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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Is Congress Broken?; TEA Party Republicans; Mystery Assassination; Another Side of Adoption

Aired February 16, 2010 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, the growing call to throw them all out and the growing exodus lawmakers leaving on their own, sick of the fighting, the partisanship all of it; is Congress broken? And if it is, how do you fix it? The "Raw Politics" tonight. We'll have more with Bill Maher.

Also Congressman Ron Paul and his son running for senate, Dr. Rand Paul.

Also tonight, you'll watch a man pursued and stalked by a team of international assassins. The man is also a killer. He ends up dead. There's a global hunt for the hit squad. It's not a movie we're talking about, real life so watch it unfold. The surveillance cameras recorded it -- really I've never seen anything like it.

And later, what do you do when your adopted child threatens to kill you? Coping with the danger and the heartache of a child who badly needs parenting but may be too dangerous to raise.

First up tonight, the anger in Washington and the people trying to tap into it; Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele today, sitting down with several dozen TEA partiers. After the meeting when reporters asked if they were now loyal Republicans, the TEA partiers shouted "No". A lot of discontent out there, people can't stand Congress. Even Congress people can't stand Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. EVAN BAYH (D), INDIANA: I believe you can make a contribution -- a major contribution to society in many ways other than just being in the United States Congress. If Congress is the only way to make a contribution, God help us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, Democratic Senator Evan Bayh this morning says Congress is broken, out of control. Partisanship is why, he says. John Breaux, a former colleague agrees. The political center in the country is growing, he says, but the center in Congress is getting smaller and Americans are losing patience.

Bill Maher comments in a moment. But Tom Foreman has the "Raw Politics." TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, 34 percent of voters think current Members of Congress deserve to be re-elected; 63 percent say throw the bums out. These are the worst numbers we've seen since we started measuring in the early '90s and both parties appear to be in equally deep trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (voice-over): The top Democrat calls for cooperation saying voters will tolerate nothing less.

BARACK OBAMA PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're tired of the partisanship and the shouting and the pettiness. They know we can't afford it.

FOREMAN: The Republicans say the same.

GOV. BOB MCDONNELL (R), VIRGINIA: We want results, not rhetoric. We want cooperation, not partisanship.

FOREMAN: And yet both parties have failed repeatedly to reach such an accord. The past year saw a steady stream of party line votes with almost no Democrats or Republicans crossing over in the name of compromise.

The Democrats fought off Republican filibusters 39 times with cloture votes. More than in the 1950s and '60s combined. While bitter fighting between and within the parties crippled health care and banking reform and spurred sharp complaints about even programs that passed like the stimulus plan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This government is out of control.

FOREMAN: No wonder retiring Indiana Senator Evan Bayh says --

BAYH: Even at a time of enormous national challenge, the people's business is not getting done.

FOREMAN: That theme is being echoed by many departing politicians amid soaring unemployment, a lingering housing crisis and gridlock, gridlock, gridlock.

Political analysts predict it could all produce a great many more upsets like the one that gave the late Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy's seat to a Republican.

SEN. SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS: What happened here in Massachusetts can happen all over America.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: After trailing a very long time, the Republicans now have a statistically insignificant lead over the Democrats in who voters want in Congress. But that is cold comfort in a winter of great discontent -- Anderson.

COOPER: Tom, thanks very much.

We're going to take -- get Bill Maher's take on this shortly.

But first, the view of Congressman Ron Paul and his son Rand Paul who is running for the Republican nomination to replace the retiring Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning. He's running against the GOP establishment as a staunch conservative and proud TEA party member.

We spoke with him tonight along with his dad, Ron Paul. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Congressman Paul, do you agree with Senator Evan Bayh who basically said yesterday that things are so polarized in Congress that the people's business isn't getting done?

REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: Well, the people's business isn't getting done, but I'm not so sure that we are on the right tune about where the arguments are. I don't think it's because people don't compromise enough. I think it's because they compromise too much. And they don't -- we don't have enough people standing on principle.

For instance, a compromise on the welfare state, they compromise on the warfare state. They compromise on endorsing the monetary system. So I think we have way too much compromise and we need to define what we believe in. We either believe in welfarism and socialism and big government or we believe in liberty and limited government and the Constitution.

