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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Bush Links Spread of Democracy, Freedom to Curbing Terrorism; Pro-Syrian Demonstrations in Lebanon

Aired March 08, 2005 - 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: I'm Anderson Cooper.
Here are the top stories at this hour.

President Bush links the spread of democracy and freedom to curbing terrorism. During a speech today at the National Defense University, president said terrorists are less likely to strike the U.S. if they're concerned about their own security.

Demonstrations in Lebanon in favor of Syria. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Beirut, massive crowds, to protest a U.N. resolution for Syrian troop withdrawal. The crowds, organized by the group Hezbollah, far outnumbered recent anti-Syria demonstrations.

And former president Bill Clinton is going back under the knife. He's scheduled for surgery Thursday to remove fluid and scar tissue that built up after his heart bypass six months ago. We'll talk with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the operation in just a few moments.

More headlines in 15 minutes, but now, let's go beyond the headlines.

360 starts now.

Former president Bill Clinton to undergo surgery after complications from his earlier quadruple bypass.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Former president Clinton will be undergoing a procedure this week to remove some fluid and scar tissues from his left chest cavity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, 360 M.D. Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the prognosis for the former president.

Scott Peterson's sister, once behind her brother 100 percent. So what really made her change her mind and write a tell-all book?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNE BIRD, AUTHOR, "BLOOD BROTHER": It was his tone of voice, kind of unconcerned about the body of a woman. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, why Peterson's sister thinks Scott is guilty, and how she thinks he killed his pregnant wife.

Do your kids learn better if they're not surrounded by the opposite sex? Tonight, how some experts say your kid can build a better brain.

And Michael Jackson on trial. No cameras in the courtroom. Hollywood says no problem. Tonight, how Hollywood producers are recreating the Jackson courtroom antics using makeup, wigs, and good old-fashioned bad acting.

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

COOPER: Hey, good evening to you. Thanks for joining us.

We begin tonight in Iraq, where U.S. forces announced today that a team is being established to investigate the American shooting of a freed Italian hostage, and the killing of a security agent at an airport road checkpoint in Baghdad.

The agent received a state funeral yesterday amid cries of outrage by Italians. The journalist, Giuliani Sgrena, who was rescued, has disputed accounts that U.S. soldiers fired warning shots before shooting at the car, and that the shooting was an accident.

In fairness to both sides, it was the middle of the night, and the road on which the car was driving is perhaps the most dangerous in Iraq, if not the world.

I've traveled that road the few times I've been in Iraq, and this is some of the video I shot on the road. It is one of the scariest roads you can ever go on. One worries, as you ride along, about the many says you can die there from bombs, insurgent bullets, and even checkpoints, where you have to slow down before a checkpoint. You have to get out of your vehicle. There is a whole system, it is very elaborate.

With a look at checkpoints in Baghdad today, here's CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Firing low.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Firing low.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At a U.S. checkpoint a year ago, I saw the aftermath of an Iraqi shot when he failed to stop. At the time, the soldiers feared he might have been an insurgent, and had tried to disable his car to save their lives. Later that year, and 65 miles away, Muqdad Abdul, a former Iraqi general, says a similar thing happened to him. He points to the windshield of his car, where he says he was shot at by U.S. soldiers at a checkpoint.

MUQDAD ABDUL, FORMER IRAQI GENERAL (through translator): The first shot was a killer shot. And this, I know from my experience. I ducked, and the shooting lasted for about another 15 seconds.

ROBERTSON: He shows photographs of the many bullet holes through the windshield of his car, and of his own injuries, lays out police maps, and a note apparently written by a U.S. Army officer. It reads, "This vehicle failed to stop for a coalition traffic point. The vehicle was engaged, and hit by small arms fire."

He claims not to have seen the warning for him to stop.

ABDUL: In my personal opinion, people fear these checkpoints more than they fear other attacks and explosions.

ROBERTSON: This day, at a checkpoint on the highway to Baghdad International Airport, the most dangerous road in Iraq, two Iraqi drivers get confused about how to proceed.

(on camera): This is exactly where Iraqi drivers worry the most, they say. They're coming into a checkpoint here, and what they say they fear is that they may be mistaken for a suicide bomber. And that's why this area, they say, is the most dangerous, because they could be shot at.

(voice-over): No one has an accurate account of how many Iraqis and others have been injured in this way. But commanders say they are committed to avoiding casualties.

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM WEBSTER, COMMANDER, 3RD ID: We've trained our soldiers, and we continue to retrain them on techniques of causing a vehicle to slow down and stop far enough away where it doesn't present the throat of an explosive device.

ROBERTSON: And in Iraq, explosive devices like that go off 40 to 60 times every day.

The threat that worries the soldiers the most is the suicide car bomber. So every time a car comes close to them, they told me, it's a critical moment, where self-preservation forces a fast decision.

WEBSTER: If the vehicle looks like a threat of lethal force to the soldier guarding the position, then we may fire warning shots into the ground next to the vehicle, and then we instruct our soldiers to engage the engine block if they possibly can, to disable the vehicle, and try not to kill anyone.

ROBERTSON: On Iraq's roads, on both sides of the checkpoint, caution remains the watchword.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: It is a dangerous road.

You probably think that you know what life is like in Iraq for U.S. soldiers manning checkpoints like that, or anywhere, traveling around on patrol, but the images you're about to see might make you think twice about what you really know is going on in Iraq.

It's hard for cameras really to capture the reality of life in Iraq for American soldiers. It takes a lot of time, and you have to build up trust with the soldiers you're traveling with.

There's a new documentary called "Gunner Palace" that concerns itself not with the right and wrong of politics or policy, but with the reality of what it is like to be a soldier in Iraq, young, tired, overworked, and, at times, fearful, watching, being watched, shooting, being shot at, trying to get from one day to the next and just praying you can come home.

We go beyond the headlines now with a reality, Iraq, and Heidi Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're working with Donald Powers.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the heart of Baghdad, a U.S. Army unit resides in a former Saddam Hussein pleasure palace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We dropped a bomb on it, and now we party in it.

COLLINS: As they wage a war far from home, director Michael Tucker reveals to us how U.S. Army unit deals with its own day-to-day reality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Gunner (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Basically an adult (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: From partying like they were at a summer pool party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to get blown up, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: To shutting down traffic in order to secure a possible improvised explosive device.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down, get down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: To a night raid of a suspected insurgent. It is a reality that we usually don't get from our nightly news, one which brings us face to face with the soldiers fighting on the front lines, and one where the soldiers are free to speak their minds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Part of our $87 billion budget provided for us to have some secondary armor we put on top of our thin-skinned Humvees. This armor was made in Iraq, and it's high-quality metal, and it will probably slow down the shrapnel so that it stays in your body instead of going clean through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: But there are those who couldn't be more proud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we're all, we all talk about how when we're going to go home, how proud we're going to be to be combat vets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: While at the same time, that pride may only be understood by those who wear the uniform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You sit in your couch and you're watching TV and you go to your 9:00 to 5:00 job, and you complain about the pizza being late. There's no way you're going to know how it is here. And someone being sympathetic to this, I don't even know if I'd be sympathetic if I wasn't in the Army.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: In "Gunner Palace," Tucker tackles what could be war's most complex question, how does a soldier rationalize death?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's not really any rationalization behind someone's child dying. I don't think it's worth the death of someone's family member.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL TUCKER, DIRECTOR, "GUNNER PALACE": I think most of the country has looked at the war very politically, and once you're in the middle of it, and you're with these guys, you tend to look at it emotionally, you know, whether you're for it or against it or whether it was right or wrong, it's a war. The soldiers are the only ones who can say that is what it's like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Really the main message of director Michael Tucker. He's also said that he was most interested in the personalities of these men who make up the 25th Field Artillery. While he was filming, he saw them act as policeman, as social workers, and even as politicians at times.

But Anderson, it's their personalities that make them worry a little bit that people are going to and see this movie or this documentary, I should say, and then just talk about it for a little while, maybe a couple of days, and then completely forget.

COOPER: Yes.

COLLINS: Certainly don't want that to happen.

COOPER: Yes, Heidi Collins, thanks very much, fascinating.

360 next, Bill Clinton going under the knife again. A rare complication from his heart surgery causes new problems. 360 M.D. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us live.

Also tonight -- your child's brain. Would your child learn better if they weren't around members of the opposite sex? More and more educators are actually saying yes.

Also, we'll put your brain to the test, a fascinating test you'll take, Heidi's going to take it at home too, which shows you how your brain is different from the opposite sex. You might be surprised.

Also ahead tonight, did Scott Peterson drown Laci in his backyard pool? His sister thinks so. She's writing about it. We're going to talk with her for a behind-the-scenes look at life in the Peterson household.

All that's ahead. First, your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com. Let's take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you feeling, sir?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: I feel fine. You know, I found this condition when I did my regular test, and they said I was in the top 5 percent of men my age in health. But they took a routine X-ray and found out that I had a lot of fluid buildup here, which is quite rare once the fluid goes down.

And so all they have to do is drain it and take that little (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and hold the fluid out. It's a routine sort of deal, and it will knock me out of commission for a week or two, then I'll be back to normal. It's no big deal. And, you know, I felt well enough to go to Asia to try to keep up with President Bush, and we're going to go play golf tomorrow. So I'm not in too bad a shape.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, tomorrow's round of golf will be followed by a trip to the O.R. for Bill Clinton. The 58-year-eight-year-old former president is having complications from September's quadruple heart bypass surgery. He calls Thursday's procedure no big deal.

