can actually be good for young people, even teach them important skills for the workplace. You're about to.
Joining us now from Phoenix are John Beck and Mitchell Wade, co- authors of "Got Game: How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever."
Gentlemen, thanks for being with us. It's a fascinating book. Mitchell, you know, most people think gamers tend to be antisocial, isolated, really not the best team players. Your book says the opposite. What do you think? What critical skills double are developed through video gaming.
MITCHELL WADE, CO-AUTHOR, "GOT GAME": The finding surprised us as much as anyone, Anderson. What we basicly did was look at people who are grown up, out there in the workforce, professionals who had grown up playing video games and measured attitudes toward business and behaviors in business. We've found, they're better competitors, they're more driven to achieve, they're better at team work, they've got a bigger set of tools to manage other people and they're very creative and persistent problem solvers.
COOPER: John, the American Academy of Family Physicians released a study and they said, and I'm going to put it on the screen, said "Violent video games have been linked to antisocial and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents. Another negative effects such as reinforcement of racist or sexist stereotypes have also been associated with the use of video games." Are they wrong?
JOHN BECK, CO-AUTHOR, "GOT GAME": Well, all you've got to video games basically going from zero to almost 100 percent in the population that's 30 or under. And during that same period, violence has actually gone down to almost a 30-year or three decade low. So the correlation doesn't work, particularly well in violence.
COOPER: But do video games have any negative effects, do you find?
BECK: I'm sure they do. You're going to get negative effects from all kinds of things, particularly watching violence all day long, probably. But we were surprised. We expected to see more mixed results actually from a study of playing video games in adults. And we actually found more positive than we really expected then we'd ever find.
COOPER: All right, so Mitchell talk about it, how does it make you more of a team player or how does it make you more effective in business in your opinion?
WADE: There are a couple of things going to. One is that the people who have grown up playing video games understand this and the rest of us don't. They are not an isolated activity. Even if you were playing by yourself, you're interacting with computer generated characters on the screen, where now with other human beings who are on the Internet. More important, kids play video games sitting side by side together. They do that at every age from preschool up to college dorms. So, it's a much more social activity than you think. And the last thing is to win at a game you sort of have to analyze the situation and figure out how to get what you want and usually that involves getting other people to play their part. So they've had a lot of experience, in team work.
COOPER: It's an interesting study, interesting research. Appreciate you guys joining us. Mitchell and John, thanks very much.
WADE: Thanks a lot.
BECK: Thank you.
COOPER: And time again tonight to check some of the e-mails we've been getting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got mail!
COOPER: Bill Brown from Eden Prairie, Minnesota writes about the mess hall attack in Mosul. He writes, "Why would American troops gather together to create a target. It's like the officers on the ground don't seem to get it. It's like they don't understand the war they're fighting." Tim in fairness, I think, it's clear that on a base of any size it would be impossible to avoid a situation where a groups of soldiers who are in the same place, aren't at the same place at the same time whether it's to eat or sleep or to perform their duties. Considering that it was a apparently a suicide bomber, which we learned today, who struck, perhaps the more timely question is how did that person get into the base with explosives?
That is something that's being investigated. And we do appreciate your e-mail.
Chris Stokes from Colombia, Missouri writes, "You state tonight that you don't wear your opinion on your sleeve, and that's how I feel" when I watch your show. "I feel I'm finding out the news not being told, what to think about it." Chris, we appreciate it. It is true I like to ask questions and not force my opinions on viewers, but I have to be honest with you, Chris, I do occasionally try to influence viewers with a Vulcan mind melt.
OK. Thank you.
And Gina from Reno, Nevada, -- Nevada, as I'm constantly corrected, tells me -- e-mails, "This is going to sound like an odd request, but because my 17 birthday is on Friday, I was wondering if you could show the 'seamen' commercial." Gina, it's certainly not an odd request at all. My own mother on her birthday said to me, sonny boy -- that's what she calls me. Sonny boy, she says, I don't want a present and I don't want a card, I just want those dancing "seamen." So, Gina, this one's for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING "SEAMAN" SONG)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: If you're a new viewer to the program, I don't even know how to explain that commercial to you, but it's the Japanese Naval Defense Force made the commercial. Anyways, we kind of like it.
If you've got a 360 request or feedback, send us an e-mail. Just go to our Web site, cnn.com/360, click on the instant feedback link. Thanks very much for the e-mails.
360 next, we're getting our Christmas list together and we've got just the thing for a lot of people. That's next in "The Nth Degree."
And tomorrow, the woman accused of stealing a baby from the womb. She goes back to court and we'll tell you what happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Before we get to tonight's "Nth," I just want to tell you about our New Year's Eve extravaganza. It's going to be live from Times Square in New York for the big ball drop, starting at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time until to the wee hours of the morning. Who knows how late it's going to go. We need your help, however, that's right. It's the second annual invite CNN to a New Year's Eve party contest. If you're having a bash on New Year's Eve or going one, go to cnn.com/360. Tell us why we should send a TV camera to your party. We are planning to bring you the best, biggest New Year's Eve celebrations from around the country. And what would be New Year's Eve without a party at our house. And if you're very, very lucky we'll even send the 360 dancers.
Tonight taking the personal touch to "The Nth Degree." Frankly, a lot of people on our Christmas list this year were going to get lumps of coal, but we had a change of heart and some better, meaning much more personalized, ideas. For instance, we think we may get Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld a super duper G.I. Joe action figure. It won't have all of the body armor it needs, though, he'll have to supply that himself or get Joe's relatives back home to send him some for his birthday.
A couple of ideas for Bernard Kerik, who might have been the new head of Homeland Security. If we could get the president to inscribe a copy, we'd give Mr. Kerik the best-selling book, he's just not that into you. Failing that, we're thinking about one of those cool new fangled vacuum cleaners. There's a whole lot less to sweep up under the rug when you've got one of those babies running around all day.
And then our plan calls for giving a bottle of Donald Trump the Fragrance to Donald Trump the guy. Because really, doesn't he just want more of himself? Yes, it's father counts (ph). Send us a stamped self-addressed envelope and we'll tell you what the thought is. On a personal note, thank you for all you're cards and e-mails wishing us here a happy holiday or merry Christmas or whatever you want to say, we do appreciate it.
I'm Anderson Cooper, thanks for watching 360. CNN's live programing continues now with Paula Zahn. Filling in for Paula tonight, Bill Hemmer.
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