COOPER: Well, Dr. Paul, do you agree with that? And if you do, isn't compromise essential for actual governance?

RAND PAUL (R), CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE: Well, I don't think it's necessarily compromise that's the problem. What I see when I go around the country and around the state to these TEA parties is, that people want on both sides, not to just be spending money wantonly like they are in Washington.

I hear equal criticism. They are worried about the debt, but they say it's on both sides of the aisle, Republican and Democrat. We talk in my race about West Virginia paving every inch of it based on Senator Byrd's seniority. We also talk about the fact that Republicans from Alaska have been earmarking and paving a lot of things up there, too.

So the problems the TEA Party Movement, we see it as on both sides of the aisle but not a lack of compromise, just sort of a lack of anyone standing up for the taxpayer.

COOPER: But Dr. Paul, the criticism as you know of the TEA Party Movement is that, you know, it's one thing to argue something in order to get a candidate in or to protest. But to actually govern requires a different set of -- I mean, it requires compromise. You don't believe that's true? RAND PAUL: Well, I think the problem is we are compromising, but we compromise for more spending usually. For example, 32 states have a rule that says they have to balance their budget by law. I run on the platform that says federal government should be no different and when I say that at a TEA party, it brings down the house. They want their government to balance their budget. They see our future and our kids' future being destroyed by debt.

And so that's not Republican and Democrats compromising to spend half as much money. It's that we need new rules. So I talk about term limits and I talk about balancing the budget by law. And that's not necessarily a compromise. That's pushing them all in a big direction towards much more frugality.

COOPER: Dr. Paul, you've been endorsed now by Sarah Palin. She's also endorsed Senator John McCain in what could be a tough battle for his re-election. Is John McCain your kind of Republican?

RAND PAUL: Well, I think there are some things that John McCain does that I like. I mean, he has been one of the Republicans who will vote against some of the procurements, even in the military budget, when he sees waste in the military budget.

Do he and I agree on a lot on everything? No, I didn't agree with McCain/Feingold. In fact, I liked seeing the Supreme Court overturn McCain/Feingold, because I thought it restricted freedom of speech. So there won't be everything we agree on. But there are some things that I can agree on with John McCain.

COOPER: I know you've said Sarah Palin is the biggest endorsement any Republican can get right now. Do you think she'd make a good president, doctor?

RAND PAUL: Well, I think what she has is something that you can't buy. I mean, she has likeability. She's very likable. And I think she will have to, like I have to and like every other person, run the gauntlet.

COOPER: The question though is, do you think she would make a good president?

RAND PAUL: Yes, I think Sarah Palin could be a great president. But I think what will happen is what happens is the vigorous process of the primaries. And, you know, she hasn't said yet whether she'll do it or not. But you know, she's made some, I think, very astute and smart political moves. She's come out and supported me, of course, which I think is a great move.

But I think she's supporting people who are running against the establishment and this motivates those in the TEA party who want not just someone to endorse whoever the party favorite is, but someone who will shake up the system.

COOPER: And Congressman, the Republican establishment in Kentucky has not really endorsed your son, has not gotten behind him. Why is that? RON PAUL: I don't -- I don't know, but the Republican establishment never endorsed me either. But after I win primaries, I was quite willing to work with them and vote for their leadership and do what I need to do to be part of the party. And I think Rand's in a similar situation like that.

They're not running to bail them out and support them. Washington, D.C., hasn't rushed to help them. But in this day and age, that's a badge of honor. Let me tell you. It really is.

COOPER: Congressman, do you guys agree on everything?

RON PAUL: Well, I doubt that. I would say, you know, we have five children. I would say Rand is probably the one to challenge me the most.

COOPER: Can you envision a time when Senator Paul, if you become Senator Paul, and Congressman Paul, are at odds?

RAND PAUL: Possibly. When I was home at Thanksgiving, the whole debate was whether they were going to let me sit at the -- still sit at the main table this time because we were having some disagreements. But in the end, they did let me eat Thanksgiving at the main table.

So, you know, my dad and I -- I like to use the word that I'm a Constitutional conservative. My dad likes to call himself and has been called a champion of the Constitution. And I think that's where there's a great deal of similarity. There will be some differences of opinion because a lot of us support the Constitution. We don't always interpret it the same way.