Let's find out if it is. 360 M.D. Dr. Sanjay Gupta puts Clinton's operation in plain English.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first clues were subtle. During routine exercise near his home in New York, doctors say former president Clinton began to feel the nagging in his chest and shortness of breath.

DR. ALLAN SCHWARTZ, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: He had noticed over the past month or so that on steep hills, he was getting winded a bit more easily. At the same time, he was starting to feel a bit of discomfort in his left chest.

GUPTA: A rare complication of fluid and scar built up in the chest will place Clinton back in the operating room on Thursday.

SCHWARTZ: This is not an emergency. This is being done to assure that he is able to continue to maintain a highly active lifestyle and that he's not at all functionally limited by his lung. But this is not a medically urgent procedure.

GUPTA: Even though Schwartz called the procedure elective, it's clear that President Clinton needs the operation. His discomfort due to fluid, which is causing the thin lining outside the lungs, called the pleura, to thicken and collapse.

SCHWARTZ: Left untouched for a long period of time, any collection in the body is potentially could be seeded with infection, although that risk is extremely low. We don't want to leave him with compromise of normal lung function.

GUPTA: So doctors will perform a procedure to shore off those thickened layers and remove fluid, allowing the lung to heal and re- expand. When asked if Clinton's busy schedule, including recent trips to areas devastated by the tsunami, are to blame for his condition, doctors said...

SCHWARTZ: The short answer is no.

GUPTA: And so the president kept his busy schedule and even talked about the procedure.

CLINTON: It's a routine sort of deal, and it'll knock me out of commission for a week or two, then I'll be back to normal. It's no big deal. And, you know, I felt well enough to go to Asia to try to keep up with President Bush, and we're going to go play golf tomorrow. So I'm not in too bad a shape.

GUPTA: Doctors do predict expect a routine operation and recovery, in and out of the hospital in three to 10 days.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Clinton and President Bush going to play golf tomorrow to raise money for the tsunami victims. It goes to show how sick he is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us. How common is this?

GUPTA: Well, you know, the operation performed by Craig Smith. He's a high-volume guy. He does it here in New York. He said out of the 6,000 operations that he's done, he's only had this happen 10 times. Of course, I bet you he wishes former president Clinton wasn't one of those 10.

COOPER: Is that what you call it, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) high-volume guy?

(CROSSTALK)

GUPTA: ... we have all sorts of weird terms.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

GUPTA: Especially if you're a 360 M.D.

COOPER: I like, I like the inside doctor lingo.

Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much. Glad to hear it's not so serious for the president.

If you own a credit card, you can breathe a little easier tonight with that and the rest of the latest headlines. Let's check in with Erica Hill at Headline News. Hey, Erica.

ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS: Hey, Anderson.

Yes, a bit of a sigh of relief here, this after a federal grand jury indicted three people in what is considered to be one of North America's largest counterfeit credit card scams. The suspects allegedly sold credit card numbers and rung up millions of dollars in purchases over four years. That's a lot of damage. If convicted, each suspect could get up to five years in prison and have to reimburse the money stolen from banks and lenders. They would also face fines of a quarter-million dollars.

Contract talks are stalled, and now some 2,800 union machinists at a Lockheed Martin plant outside Atlanta are on strike. The workers are in a dispute with the company over pay, health care premiums, and retiree insurance benefits. The plant builds fighter and transport planes.

The Navy says there is no hard scientific proof that shows sonar can make dolphins and whales beach themselves. But today, Navy officials admitted they were using sonar on the day several dolphins in the keys beached themselves last week. Nearly two dozen dolphins died, after about 70 became stranded northeast of Key West.

And here's something that may make you want to get out your bike, or your running shoes. Gas prices may hit a record high this spring. The government says the national monthly average could reach $2.15 a gallon. Prices for the busy driving season, which runs from April to September, could run 20 cents per gallon more than last year.

McDonald's may be the place to pick up a cheeseburger and fries, but the company is hoping you'll learn something about good health when you visit the Golden Arches. The new ad campaign is going to feature Olympic athletes and mothers of Olympic hopefuls talking about how to achieve a balanced and active lifestyle, maybe balancing that burger, perhaps, with a salad, Anderson.

COOPER: Cholesterol, I'm loving it. All right, thanks.

HILL: There you go.

COOPER: Thanks very much. That's their new slogan. Erica, thanks very much. We'll see you back in about 30 minutes.

HILL: Sounds good.

COOPER: All right.

360 next, Scott Peterson's half-sister breaking family ties. Find out why she thinks her brother Scott Peterson killed Laci Peterson.

Also ahead tonight, celebrity stalkers. A look at how the problem plagues a lot of people besides celebrities. They get the attention, but everyday Americans, men and women, being stalked. We'll tell you the warning signs to look for.

Also a little later, separating the boys from the girls, how some experts say your kids can build a better brain. We're also going to put your brain to the test. We'll find out how you're different from the opposite sex.

360 next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, for some fans, movie stars are not just idols, they are obsessions. The latest example of a celebrity being stalked, Catherine Zeta Jones, a woman by the name of Dawnette Knight pled guilty to one count of stalking and at sentencing could face five years in prison.

Now, all day, this has been one of the most-viewed stories on CNN.com. Every day, 360's Rudi Bakhtiar looks into the Web stories, try to find out an angle you won't see anywhere else. Rudi, today, what did you find out?

RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we found out was that although, you know, a lot of the cases we hear about seem to come from Hollywood, Anderson, the truth is, anyone can be the target of a stalker.

According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, more than a million women and nearly 400,000 men here in the U.S. are stalked every year. And that translates to this very daunting figure, one in 12 women will be stalked during their lifetime, one in 45 men.

Now, while women are stalked more often than men, it's likely the men that do most of the stalking, that's 87 percent of stalkers are men. And often, the stalker is someone the victim knows. In fact, 59 percent of female victims, 30 percent of male victims, are stalked by someone they know intimately. On average, a stalker will prey on his or her victim for almost two years. And currently, stalking is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It's also a federal offense.

COOPER: What are the key signs that some, I mean, how does it cross the line into stalking?

BAKHTIAR: Well, you usually know if you're being stalked. You know, if somebody's following you, somebody's repeating if they calling you, they're gift, sending you gifts, they're tracking your moves, they're talking to your friends...

COOPER: And what can you do about it? What, what, what can you do if you think you are being stalked?

BAKHTIAR: Even more serious question is, is, you really, if you're in immediate danger, first and foremost, you want to call 911. I mean, don't take any chances. But always trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, take notice. You know, take your threats seriously.

Contact a crisis hotline. Develop a safety plan, a different way of going home. Don't communicate with whoever you think is stalking you. Keep evidence, very important if you want to take the case to police...

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

BAKHTIAR: ... that you have evidence...

COOPER: ... paper trail.

BAKHTIAR: And always tell your family, friends, and roommates so everybody knows about the situation going on in your life.

COOPER: All right, Rudi Bakhtiar, thanks very much.

Scott Peterson's sister, once behind her brother 100 percent. So what really made her change her mind and write a tell-all book?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNE BIRD, AUTHOR, "BLOOD BROTHER": It was his tone of voice, kind of unconcerned about the body of a woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, why Peterson's sister thinks Scott is guilty and how she thinks he killed his pregnant wife.

Do you kids learn better if they're not surrounded by the opposite sex? Tonight, how some experts say your kid can build a better brain.

360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: State of California versus Scott Peterson. We, the jury in the above-entitled cause, find the defendant, Scott Lee Peterson, guilty of the crime of murder of Laci Denise Peterson. We, the jury in the above-entitled cause, find the defendant, Scott Lee Peterson, guilty of the crime of murder of baby Conner Peterson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, the next court date for Scott Peterson is next Wednesday. He's expected to be sentenced to death for murdering his wife and Conner Peterson.

After sentencing, he's going to be transported from the San Mateo County jail to San Quentin's death row, if he is, in fact, put to death.

Beyond the headlines, now, there's the story of Peterson's half- sister, Anne Bird is her name. She stood by her brother's side until, she says, the truth started to sink in. She's written a book now. Of course, everyone does nowadays. It's called "Blood Brother: 33 Reasons My Brother, Scott Peterson, Is Guilty."

Anne Bird and her -- attorney, Gloria Allred, joined me earlier. And I started by asking Anne when she first thought that Scott Peterson was hiding something.

ANNE BIRD, AUTHOR, "BLOOD BROTHER": You know, that was a slow conclusion for me. There were things that led up to that.

For instance, when the bodies washed ashore in San Francisco, you know, I phoned him and told him that they found the body of a woman. And he said, you know, They'll find out it's not Laci, and they'll keep looking for her. And I said, Well, they found the body of a baby. And he said, Who would do such a thing? And yelled it. And that was a turning point for me.

COOPER: Why that? I mean, what was it about that -- where as before -- I mean, there had been other things in the past, but something about that moment that -- that the light went on?

BIRD: You know, it was his tone of voice. You know, so kind of unconcerned about the body of a woman, but then the body of a baby seemed very important to him.