COOPER: Congressman Ron Paul and Rand Paul, a candidate for U.S. Senate. Thanks for your time today.

RAND PAUL: Thank you, Anderson.

RON PAUL: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, let us know what you think. You can join the live chat right now at AC360.com.

Up next, Bill Maher; he's -- well, a little upset but he's also very funny on the subject about partisanship. And well, you'll hear from him ahead.

And later, the amazing story behind the videotape allegedly showing international assassins stalking their prey.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Some people aren't exactly in love with Washington or Congress these days. And part that simply because we're digging out of a recession and the mood of the country is grim. There's a lot more to it than that. Let's "Dig Deeper" now with Bill Maher, host of "Real Time" the HBO special, "Bill Maher, But I'm not wrong." We spoke earlier tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Senator Bayh and he says things are so polarized, that - that Congress isn't working and the people's business isn't getting done. Do you buy his reason for leaving?

BILL MAHER, HOST OF "REAL TIME": He wasn't working. He's the problem with Congress.

COOPER: How so?

MAHER: That made me laugh. Well, because he's not a centrist. People, you guys in the media have to stop calling people like that a centrist. He's a corporatist.

Ok, and that's the main problem with Congress. His wife is on the board of Well Pointe, one of the big health insurance companies.

COOPER: So you don't buy his --

MAHER: So I'm not surprised that he was against the public option. So when he says Congress isn't working, that's why Congress isn't working because he's the guy on the Democratic side who always sides with the Republicans to stop all legislation. That's why the senate is where legislation goes to die. So bye-bye.

COOPER: Do you think things are too polarized?

MAHER: They're not polarized enough. We don't have a progressive party in this country. This is the problem. Is that you have corporatist Democrats, like Evan Bayh, who act just like the people on the other side of the aisle.

COOPER: Do you think he'll become a lobbyist?

MAHER: It won't be really changing jobs, just offices.

COOPER: What's Barack Obama doing wrong? I mean, you were a big supporter of his.

MAHER: Sure. And I still have the situation in perspective. You know, it would be a lot worse, I think, if the election had gone the other way.

COOPER: You compared him to Lindsey Lohan.

MAHER: I can't remember why, but you are correct.

COOPER: Well, the line, I think the line was and I'm going to be get it wrong, so I hesitate to even say it. But it was something it was like --

MAHER: Yes.

COOPER: -- we read a lot about them, but still wondering what they're actually doing.

MAHER: Yes, you're young and skinny and in a hurry, but what are you going to do? We're both getting the line wrong, but I know what you mean. Yes.

COOPER: Do you believe what he says. I mean, he says a lot. Do you --

MAHER: Yes if only he knew someone in a position of power because he's got a great list of things he wants to accomplish.

COOPER: He doesn't --

MAHER: But you know he is -- now, he just thinks that this -- he still is -- he makes the mistake that every Democrat makes. He's really, you know, I think he is going to have a learning curve, as all presidents do. But he sure didn't have a great freshman year. And he makes that mistake of alienating his base, not playing to the base, trying to get the other people.

COOPER: So he's played too quick to compromise?

MAHER: Right, he did -- yes -- he's trying to solve this with a kiss. It's not going to happen that way. Obama was talking the other day about, well, you know, I'd rather be a one-term president who got things done than a lame two-term -- well, then get something done. You can only talk about being this bold, one-term president if you're being bold. He's not being bold.

COOPER: You say, though, that there's not enough partisanship but you have the TEA Party Movement which you've been very critical of; they are certainly partisan.

MAHER: Well, they are great for comedy. They are a joke to me because they're supposedly harking back to the days of the founding fathers and what this country was about.

That's not what they're about. They basically side with the Republicans. Who's more corporatist than the Republicans? They're against corporate power, but they are on the side of people --

COOPER: They say they're not about parties. That they are about people, that they are about -- they --

MAHER: But they elected Scott Brown. Wasn't that the first guy that they got, Ted Kennedy, they got his seat, they put Scott Brown in there. Scott Brown signs, when he signs an autograph, he puts on it 41 because he's the 41st senator. In other words, he can block all legislation.

So he's going to stop health care reform. And he's going to stop cap and trade and all these things that would actually help people. These -- the populist causes. But that's supposedly a virtue that he's 41 and he's going to stop that?

COOPER: Who do you blame for what's happened to health care reform?

MAHER: Well, I mean, I blame a lot of people. I mean, certainly the people who were in the pockets of the insurance industries and the drug companies and all the corporate powers that have blocked this and don't want this to go through because the main problem with health care is insurance companies, this giant cash-sucking middle man that we don't need in the middle of it.

But, of course, I also blame the Democrats for not being able to sell this. There's an awful lot of good things in this senate bill that's already been passed; covers 30 million more people, Medicare solvent until 2026. You know, you can't throw somebody off because pre-existing conditions.

You know, it's not that there's not stuff to sell. It's just the Democrats can't sell it. They are terrible salesmen and they back off of everything. All you have to do is scream a little and they give up on it.

COOPER: Bill Maher thanks.

MAHER: Thank you, Anderson. A pleasure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Just ahead, the unexpected question that got the best answer today from Secretary of State Clinton. The question, what would you do if Sarah Palin were elected president.

Later, your chance to pick the best in show. Take a look, some of our staffers' dogs in honor of that other dog show going on at Madison Square Garden tonight. Pick the best "360 Dog" by going to AC360 dog -- I mean.com, not dog, well. We'll have more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Astonishing video released today showing hotel guests going about their business, the business of assassination. We're going to show you who the target and suspects are ahead on 360.

But first, some of the other important stories we're following. Poppy Harlow has the "360 Bulletin".

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, Anderson, more questions about a killing 23 years ago involving Amy Bishop, an Alabama professor accused of murdering three colleagues last week. Bishop killed her 18-year-old brother with a shotgun back in 1986. It was ruled an accident.

But today the retired police chief who was in charge of the initial investigation in Braintree, Massachusetts called the state police report of the incident deficient. He first read that report just two days ago. And a boost for nuclear power today; during a visit to a job training site in Maryland, President Obama announced more than $8 billion in loan guarantees for two nuclear reactors that will be built in Georgia.

And laughter set off by a student's question at a Town Hall meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Saudi Arabia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the prospect of Sarah Palin one day becoming president maybe terrify you? And if so, would you consider immigrating to Canada or possibly even Russia in the event of this happening?

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, the short answer is no. I will not be immigrating. I will be visiting, as often as I can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Well played, madam secretary. I think, remember Alec Baldwin years ago saying he'd move to Canada if President Bush was elected. I think he was elected twice and he never moved. I don't think so. We'll see.

COOPER: Yes, that's true. Poppy, thanks.

Straight ahead tonight, things that normally take place in shadows, I don't know if you've seen this video. It's just incredible. Take a look, authorities say it shows global assassination teams closing in on their victim who himself was a very dangerous man, a killer himself. They ultimately did kill him.

We'll show you how it all went down, all caught on tape.

And later, what to do about very dangerous adopted kids. And this is just a tragic story, parents who adopted kids internationally. Now, we're going to show you a place that takes them when it becomes too dangerous for parents.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight, an international murder mystery tailor-made for the movies basically. As you're going to see though, this is no movie. Authorities in Dubai today issued an international arrest warrant for 11 suspects in last month's slaying of a top Hamas official.

Now, according to police, the alleged assassins, ten men and one woman, arrived in Dubai the day before the killing. Five of them carried out the crime while the other six served as lookouts.

Their every move was caught on security cameras. It's a fascinating footage. The question of course, is who are the alleged killers and who ordered the hit?

Paula Hancock investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Minute by minute, this is the lead-up to the Dubai assassination of one of the founding members of Hamas. All captured on security cameras and released by the Emirates police.

Ten men and one woman, the alleged hit squad; some check into the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel and await their target. This is Mahmud Al Mahbouh (ph) arriving at the hotel, where he would be killed just hours later.

After checking in, the man Israeli security sources accuse of being a key link between Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas was followed by two alleged killers dressed in tennis gear holding tennis rackets. The police say they were checking the number of his room, then they booked the room directly across the corridor.