COOPER: When you reconnected with the Peterson family, you -- and before you even met Scott Peterson, he was described to you as the golden child.

BIRD: Right.

COOPER: Tell me about that. What did they mean ability that?

BIRD: I heard that the first time from Don, who was given up for adoption two years previous to me. And when he described the Peterson family, he said that Scott is the golden boy, and you'll see what I mean when you meet him. And I did. I saw right away, he's all- American, athletic, handsome, charming. I knew who he was talking about right away.

COOPER: And when you first met Laci Peterson, what did you think of her?

BIRD: She's adorable. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) adorable. Beautiful, you know, her big brown eyes and always smiling. You know, something interesting to say all the time. Just fascinating.

COOPER: Gloria, did the prosecution ever really come up with exactly how Laci Peterson died?

ALLRED: No, and I think that they made a point of that they didn't have to show how she died or for that matter, exactly, when. I mean, there have been various theories that it might have been December 23rd in the evening after Sharon Rocha, her mother, spoke with her. Or it might have been in the morning of December 24th.

COOPER: Did -- did -- when he was staying at your house, I mean, did he seem like a man search for his wife?

BIRD: Not at all. You know, he was flirting with our babysitter.

COOPER: You said, flirting with the babysitter, how do you mean?

BIRD: You know, there was eye contact, gestures, you know, it's difficult to explain, but he was definitely flirting with her.

COOPER: She's a 22-year-old young woman? BIRD: Yes, and she noticed it right away.

COOPER: When you saw that, what did you think?

BIRD: You know, it was just all so bizarre, and I just couldn't figure out what was going on. And I'm thinking to myself, was he really flirting with our babysitter. You know, it was -- does he think that Laci's not going to be found, and so he's moving on?

COOPER: Did you ever confront him? I mean, did you say -- did you ever ask him, did you kill your wife?

BIRD: I didn't, no.

COOPER: Because?

BIRD: I just couldn't.

COOPER: You've had one final meeting with Scott Peterson, a little bit more than a month ago, I think. What was that like?

BIRD: That was really hard. You know, it was the first time that I saw him -- kind of after putting everything together myself and seeing him as a guilty person. And it was really hard. You know, it's really to look at him, and to kind of -- try and understand all this.

COOPER: There are -- no doubt, you've gotten criticism for writing this book. They're saying, you know, you're in it for the money. Basically, why did this book need to get written, he's already been convicted.

BIRD: Right.

COOPER: Why write this book?

BIRD: Right. Several reasons. One of them was for myself. This was very relieving for me to have the truth out there. And also there's a part of me that wants Laci and Conner to have, you know, kind of the rest of their story.

COOPER: Gloria Allred, thanks very much. And Anne Bird, thanks very much.

ALLRED: Thank you.

BIRD: Thank you so much.

COOPER: Nice to meet you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: There you know.

360 next, boosting your child's brain power. Educators say there's a simple way to do it. Find out how. Also, we're going to put your brain to the test, as part of our special series. You don't need any pencils. You don't need any paper. Just four questions, it will test what kind of brain you have. Take it at home.

Also opportunities tonight, the Michael Jackson trial. No cameras in the court room, so have you seen these impersonators? Well, you've kind of got to see it to believe it. "Inside the Box" will have that. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: The real differences between boys and girls and their brains. We're putting you to the test. 360 next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welton Academy, Hello. Yes, he is. Just a moment. Mr. Nolan, it's for you. It's God. He says we should have girls at Welton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That's boys being boys and missing the girls in the movie "Dead Poet's Society," set an all boys private school.

Single sex education is common in private schools, and a growing trend in public ones. Here's a fact for you, 8-years-ago only four public schools had single sex classrooms. Today, there are 156 schools in 32 states, and more are on the way. The school of thought from some experts is, when you separate the boys from the girls, they learn more and they learn differently.

Tonight, as we continue our special series "Of Two Minds," one mother shares why she has put her boys in a single-sex school.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elliot Burgess wasn't always this happy at school. His mother says that's because last year at his co-ed school, sometimes their expected her boy to learn like a girl.

LISA BURGESS, MOTHER: Elliot is a good writer, but his handwriting isn't as nice as some girls. And sometimes he would have to redo a story because his handwriting didn't look like other -- some of the girl's handwriting. And so, Elliot had come home and was with a little, you know, I don't want to write anymore, because I can't write like that.

COHEN: So the Burgess' decided to move their son, now in 3rd grade, and his little brother Emory to an all boy school, the University School in Shaker Heights, Ohio -- where teachers told him, it's fine if his hand writing is not beautiful. LOIS TRAWEEK, TEACHER, UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: Their fine motor skills aren't the same as they are with the little girls.

COHEN: But boys spatial and mechanical parts of the brain are more developed according to many scientist. Boys they say are hardwired for action, so the classrooms here were designed with lots of space to build and move.

RICHARD HAWLEY, HEADMASTER, UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: There are area's of concrete floors and drains where they can make things. What you'll see is big spaces and lots of activity, construction activity.

COHEN: Here, boys don't have to sit still in their chairs or even sit in chairs at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just like moving around.

COHEN: Co-ed schools aren't always set up that way.

DR. LEONARD SAX, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR SINGLE SEX PUBLIC EDUCATION: What's the first thing you hear teachers say in most of those classrooms, please, everybody, sit down and be quiet. That's easier for most 5- and 6-year-old girls than it is for most 5- and 6- year-old boys.

COHEN: Dr. Leonard Sax, author of the book, "Why Gender Matters," says new trends in education, such as teaching children to read in kindergarten instead of first grade, pits boys at a disadvantage, because the language centers in their brains develop more slowly.

SAX: Trying to teach a 5-year-old boy to read is about as developmentally appropriate as trying to teach a 2 1/2-year-old girl to read.

COHEN: So Sax says they should be taught separately. Not everyone buys that theory. Some say it just reinforces gender stereotypes, but Elliot's parents love it.

LISA BURGESS, MOTHER: He's very excited. He's excited to go to school, and then after school, I mean, we talk about school all day, until bedtime. We literally talk about school until bedtime.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Anderson, you just heard how boys' and girls' brains operate differently. Now, based on what we know about our wiring, psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania's Brain Behavior Laboratory have developed tests that they say show some of the differences between the sexes.

Now, let's take a look. Anderson, I am going to give you four questions...

COOPER: Wait a minute, what, are you going to test me now?

COHEN: I'm going to test you now.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: ... I hate this kind of thing, but this is something that people at home -- they can take this test as well, right?

COHEN: That's right. They can join in, and we can see if they're smarter than you or you're smarter than them.

COOPER: I have no doubt they're smarter than me. Let's...

COHEN: Well, let's see how it goes.

COOPER: Now, what does this test show?

COHEN: This test will show at the end whether you have more of a girl brain or a boy brain.

COOPER: All right.

COHEN: OK, so we'll find out. Now, you have eight seconds to figure out the right answer for this -- all of these questions, eight seconds per question.

Anderson, look at the two lines on the top. Which two lines below are in exactly the same position and direction? So you want to match those two on top with two lines down below.

COOPER: OK. Do I give -- do I say the answer?

COHEN: No, actually, I want you to keep quiet until the seconds are up. OK. Give everyone a chance at home to figure this out. OK, and there are the answers. C and H. There you go. So there are the two answers.

COOPER: Well, I actually got that one. So there you go.

COHEN: That's great. Well, there you go. We'll tell you what that means in a second.

Now, we have a second question, and this involves a truck. Take a look at that truck. It's on a slope, it's not moving, and about half that white tank is filled with water. Which line below represents the water surface in the tank? If you could see the water, what would that line look like? So you have got eight seconds, rather, the clock is ticking.

COOPER: All right, I think I have my answer. All right. Is it G?

COHEN: It is the line marked O.

COOPER: What?

COHEN: That is the one. So yeah, you didn't get that one right.

COOPER: Yeah, all right.

COHEN: So yes, that one -- that one was surprising to me, too. I didn't get that one either.

Now, both of these, it's interesting, are spatial reasoning tests. Scientists tell us that those are the kinds of things that males tends to be better at, imagining objects relating to each other in space.

Now, let's take a look at two more questions, and take a look at the picture in this room.

COOPER: I like the cheesy music, by the way. All right.

COHEN: Isn't it fun? It just makes you want to dance. Try to memorize as many objects as possible in this room. You have fifteen seconds to memorize as many objects as you can. So go.

COOPER: Do I have to count them, or I just have to remember them?

COHEN: No, just remember them, like there's the bottle...

COOPER: Oh, yeah, yeah, OK.

COHEN: I don't want to give you too many hints.

COOPER: I got it. Oh, goodness. All right. All right. So now what?

COHEN: All righty, so which of these objects are in the room? We're showing you three objects. Which of those objects were in the room that you were just staring at for 15 seconds?

COOPER: All right, the blue jacket was. Do I have to name them all?

COHEN: Right, right, well, name to yourself, keep it to yourself.

COOPER: I was hoping only one of them was in the room, because that's the only one I really remember. I guess -- I don't know -- keep to myself, all right.

COHEN: It could be all of them, none of them, some of them.

The answer is actually that none of them were. You thought it was a blue jacket.

COOPER: What?

COHEN: It was actually -- look, it's not...

COOPER: Oh, yeah, look at that.

COHEN: It's not blue. And there's an umbrella, but it's not black.

COOPER: Man, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), all right.

COHEN: There is a lamp, but it doesn't look like that.

COOPER: I knew there was a kid in the room.

COHEN: That's right. If they had shown the kid, you would have got that right.

COOPER: Yeah.

COHEN: OK. Well, speaking of faces, let's take a look at two faces. She's a little scary. Which of these faces is more sad than the other, or are they equally sad?

COOPER: First of all, I don't think you should have used Lou Dobbs' face in this, but anyway. Which one is more sad?

COHEN: More sad. You've got eight seconds, or now a little bit less than that. Which one looks more sad.

COOPER: Neither looks good -- neither looks happy, I got to tell you. It's like Lou talking about outsourcing. More sad?

COHEN: Looks like your time is up, so obviously you didn't get that one. The one on the left is more sad.

COOPER: That one I got.

COHEN: You did get that one? OK, I guess, well, I don't know (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: So men and women see these things differently?

COHEN: Right, and these two questions, these are female questions, women generally do better than men on these questions. They're generally good at visual memory tests requiring attention to detail, like that room with all the objects, and reading people's emotions, trying to figure out -- that last one, for example, I got very, very quickly.

Now, if your answers -- your answers were and everyone at home -- if you're a little bit of both, you answered some of the male questions and some of the female questions, that doesn't mean you're mixed up about your gender. What's important is that scientists say that women get the women questions very quickly; men take longer. They may get them, but they take longer -- Anderson.

COOPER: Interesting. All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks. Fascinating.

Tomorrow night, we continue our special series, "Of Two Minds," the differences between men and women. Body talk at the office. Are you sending unintended messages to coworkers of the opposite sex? This is something you definitely want to see. Thursday, the humor gap between men and women, how they see humor differently. And on Friday, blame it on the hormones. The male midlife crisis. Yikes, something to look forward to, guys, and male menopause.

Big story today out of Washington, D.C. about the ease with which potential terrorists can buy guns in this country. Details on that and other top stories right now. Here's Erica Hill from "HEADLINE NEWS." Hey, Erica.

HILL: Hey, Anderson. This one is a little scary. Turns out loopholes in U.S. guns laws can put firearms in the hands oaf terrorist suspects, and it's all legal. The Government Accountability Office reports that dozens of people on U.S. watch lists got government approval to buy guns last year.

Now, the laws do not automatically bar a person belonging to a terror group from buying a gun. The GAO wants the FBI to do a better job in managing background checks on gun buyers.

Iran is threatening to stop negotiating with France, Britain and Germany if the European powers keep insisting Tehran abandon all atomic activities. Right now, Iran is participating in the negotiations in Geneva. Leaders in Iran say the country's nuclear program exists as an alternative source of energy, to provide electricity. Washington says it's a front to build weapons.

The FBI has received hundreds of leads in the killings of a federal judge's mother and husband, but so far, no arrests. DNA tests have been performed on cigarette butts taken from the Chicago home where the bodies were found, but the FBI says the DNA didn't match any samples that are already on file. A $50,000 award is being offered in the case.

And that's going to do it from the "HEADLINE NEWS" news room. Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: All right, Erica, thanks very much.

360 next, Michael Jackson trial. No cameras inside the courtroom, but, hey, in Hollywood, that doesn't matter. They got impersonators. The drama is being played out "Inside the Box." We'll show you how.

Plus, 360 e-mail. A viewer inspires us to do the talking points on my debut on "The Iron Chef."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, there are no cameras in the court for the molestation trial of Michael Jackson. No pictures of Jackson's defense grilling the accuser's brother today, pouncing on his credibility. The boy says he saw Jackson molest his brother, today changed his story about a sexually explicit magazine, that he claims Jackson showed him. Saying it's not the same magazine being used as evidence. The brother also admitted to lying in another suit. Now, we can't show you the inside of the courtroom, but Hollywood has found a way to do just that. It's kind of a -- well, it's an odd way anyway.

CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a look "Inside the Box."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The defendant isn't looking quite like himself these days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little too human.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He looks totally different.

MOOS (on camera): Another surgery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another surgery, for real?

MOOS: No, I'm kidding.

(voice-over): But we kid you not when we say, the E! entertainment network is doing daily reenactments of the Jackson trial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's an actor.

MOOS (on camera): Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of here.

MOOS (voice-over): That's an actor playing the prosecutor, talking about Michael taking kids on an X-rated Internet surfing trip.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Naked ladies.

MOOS: And that's an actor playing defense attorney, Tom Mesereau Jr..

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These charges are fake. Ten silly, ridiculous...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're honor, I'm going to object to his argumentative.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sustained.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they're wearing these rugs that look like they've got live farm animals on their heads.

MOOS: For the record, E! says that's really is the actor's own hair styled to look like Mesereau's. As for Edward Moss, a Jackson impersonator, he's destined to silently emote from his seat, unless the real Jackson testifies.

(on camera): Some people said he was overacting, but I mean, he's got nothing to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How could you overact if you're sitting there in white paste. Everyone once in a while he goes...

MOOS: Can you win an Emmy for smirking and shifting your weight? The dialogue comes word for word from the trial transcript. When real court ends for the day, it's e-mailed to the studio and selected portions end up on teleprompters, and actors do deliver on shows that air the following day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Viewer discretion is advised.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He happened upon seeing Michael Jackson masturbating himself with one hand, while Jackson's other hand...

MOOS: It's enough to make the guy anchoring the show say -- TV critics have been merciless. It is cheap, creepy, foolish, and lurid, and those are it's good point. You might remember the guy playing Michael Jackson from "Scary Movie III." E! Entertainment has done this before, reenacting O.J.'s civil trial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's no fun being O.J.

MOOS: Maybe the same goes for M.J.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's instant replay of real life, using fake people. I give it four rolls of Velveeta, it's so cheesy.

MOOS: If they can reenact Michael's trial, what's next, Prince Charles and Camilla's wedding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objection.

MOOS: Sustained.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Bizarre. Coming up next on 360, another different TV show, "The Iron Chef." I'm actually on it. I have no idea why. We're going to show you some of the behind the scenes looks, based on a viewers idea. We'll tell you ahead.

Plus, Dan Rather about to leave the anchor chair, and under attack. The (UNINTELLIGIBLE) are out for this guy. We're going to take that to "The Nth Degree."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time to check some viewer e-mail.

Tonight, Julie from Huntsville, North Carolina, turns the tables on us.

I recently appeared on an episode of "Iron Chef America," I think it was on Sunday night, the cooking show on the Food Network. And Julie was watching closely.

She writes, "Just wondering if your 'Talking Points' as a taster on 'Iron Chef America' will be aired anytime soon?"

Now for those of you who don't know, "Talking Points" is when we show you the phrases that politicians use over and over and over again, instead of answering real question. And it's true, I saw the "Iron Chef" and I did repeat myself an awful lot. The truth is, I didn't really know what to talk about, because I don't know anything about food. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Number one, it's all about blending.

(on camera): I think the blending of it is really wonderful. The flavor is blending so well together. The blending of favor.

(voice-over): Number two if you like it, why not say you love it.

(on camera): I love the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It's lovely. I love the -- I love the -- I love the lightness. I love the presentation.

(voice-over): And finally, to cover for a total lack of culinary knowledge fixate on the presentation.

(on camera): The presentation is nice. The presentation. The presentation of it. Presentation. The presentation -- the presentation is nice, I'm a little concerned because there's a lot of, actually, finger print smudges over the plate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: I didn't know what I was talking about. And I was just copying what all those other food experts were saying. They all kept talking about blending. I don't -- I still don't know what blend is.

Anyway, something on your mind, you can e-mail us at cnn.com/360. Click on the instant feed back link. We can read them -- we try to read them all on the air, we can't. But we do read them at least.

Tonight, taking old grudge to "The Nth Degree." This just makes us sad. Dan Rather retires from the "CBS Evening News" anchor chair tomorrow night, after 24 years and a serious controversy over a report he and his network swore by, and then publicly had to disavow as being based on questionable sources.

How this balances out decades of what, even his detractors say, has been first-class reporting vs. a messy late career mistake, will be for the future to judge. But the past has made its judgment already in the form of Walter Cronkite, Rather's predecessor for 19 years, known in those days and sometimes even now, as the most trusted man in America. Cronkite was forced to retire at 65 to make way for Dan Rather. He's never been a fan of Rather's and choose to make that very clear yesterday on Wolf Blitzer's program. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALTER CRONKITE, FORMER CBS NEWS ANCHOR: Well, I think that there was a general feeling among quite a lot of us around the CBS shop, and indeed some of the viewers, that Dan gave the impression of playing a role more than simply trying to deliver the news to the audience. I don't know -- it's a personality question. I don't think he was thinking of himself of playing the role, although I don't know that. But that is the impression that came across.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Cronkite's not the only colleague of Rather's to get in a few punches just before he leaves the CBS anchor chair. Everyone, of course, is entitled to their opinion. Had Cronkite, an icon of broadcast journalism, someone many of us respect, expressed that opinion 25-years-ago, we would have called that honest and brave. Now, all those decades later, it just seems, well, kind of mean.