Leaving the hotel for a couple of hours, Al Mahbouh was again tracked by different teams. Police believe the killers entered his room at 8:00 p.m. using an electronic device to gain entry. Al Mahbouh entered his room at 8:25 p.m. His body was not discovered until the next morning.

Police say he appears to have suffered electric shocks and may have been suffocated. These are the suspects. All caught on camera, sparking an international manhunt. Six were on British passports, three carried Irish passports, one French and one German, say Dubai police. But Irish and British police have said the names and passport numbers of their alleged nationals are fake. The other countries are checking.

At least four Israelis say they have the same names as the suspects. They deny any involvement and say they are shocked their names have been used.

The question remains who ordered the hit. Hamas and Al Mabhouh's family in Gaza are convinced Israel's intelligence agency Mossad is behind the assassination.

Israeli sources say Al Mabhouh was smuggling arms to Gaza, so an arms dealer has many enemies. Dubai's police chief says whoever is responsible will be brought to justice.

He says "If a state starts acting like gangsters, their leaders will be treated like gangsters and they will be brought to justice whoever and wherever they are."

But even with extensive security footage and photos of 11 of the alleged hit squad, so far, no one has been arrested. And their real identities may never be known.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jerusalem. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And it's a fascinating case.

Gary Berntsen is a former officer and longtime operative with the CIA. He joins us by the phone.

Gary, what do you make of this? I mean, 11 assassins, fake wigs, beards, dressed up as tennis players. Does this surprise you?

GARY BERNTSEN, FORMER CIA OFFICER (on the phone): Well, it's not that surprising. A Chechen was assassinated out in Dubai on the 28th of March, 2009, just, you know, some months back.

Dubai is a place where a lot of bad customers, you know, they travel in and out of there to do business -- to do their business with Iran and with other countries and with other terrorist groups. So when they enter a place like Dubai, they are vulnerable.

And in this particular case, this leading member of Hamas who has been conducting, you know, operations against the Israelis, you know, found himself victim to the very crafty practices.

COOPER: Are there a lot of countries that have the capabilities of doing this? I mean, obviously, you know, Israel is being suspected in this; obviously, you know, other developed countries. In terms of faking passports, the kind of expertise that is required to set up an operation like this. Are there a lot of different people -- countries that could actually do it?

BERNTSEN: There are a lot of countries that can do this. There's a lot of private organizations that can do these types of things. When we entered Kabul in 2001, we found the Taliban themselves had been doing photo substitution on passports. They'd been doing this.

It's not that complicated. It doesn't necessarily have to be the Israeli government. There could be individual Israelis. Groups of businessmen that decided they've had it with Hamas and are going to do this.

It doesn't necessarily have to be the Israeli security services. We've had cases where Americans decided to go off and participate in operations as mercenaries. I don't see why, you know, you wouldn't see individual businessmen doing the same thing.

COOPER: Were you surprised that this Hamas guy did not have security with him? And also, the fact that they must have had some sort of advance knowledge of the fact that he was going to check into this hotel and his general schedule in terms of when he would be leaving or that he would be leaving the room.

BERNTSEN: Clearly he got sloppy and surely they must have had people in contact with him. They had somebody that could actually put him on the dime, put him in place so that whoever was going to kill him would know where he was at the moment he was going to be there. It's not that complicated to do.

It's with -- the question is whether the government or the organization that wanted to do it had the will to do it. Assassinating somebody like that is not that difficult. It's a matter of will.

COOPER: But now the Dubai government has publicized the suspects' identities. Were you surprised they came forward in such a public way?

BERNTSEN: Yes. I think, well, clearly they are embarrassed. This is the second assassination in about eight months there. They don't -- this is not good for business for the government of Dubai. That's why they would have done it.

And it's, you know, they are trying to, of course, brush back the individuals that are doing this type of activity. They don't want to see it anymore.

But, you know, what's done is done. The cat is out of the bag. The Dubai -- the problem they have in Dubai is they are allowing such a large volume of people to come in and out of there. They're not checking people very well, whether they be terrorists or those pursuing terrorists. These guys are vulnerable on the ground there.

COOPER: Yes. I mean Dubai is a city where everybody seems to be from somewhere else. You know, everybody comes there for one reason or another.