I'm Anderson Cooper, thanks for watching 360. Prime time coverage continues with "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

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

Aired March 8, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: I'm Anderson Cooper.
Here are the top stories at this hour.

President Bush links the spread of democracy and freedom to curbing terrorism. During a speech today at the National Defense University, president said terrorists are less likely to strike the U.S. if they're concerned about their own security.

Demonstrations in Lebanon in favor of Syria. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Beirut, massive crowds, to protest a U.N. resolution for Syrian troop withdrawal. The crowds, organized by the group Hezbollah, far outnumbered recent anti-Syria demonstrations.

And former president Bill Clinton is going back under the knife. He's scheduled for surgery Thursday to remove fluid and scar tissue that built up after his heart bypass six months ago. We'll talk with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the operation in just a few moments.

More headlines in 15 minutes, but now, let's go beyond the headlines.

360 starts now.

Former president Bill Clinton to undergo surgery after complications from his earlier quadruple bypass.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Former president Clinton will be undergoing a procedure this week to remove some fluid and scar tissues from his left chest cavity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, 360 M.D. Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the prognosis for the former president.

Scott Peterson's sister, once behind her brother 100 percent. So what really made her change her mind and write a tell-all book?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNE BIRD, AUTHOR, "BLOOD BROTHER": It was his tone of voice, kind of unconcerned about the body of a woman. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, why Peterson's sister thinks Scott is guilty, and how she thinks he killed his pregnant wife.

Do your kids learn better if they're not surrounded by the opposite sex? Tonight, how some experts say your kid can build a better brain.

And Michael Jackson on trial. No cameras in the courtroom. Hollywood says no problem. Tonight, how Hollywood producers are recreating the Jackson courtroom antics using makeup, wigs, and good old-fashioned bad acting.

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

COOPER: Hey, good evening to you. Thanks for joining us.

We begin tonight in Iraq, where U.S. forces announced today that a team is being established to investigate the American shooting of a freed Italian hostage, and the killing of a security agent at an airport road checkpoint in Baghdad.

The agent received a state funeral yesterday amid cries of outrage by Italians. The journalist, Giuliani Sgrena, who was rescued, has disputed accounts that U.S. soldiers fired warning shots before shooting at the car, and that the shooting was an accident.

In fairness to both sides, it was the middle of the night, and the road on which the car was driving is perhaps the most dangerous in Iraq, if not the world.

I've traveled that road the few times I've been in Iraq, and this is some of the video I shot on the road. It is one of the scariest roads you can ever go on. One worries, as you ride along, about the many says you can die there from bombs, insurgent bullets, and even checkpoints, where you have to slow down before a checkpoint. You have to get out of your vehicle. There is a whole system, it is very elaborate.

With a look at checkpoints in Baghdad today, here's CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Firing low.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Firing low.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At a U.S. checkpoint a year ago, I saw the aftermath of an Iraqi shot when he failed to stop. At the time, the soldiers feared he might have been an insurgent, and had tried to disable his car to save their lives. Later that year, and 65 miles away, Muqdad Abdul, a former Iraqi general, says a similar thing happened to him. He points to the windshield of his car, where he says he was shot at by U.S. soldiers at a checkpoint.

MUQDAD ABDUL, FORMER IRAQI GENERAL (through translator): The first shot was a killer shot. And this, I know from my experience. I ducked, and the shooting lasted for about another 15 seconds.

ROBERTSON: He shows photographs of the many bullet holes through the windshield of his car, and of his own injuries, lays out police maps, and a note apparently written by a U.S. Army officer. It reads, "This vehicle failed to stop for a coalition traffic point. The vehicle was engaged, and hit by small arms fire."

He claims not to have seen the warning for him to stop.

ABDUL: In my personal opinion, people fear these checkpoints more than they fear other attacks and explosions.

ROBERTSON: This day, at a checkpoint on the highway to Baghdad International Airport, the most dangerous road in Iraq, two Iraqi drivers get confused about how to proceed.

(on camera): This is exactly where Iraqi drivers worry the most, they say. They're coming into a checkpoint here, and what they say they fear is that they may be mistaken for a suicide bomber. And that's why this area, they say, is the most dangerous, because they could be shot at.

(voice-over): No one has an accurate account of how many Iraqis and others have been injured in this way. But commanders say they are committed to avoiding casualties.

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM WEBSTER, COMMANDER, 3RD ID: We've trained our soldiers, and we continue to retrain them on techniques of causing a vehicle to slow down and stop far enough away where it doesn't present the throat of an explosive device.

ROBERTSON: And in Iraq, explosive devices like that go off 40 to 60 times every day.

The threat that worries the soldiers the most is the suicide car bomber. So every time a car comes close to them, they told me, it's a critical moment, where self-preservation forces a fast decision.

WEBSTER: If the vehicle looks like a threat of lethal force to the soldier guarding the position, then we may fire warning shots into the ground next to the vehicle, and then we instruct our soldiers to engage the engine block if they possibly can, to disable the vehicle, and try not to kill anyone.

ROBERTSON: On Iraq's roads, on both sides of the checkpoint, caution remains the watchword.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: It is a dangerous road.

You probably think that you know what life is like in Iraq for U.S. soldiers manning checkpoints like that, or anywhere, traveling around on patrol, but the images you're about to see might make you think twice about what you really know is going on in Iraq.

It's hard for cameras really to capture the reality of life in Iraq for American soldiers. It takes a lot of time, and you have to build up trust with the soldiers you're traveling with.

There's a new documentary called "Gunner Palace" that concerns itself not with the right and wrong of politics or policy, but with the reality of what it is like to be a soldier in Iraq, young, tired, overworked, and, at times, fearful, watching, being watched, shooting, being shot at, trying to get from one day to the next and just praying you can come home.

We go beyond the headlines now with a reality, Iraq, and Heidi Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're working with Donald Powers.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the heart of Baghdad, a U.S. Army unit resides in a former Saddam Hussein pleasure palace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We dropped a bomb on it, and now we party in it.

COLLINS: As they wage a war far from home, director Michael Tucker reveals to us how U.S. Army unit deals with its own day-to-day reality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Gunner (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Basically an adult (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: From partying like they were at a summer pool party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to get blown up, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: To shutting down traffic in order to secure a possible improvised explosive device.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down, get down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: To a night raid of a suspected insurgent. It is a reality that we usually don't get from our nightly news, one which brings us face to face with the soldiers fighting on the front lines, and one where the soldiers are free to speak their minds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Part of our $87 billion budget provided for us to have some secondary armor we put on top of our thin-skinned Humvees. This armor was made in Iraq, and it's high-quality metal, and it will probably slow down the shrapnel so that it stays in your body instead of going clean through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: But there are those who couldn't be more proud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we're all, we all talk about how when we're going to go home, how proud we're going to be to be combat vets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: While at the same time, that pride may only be understood by those who wear the uniform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You sit in your couch and you're watching TV and you go to your 9:00 to 5:00 job, and you complain about the pizza being late. There's no way you're going to know how it is here. And someone being sympathetic to this, I don't even know if I'd be sympathetic if I wasn't in the Army.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: In "Gunner Palace," Tucker tackles what could be war's most complex question, how does a soldier rationalize death?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GUNNER'S PALACE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's not really any rationalization behind someone's child dying. I don't think it's worth the death of someone's family member.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL TUCKER, DIRECTOR, "GUNNER PALACE": I think most of the country has looked at the war very politically, and once you're in the middle of it, and you're with these guys, you tend to look at it emotionally, you know, whether you're for it or against it or whether it was right or wrong, it's a war. The soldiers are the only ones who can say that is what it's like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Really the main message of director Michael Tucker. He's also said that he was most interested in the personalities of these men who make up the 25th Field Artillery. While he was filming, he saw them act as policeman, as social workers, and even as politicians at times.

But Anderson, it's their personalities that make them worry a little bit that people are going to and see this movie or this documentary, I should say, and then just talk about it for a little while, maybe a couple of days, and then completely forget.

COOPER: Yes.

COLLINS: Certainly don't want that to happen.

COOPER: Yes, Heidi Collins, thanks very much, fascinating.

360 next, Bill Clinton going under the knife again. A rare complication from his heart surgery causes new problems. 360 M.D. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us live.

Also tonight -- your child's brain. Would your child learn better if they weren't around members of the opposite sex? More and more educators are actually saying yes.

Also, we'll put your brain to the test, a fascinating test you'll take, Heidi's going to take it at home too, which shows you how your brain is different from the opposite sex. You might be surprised.

Also ahead tonight, did Scott Peterson drown Laci in his backyard pool? His sister thinks so. She's writing about it. We're going to talk with her for a behind-the-scenes look at life in the Peterson household.

All that's ahead. First, your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com. Let's take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you feeling, sir?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: I feel fine. You know, I found this condition when I did my regular test, and they said I was in the top 5 percent of men my age in health. But they took a routine X-ray and found out that I had a lot of fluid buildup here, which is quite rare once the fluid goes down.

And so all they have to do is drain it and take that little (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and hold the fluid out. It's a routine sort of deal, and it will knock me out of commission for a week or two, then I'll be back to normal. It's no big deal. And, you know, I felt well enough to go to Asia to try to keep up with President Bush, and we're going to go play golf tomorrow. So I'm not in too bad a shape.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, tomorrow's round of golf will be followed by a trip to the O.R. for Bill Clinton. The 58-year-eight-year-old former president is having complications from September's quadruple heart bypass surgery. He calls Thursday's procedure no big deal.

Let's find out if it is. 360 M.D. Dr. Sanjay Gupta puts Clinton's operation in plain English.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first clues were subtle. During routine exercise near his home in New York, doctors say former president Clinton began to feel the nagging in his chest and shortness of breath.

DR. ALLAN SCHWARTZ, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: He had noticed over the past month or so that on steep hills, he was getting winded a bit more easily. At the same time, he was starting to feel a bit of discomfort in his left chest.

GUPTA: A rare complication of fluid and scar built up in the chest will place Clinton back in the operating room on Thursday.

SCHWARTZ: This is not an emergency. This is being done to assure that he is able to continue to maintain a highly active lifestyle and that he's not at all functionally limited by his lung. But this is not a medically urgent procedure.

GUPTA: Even though Schwartz called the procedure elective, it's clear that President Clinton needs the operation. His discomfort due to fluid, which is causing the thin lining outside the lungs, called the pleura, to thicken and collapse.

SCHWARTZ: Left untouched for a long period of time, any collection in the body is potentially could be seeded with infection, although that risk is extremely low. We don't want to leave him with compromise of normal lung function.

GUPTA: So doctors will perform a procedure to shore off those thickened layers and remove fluid, allowing the lung to heal and re- expand. When asked if Clinton's busy schedule, including recent trips to areas devastated by the tsunami, are to blame for his condition, doctors said...

SCHWARTZ: The short answer is no.

GUPTA: And so the president kept his busy schedule and even talked about the procedure.

CLINTON: It's a routine sort of deal, and it'll knock me out of commission for a week or two, then I'll be back to normal. It's no big deal. And, you know, I felt well enough to go to Asia to try to keep up with President Bush, and we're going to go play golf tomorrow. So I'm not in too bad a shape.

GUPTA: Doctors do predict expect a routine operation and recovery, in and out of the hospital in three to 10 days.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Clinton and President Bush going to play golf tomorrow to raise money for the tsunami victims. It goes to show how sick he is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us. How common is this?

GUPTA: Well, you know, the operation performed by Craig Smith. He's a high-volume guy. He does it here in New York. He said out of the 6,000 operations that he's done, he's only had this happen 10 times. Of course, I bet you he wishes former president Clinton wasn't one of those 10.

COOPER: Is that what you call it, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) high-volume guy?

(CROSSTALK)

GUPTA: ... we have all sorts of weird terms.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

GUPTA: Especially if you're a 360 M.D.

COOPER: I like, I like the inside doctor lingo.

Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much. Glad to hear it's not so serious for the president.

If you own a credit card, you can breathe a little easier tonight with that and the rest of the latest headlines. Let's check in with Erica Hill at Headline News. Hey, Erica.

ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS: Hey, Anderson.

Yes, a bit of a sigh of relief here, this after a federal grand jury indicted three people in what is considered to be one of North America's largest counterfeit credit card scams. The suspects allegedly sold credit card numbers and rung up millions of dollars in purchases over four years. That's a lot of damage. If convicted, each suspect could get up to five years in prison and have to reimburse the money stolen from banks and lenders. They would also face fines of a quarter-million dollars.

Contract talks are stalled, and now some 2,800 union machinists at a Lockheed Martin plant outside Atlanta are on strike. The workers are in a dispute with the company over pay, health care premiums, and retiree insurance benefits. The plant builds fighter and transport planes.

The Navy says there is no hard scientific proof that shows sonar can make dolphins and whales beach themselves. But today, Navy officials admitted they were using sonar on the day several dolphins in the keys beached themselves last week. Nearly two dozen dolphins died, after about 70 became stranded northeast of Key West.

And here's something that may make you want to get out your bike, or your running shoes. Gas prices may hit a record high this spring. The government says the national monthly average could reach $2.15 a gallon. Prices for the busy driving season, which runs from April to September, could run 20 cents per gallon more than last year.

McDonald's may be the place to pick up a cheeseburger and fries, but the company is hoping you'll learn something about good health when you visit the Golden Arches. The new ad campaign is going to feature Olympic athletes and mothers of Olympic hopefuls talking about how to achieve a balanced and active lifestyle, maybe balancing that burger, perhaps, with a salad, Anderson.

COOPER: Cholesterol, I'm loving it. All right, thanks.

HILL: There you go.

COOPER: Thanks very much. That's their new slogan. Erica, thanks very much. We'll see you back in about 30 minutes.

HILL: Sounds good.

COOPER: All right.

360 next, Scott Peterson's half-sister breaking family ties. Find out why she thinks her brother Scott Peterson killed Laci Peterson.

Also ahead tonight, celebrity stalkers. A look at how the problem plagues a lot of people besides celebrities. They get the attention, but everyday Americans, men and women, being stalked. We'll tell you the warning signs to look for.

Also a little later, separating the boys from the girls, how some experts say your kids can build a better brain. We're also going to put your brain to the test. We'll find out how you're different from the opposite sex.

360 next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, for some fans, movie stars are not just idols, they are obsessions. The latest example of a celebrity being stalked, Catherine Zeta Jones, a woman by the name of Dawnette Knight pled guilty to one count of stalking and at sentencing could face five years in prison.

Now, all day, this has been one of the most-viewed stories on CNN.com. Every day, 360's Rudi Bakhtiar looks into the Web stories, try to find out an angle you won't see anywhere else. Rudi, today, what did you find out?

RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we found out was that although, you know, a lot of the cases we hear about seem to come from Hollywood, Anderson, the truth is, anyone can be the target of a stalker.

According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, more than a million women and nearly 400,000 men here in the U.S. are stalked every year. And that translates to this very daunting figure, one in 12 women will be stalked during their lifetime, one in 45 men.

Now, while women are stalked more often than men, it's likely the men that do most of the stalking, that's 87 percent of stalkers are men. And often, the stalker is someone the victim knows. In fact, 59 percent of female victims, 30 percent of male victims, are stalked by someone they know intimately. On average, a stalker will prey on his or her victim for almost two years. And currently, stalking is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It's also a federal offense.

COOPER: What are the key signs that some, I mean, how does it cross the line into stalking?

BAKHTIAR: Well, you usually know if you're being stalked. You know, if somebody's following you, somebody's repeating if they calling you, they're gift, sending you gifts, they're tracking your moves, they're talking to your friends...

COOPER: And what can you do about it? What, what, what can you do if you think you are being stalked?

BAKHTIAR: Even more serious question is, is, you really, if you're in immediate danger, first and foremost, you want to call 911. I mean, don't take any chances. But always trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, take notice. You know, take your threats seriously.

Contact a crisis hotline. Develop a safety plan, a different way of going home. Don't communicate with whoever you think is stalking you. Keep evidence, very important if you want to take the case to police...

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

BAKHTIAR: ... that you have evidence...

COOPER: ... paper trail.

BAKHTIAR: And always tell your family, friends, and roommates so everybody knows about the situation going on in your life.

COOPER: All right, Rudi Bakhtiar, thanks very much.

Scott Peterson's sister, once behind her brother 100 percent. So what really made her change her mind and write a tell-all book?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNE BIRD, AUTHOR, "BLOOD BROTHER": It was his tone of voice, kind of unconcerned about the body of a woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, why Peterson's sister thinks Scott is guilty and how she thinks he killed his pregnant wife.

Do you kids learn better if they're not surrounded by the opposite sex? Tonight, how some experts say your kid can build a better brain.

360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: State of California versus Scott Peterson. We, the jury in the above-entitled cause, find the defendant, Scott Lee Peterson, guilty of the crime of murder of Laci Denise Peterson. We, the jury in the above-entitled cause, find the defendant, Scott Lee Peterson, guilty of the crime of murder of baby Conner Peterson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, the next court date for Scott Peterson is next Wednesday. He's expected to be sentenced to death for murdering his wife and Conner Peterson.

After sentencing, he's going to be transported from the San Mateo County jail to San Quentin's death row, if he is, in fact, put to death.

Beyond the headlines, now, there's the story of Peterson's half- sister, Anne Bird is her name. She stood by her brother's side until, she says, the truth started to sink in. She's written a book now. Of course, everyone does nowadays. It's called "Blood Brother: 33 Reasons My Brother, Scott Peterson, Is Guilty."

Anne Bird and her -- attorney, Gloria Allred, joined me earlier. And I started by asking Anne when she first thought that Scott Peterson was hiding something.

ANNE BIRD, AUTHOR, "BLOOD BROTHER": You know, that was a slow conclusion for me. There were things that led up to that.

For instance, when the bodies washed ashore in San Francisco, you know, I phoned him and told him that they found the body of a woman. And he said, you know, They'll find out it's not Laci, and they'll keep looking for her. And I said, Well, they found the body of a baby. And he said, Who would do such a thing? And yelled it. And that was a turning point for me.

COOPER: Why that? I mean, what was it about that -- where as before -- I mean, there had been other things in the past, but something about that moment that -- that the light went on?

BIRD: You know, it was his tone of voice. You know, so kind of unconcerned about the body of a woman, but then the body of a baby seemed very important to him.

COOPER: When you reconnected with the Peterson family, you -- and before you even met Scott Peterson, he was described to you as the golden child.

BIRD: Right.

COOPER: Tell me about that. What did they mean ability that?

BIRD: I heard that the first time from Don, who was given up for adoption two years previous to me. And when he described the Peterson family, he said that Scott is the golden boy, and you'll see what I mean when you meet him. And I did. I saw right away, he's all- American, athletic, handsome, charming. I knew who he was talking about right away.

COOPER: And when you first met Laci Peterson, what did you think of her?

BIRD: She's adorable. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) adorable. Beautiful, you know, her big brown eyes and always smiling. You know, something interesting to say all the time. Just fascinating.

COOPER: Gloria, did the prosecution ever really come up with exactly how Laci Peterson died?

ALLRED: No, and I think that they made a point of that they didn't have to show how she died or for that matter, exactly, when. I mean, there have been various theories that it might have been December 23rd in the evening after Sharon Rocha, her mother, spoke with her. Or it might have been in the morning of December 24th.

COOPER: Did -- did -- when he was staying at your house, I mean, did he seem like a man search for his wife?

BIRD: Not at all. You know, he was flirting with our babysitter.

COOPER: You said, flirting with the babysitter, how do you mean?

BIRD: You know, there was eye contact, gestures, you know, it's difficult to explain, but he was definitely flirting with her.

COOPER: She's a 22-year-old young woman? BIRD: Yes, and she noticed it right away.

COOPER: When you saw that, what did you think?

BIRD: You know, it was just all so bizarre, and I just couldn't figure out what was going on. And I'm thinking to myself, was he really flirting with our babysitter. You know, it was -- does he think that Laci's not going to be found, and so he's moving on?

COOPER: Did you ever confront him? I mean, did you say -- did you ever ask him, did you kill your wife?

BIRD: I didn't, no.

COOPER: Because?

BIRD: I just couldn't.

COOPER: You've had one final meeting with Scott Peterson, a little bit more than a month ago, I think. What was that like?

BIRD: That was really hard. You know, it was the first time that I saw him -- kind of after putting everything together myself and seeing him as a guilty person. And it was really hard. You know, it's really to look at him, and to kind of -- try and understand all this.

COOPER: There are -- no doubt, you've gotten criticism for writing this book. They're saying, you know, you're in it for the money. Basically, why did this book need to get written, he's already been convicted.

BIRD: Right.

COOPER: Why write this book?

BIRD: Right. Several reasons. One of them was for myself. This was very relieving for me to have the truth out there. And also there's a part of me that wants Laci and Conner to have, you know, kind of the rest of their story.

COOPER: Gloria Allred, thanks very much. And Anne Bird, thanks very much.

ALLRED: Thank you.

BIRD: Thank you so much.

COOPER: Nice to meet you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: There you know.

360 next, boosting your child's brain power. Educators say there's a simple way to do it. Find out how. Also, we're going to put your brain to the test, as part of our special series. You don't need any pencils. You don't need any paper. Just four questions, it will test what kind of brain you have. Take it at home.

Also opportunities tonight, the Michael Jackson trial. No cameras in the court room, so have you seen these impersonators? Well, you've kind of got to see it to believe it. "Inside the Box" will have that. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: The real differences between boys and girls and their brains. We're putting you to the test. 360 next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welton Academy, Hello. Yes, he is. Just a moment. Mr. Nolan, it's for you. It's God. He says we should have girls at Welton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That's boys being boys and missing the girls in the movie "Dead Poet's Society," set an all boys private school.

Single sex education is common in private schools, and a growing trend in public ones. Here's a fact for you, 8-years-ago only four public schools had single sex classrooms. Today, there are 156 schools in 32 states, and more are on the way. The school of thought from some experts is, when you separate the boys from the girls, they learn more and they learn differently.

Tonight, as we continue our special series "Of Two Minds," one mother shares why she has put her boys in a single-sex school.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elliot Burgess wasn't always this happy at school. His mother says that's because last year at his co-ed school, sometimes their expected her boy to learn like a girl.

LISA BURGESS, MOTHER: Elliot is a good writer, but his handwriting isn't as nice as some girls. And sometimes he would have to redo a story because his handwriting didn't look like other -- some of the girl's handwriting. And so, Elliot had come home and was with a little, you know, I don't want to write anymore, because I can't write like that.

COHEN: So the Burgess' decided to move their son, now in 3rd grade, and his little brother Emory to an all boy school, the University School in Shaker Heights, Ohio -- where teachers told him, it's fine if his hand writing is not beautiful. LOIS TRAWEEK, TEACHER, UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: Their fine motor skills aren't the same as they are with the little girls.

COHEN: But boys spatial and mechanical parts of the brain are more developed according to many scientist. Boys they say are hardwired for action, so the classrooms here were designed with lots of space to build and move.

RICHARD HAWLEY, HEADMASTER, UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: There are area's of concrete floors and drains where they can make things. What you'll see is big spaces and lots of activity, construction activity.

COHEN: Here, boys don't have to sit still in their chairs or even sit in chairs at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just like moving around.

COHEN: Co-ed schools aren't always set up that way.

DR. LEONARD SAX, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR SINGLE SEX PUBLIC EDUCATION: What's the first thing you hear teachers say in most of those classrooms, please, everybody, sit down and be quiet. That's easier for most 5- and 6-year-old girls than it is for most 5- and 6- year-old boys.

COHEN: Dr. Leonard Sax, author of the book, "Why Gender Matters," says new trends in education, such as teaching children to read in kindergarten instead of first grade, pits boys at a disadvantage, because the language centers in their brains develop more slowly.

SAX: Trying to teach a 5-year-old boy to read is about as developmentally appropriate as trying to teach a 2 1/2-year-old girl to read.

COHEN: So Sax says they should be taught separately. Not everyone buys that theory. Some say it just reinforces gender stereotypes, but Elliot's parents love it.

LISA BURGESS, MOTHER: He's very excited. He's excited to go to school, and then after school, I mean, we talk about school all day, until bedtime. We literally talk about school until bedtime.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Anderson, you just heard how boys' and girls' brains operate differently. Now, based on what we know about our wiring, psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania's Brain Behavior Laboratory have developed tests that they say show some of the differences between the sexes.

Now, let's take a look. Anderson, I am going to give you four questions...

COOPER: Wait a minute, what, are you going to test me now?

COHEN: I'm going to test you now.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: ... I hate this kind of thing, but this is something that people at home -- they can take this test as well, right?

COHEN: That's right. They can join in, and we can see if they're smarter than you or you're smarter than them.

COOPER: I have no doubt they're smarter than me. Let's...

COHEN: Well, let's see how it goes.

COOPER: Now, what does this test show?

COHEN: This test will show at the end whether you have more of a girl brain or a boy brain.

COOPER: All right.

COHEN: OK, so we'll find out. Now, you have eight seconds to figure out the right answer for this -- all of these questions, eight seconds per question.

Anderson, look at the two lines on the top. Which two lines below are in exactly the same position and direction? So you want to match those two on top with two lines down below.

COOPER: OK. Do I give -- do I say the answer?

COHEN: No, actually, I want you to keep quiet until the seconds are up. OK. Give everyone a chance at home to figure this out. OK, and there are the answers. C and H. There you go. So there are the two answers.

COOPER: Well, I actually got that one. So there you go.

COHEN: That's great. Well, there you go. We'll tell you what that means in a second.

Now, we have a second question, and this involves a truck. Take a look at that truck. It's on a slope, it's not moving, and about half that white tank is filled with water. Which line below represents the water surface in the tank? If you could see the water, what would that line look like? So you have got eight seconds, rather, the clock is ticking.

COOPER: All right, I think I have my answer. All right. Is it G?

COHEN: It is the line marked O.

COOPER: What?

COHEN: That is the one. So yeah, you didn't get that one right.

COOPER: Yeah, all right.

COHEN: So yes, that one -- that one was surprising to me, too. I didn't get that one either.

Now, both of these, it's interesting, are spatial reasoning tests. Scientists tell us that those are the kinds of things that males tends to be better at, imagining objects relating to each other in space.

Now, let's take a look at two more questions, and take a look at the picture in this room.

COOPER: I like the cheesy music, by the way. All right.

COHEN: Isn't it fun? It just makes you want to dance. Try to memorize as many objects as possible in this room. You have fifteen seconds to memorize as many objects as you can. So go.

COOPER: Do I have to count them, or I just have to remember them?

COHEN: No, just remember them, like there's the bottle...

COOPER: Oh, yeah, yeah, OK.

COHEN: I don't want to give you too many hints.

COOPER: I got it. Oh, goodness. All right. All right. So now what?

COHEN: All righty, so which of these objects are in the room? We're showing you three objects. Which of those objects were in the room that you were just staring at for 15 seconds?

COOPER: All right, the blue jacket was. Do I have to name them all?

COHEN: Right, right, well, name to yourself, keep it to yourself.

COOPER: I was hoping only one of them was in the room, because that's the only one I really remember. I guess -- I don't know -- keep to myself, all right.

COHEN: It could be all of them, none of them, some of them.

The answer is actually that none of them were. You thought it was a blue jacket.

COOPER: What?

COHEN: It was actually -- look, it's not...

COOPER: Oh, yeah, look at that.

COHEN: It's not blue. And there's an umbrella, but it's not black.

COOPER: Man, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), all right.

COHEN: There is a lamp, but it doesn't look like that.

COOPER: I knew there was a kid in the room.

COHEN: That's right. If they had shown the kid, you would have got that right.

COOPER: Yeah.

COHEN: OK. Well, speaking of faces, let's take a look at two faces. She's a little scary. Which of these faces is more sad than the other, or are they equally sad?

COOPER: First of all, I don't think you should have used Lou Dobbs' face in this, but anyway. Which one is more sad?

COHEN: More sad. You've got eight seconds, or now a little bit less than that. Which one looks more sad.

COOPER: Neither looks good -- neither looks happy, I got to tell you. It's like Lou talking about outsourcing. More sad?

COHEN: Looks like your time is up, so obviously you didn't get that one. The one on the left is more sad.

COOPER: That one I got.

COHEN: You did get that one? OK, I guess, well, I don't know (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: So men and women see these things differently?

COHEN: Right, and these two questions, these are female questions, women generally do better than men on these questions. They're generally good at visual memory tests requiring attention to detail, like that room with all the objects, and reading people's emotions, trying to figure out -- that last one, for example, I got very, very quickly.

Now, if your answers -- your answers were and everyone at home -- if you're a little bit of both, you answered some of the male questions and some of the female questions, that doesn't mean you're mixed up about your gender. What's important is that scientists say that women get the women questions very quickly; men take longer. They may get them, but they take longer -- Anderson.

COOPER: Interesting. All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks. Fascinating.

Tomorrow night, we continue our special series, "Of Two Minds," the differences between men and women. Body talk at the office. Are you sending unintended messages to coworkers of the opposite sex? This is something you definitely want to see. Thursday, the humor gap between men and women, how they see humor differently. And on Friday, blame it on the hormones. The male midlife crisis. Yikes, something to look forward to, guys, and male menopause.

Big story today out of Washington, D.C. about the ease with which potential terrorists can buy guns in this country. Details on that and other top stories right now. Here's Erica Hill from "HEADLINE NEWS." Hey, Erica.

HILL: Hey, Anderson. This one is a little scary. Turns out loopholes in U.S. guns laws can put firearms in the hands oaf terrorist suspects, and it's all legal. The Government Accountability Office reports that dozens of people on U.S. watch lists got government approval to buy guns last year.

Now, the laws do not automatically bar a person belonging to a terror group from buying a gun. The GAO wants the FBI to do a better job in managing background checks on gun buyers.

Iran is threatening to stop negotiating with France, Britain and Germany if the European powers keep insisting Tehran abandon all atomic activities. Right now, Iran is participating in the negotiations in Geneva. Leaders in Iran say the country's nuclear program exists as an alternative source of energy, to provide electricity. Washington says it's a front to build weapons.

The FBI has received hundreds of leads in the killings of a federal judge's mother and husband, but so far, no arrests. DNA tests have been performed on cigarette butts taken from the Chicago home where the bodies were found, but the FBI says the DNA didn't match any samples that are already on file. A $50,000 award is being offered in the case.

And that's going to do it from the "HEADLINE NEWS" news room. Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: All right, Erica, thanks very much.

360 next, Michael Jackson trial. No cameras inside the courtroom, but, hey, in Hollywood, that doesn't matter. They got impersonators. The drama is being played out "Inside the Box." We'll show you how.

Plus, 360 e-mail. A viewer inspires us to do the talking points on my debut on "The Iron Chef."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, there are no cameras in the court for the molestation trial of Michael Jackson. No pictures of Jackson's defense grilling the accuser's brother today, pouncing on his credibility. The boy says he saw Jackson molest his brother, today changed his story about a sexually explicit magazine, that he claims Jackson showed him. Saying it's not the same magazine being used as evidence. The brother also admitted to lying in another suit. Now, we can't show you the inside of the courtroom, but Hollywood has found a way to do just that. It's kind of a -- well, it's an odd way anyway.

CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a look "Inside the Box."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The defendant isn't looking quite like himself these days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little too human.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He looks totally different.

MOOS (on camera): Another surgery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another surgery, for real?

MOOS: No, I'm kidding.

(voice-over): But we kid you not when we say, the E! entertainment network is doing daily reenactments of the Jackson trial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's an actor.

MOOS (on camera): Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of here.

MOOS (voice-over): That's an actor playing the prosecutor, talking about Michael taking kids on an X-rated Internet surfing trip.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Naked ladies.

MOOS: And that's an actor playing defense attorney, Tom Mesereau Jr..

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These charges are fake. Ten silly, ridiculous...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're honor, I'm going to object to his argumentative.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sustained.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they're wearing these rugs that look like they've got live farm animals on their heads.

MOOS: For the record, E! says that's really is the actor's own hair styled to look like Mesereau's. As for Edward Moss, a Jackson impersonator, he's destined to silently emote from his seat, unless the real Jackson testifies.

(on camera): Some people said he was overacting, but I mean, he's got nothing to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How could you overact if you're sitting there in white paste. Everyone once in a while he goes...

MOOS: Can you win an Emmy for smirking and shifting your weight? The dialogue comes word for word from the trial transcript. When real court ends for the day, it's e-mailed to the studio and selected portions end up on teleprompters, and actors do deliver on shows that air the following day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Viewer discretion is advised.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He happened upon seeing Michael Jackson masturbating himself with one hand, while Jackson's other hand...

MOOS: It's enough to make the guy anchoring the show say -- TV critics have been merciless. It is cheap, creepy, foolish, and lurid, and those are it's good point. You might remember the guy playing Michael Jackson from "Scary Movie III." E! Entertainment has done this before, reenacting O.J.'s civil trial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's no fun being O.J.

MOOS: Maybe the same goes for M.J.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's instant replay of real life, using fake people. I give it four rolls of Velveeta, it's so cheesy.

MOOS: If they can reenact Michael's trial, what's next, Prince Charles and Camilla's wedding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objection.

MOOS: Sustained.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Bizarre. Coming up next on 360, another different TV show, "The Iron Chef." I'm actually on it. I have no idea why. We're going to show you some of the behind the scenes looks, based on a viewers idea. We'll tell you ahead.

Plus, Dan Rather about to leave the anchor chair, and under attack. The (UNINTELLIGIBLE) are out for this guy. We're going to take that to "The Nth Degree."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time to check some viewer e-mail.

Tonight, Julie from Huntsville, North Carolina, turns the tables on us.

I recently appeared on an episode of "Iron Chef America," I think it was on Sunday night, the cooking show on the Food Network. And Julie was watching closely.

She writes, "Just wondering if your 'Talking Points' as a taster on 'Iron Chef America' will be aired anytime soon?"

Now for those of you who don't know, "Talking Points" is when we show you the phrases that politicians use over and over and over again, instead of answering real question. And it's true, I saw the "Iron Chef" and I did repeat myself an awful lot. The truth is, I didn't really know what to talk about, because I don't know anything about food. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Number one, it's all about blending.

(on camera): I think the blending of it is really wonderful. The flavor is blending so well together. The blending of favor.

(voice-over): Number two if you like it, why not say you love it.

(on camera): I love the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It's lovely. I love the -- I love the -- I love the lightness. I love the presentation.

(voice-over): And finally, to cover for a total lack of culinary knowledge fixate on the presentation.

(on camera): The presentation is nice. The presentation. The presentation of it. Presentation. The presentation -- the presentation is nice, I'm a little concerned because there's a lot of, actually, finger print smudges over the plate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: I didn't know what I was talking about. And I was just copying what all those other food experts were saying. They all kept talking about blending. I don't -- I still don't know what blend is.

Anyway, something on your mind, you can e-mail us at cnn.com/360. Click on the instant feed back link. We can read them -- we try to read them all on the air, we can't. But we do read them at least.

Tonight, taking old grudge to "The Nth Degree." This just makes us sad. Dan Rather retires from the "CBS Evening News" anchor chair tomorrow night, after 24 years and a serious controversy over a report he and his network swore by, and then publicly had to disavow as being based on questionable sources.

How this balances out decades of what, even his detractors say, has been first-class reporting vs. a messy late career mistake, will be for the future to judge. But the past has made its judgment already in the form of Walter Cronkite, Rather's predecessor for 19 years, known in those days and sometimes even now, as the most trusted man in America. Cronkite was forced to retire at 65 to make way for Dan Rather. He's never been a fan of Rather's and choose to make that very clear yesterday on Wolf Blitzer's program. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALTER CRONKITE, FORMER CBS NEWS ANCHOR: Well, I think that there was a general feeling among quite a lot of us around the CBS shop, and indeed some of the viewers, that Dan gave the impression of playing a role more than simply trying to deliver the news to the audience. I don't know -- it's a personality question. I don't think he was thinking of himself of playing the role, although I don't know that. But that is the impression that came across.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Cronkite's not the only colleague of Rather's to get in a few punches just before he leaves the CBS anchor chair. Everyone, of course, is entitled to their opinion. Had Cronkite, an icon of broadcast journalism, someone many of us respect, expressed that opinion 25-years-ago, we would have called that honest and brave. Now, all those decades later, it just seems, well, kind of mean.

I'm Anderson Cooper, thanks for watching 360. Prime time coverage continues with "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

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