Hamas is obviously claiming Israel is behind it. Israel has not confirmed or denied these accusations. To you does this bear the hallmark of a Mossad operation?

BERNTSEN: Could be, but there was no specific trade craft revealed there that indicates that. It could have been them or could have been someone else. But, you know, likely given the information that's been presented that they would be the most likely culprits, but they won't admit either way.

COOPER: Does this kind of stuff -- when you talk about the Chechen, does this happen a lot more than we realize? A lot more than it's ever publicized?

BERNTSEN: Oh, yes. Back in the 1990s, the late '80s, early '90s, there were a large number of people that were assassinated out in Dubai. Most of them were Iranian expatriates. Some of them were U.S. citizens or U.S. green card holders murdered by the Iranian Islamic regime in Dubai.

COOPER: There were also a couple of folks, I think if memory serves me, in the '70s killed in like London by Soviet intelligence. Right? Wasn't there like somebody killed with an umbrella that was tipped with poison?

BERNTSEN: That was a KGB operation where they used resin in an umbrella, stuck the guy in the leg and then of course, it killed him in the hospital several days later. But the killings that were taking place in Dubai specifically were during the early '90s; the Iranian Revolutionary Guard core of the ministry intelligence and security.

The Iranians are probably the largest group or state sponsors of assassinations. And they've assassinated people in Thailand, they've -- you know, worked with groups, different groups or branches of Hezbollah to kill Saudi diplomats, to do all sorts of stuff like that. And the Iranians were the big culprits in this.

What the Israelis would call this is preventive defense.

COOPER: Gary Berntsen, appreciate your expertise.

Thanks, Gary.

BERNTSEN: You're welcome. Goodbye.

COOPER: You can join the live chat right now at AC360.com. Tell us what you think about this fascinating video.

Just ahead: adoptive parents who fear for their lives and the troubled kids who threaten them. Can a ranch in Montana help these kids control their rage and ultimately return to the families who promised to raise them. We're going take you up close; a really sad story but an important one for you to see.

Plus the Westminster has their big dog show. We have our own ten contenders. We're going to show you their faces. They belong to our 360 staffers. Who should be our best in show? Go to AC360.com to vote. May the best dog win.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Up close tonight, a story full of heartache, guilt and danger. What happens when you adopt a child that turns out to be too dangerous to raise? Not a hypothetical question unfortunately.

We're talking about parents whose adopted sons and daughters have threatened to kill them or burn down the house or harm siblings. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it raises some serious questions. What would you do if you were that parent?

A ranch in Montana is offering some of these families hope. But as Gary Tuchman found out, there are no guarantees of a happy ending. Here's his report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eleven-year-old Alec is a precocious, intelligent child. But he's said and done things that have greatly frightened his parents.

(on camera): Did you threaten to hurt them?

ALEC COLE, ADOPTED BOY: Yes, like... TUCHMAN: What did you say to them?

A. COLE: One of the things like, "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to punch you."

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Beth and Bill Cole are Alec's mom and dad.

BETH COLE, MOTHER: I adore him. I love him. I just want him to have a good future, just as normal as can be.

TUCHMAN: This is from a videotape Alec's parents gave us. They took this video because psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers didn't necessarily believe or understand what Alec has done.

And now his pained parents have taken drastic measures. Alec is no longer living with them in Florida. He lives in Montana on a ranch for deeply-troubled adopted children.

A. COLE: I freaked out, like almost like every day.

TUCHMAN: Alec's parents adopted him from an orphanage in the former Soviet Republic of Belarus when he was a toddler. They also adopted their daughter Lauren from the same country, who was having a much easier time in his home.

A. COLE: It's like any other orphanage, basically.

TUCHMAN (on camera): I understand completely.

A. COLE: Very poor.

TUCHMAN: I understand.

(voice-over): Alec lives on what is known as the Ranch for Kids with a grandmother who has raised Russian orphans of her own, Joyce Sterkle.

JOYCE STERKLE, RANCH FOR KIDS: The purpose is to assist parents and children in reuniting with each other if they've had difficulty because of attachment issues or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

TUCHMAN: Like many of the 25 children at the Ranch for Kids, Alec has dramatic mood swings. At the worst, he's violent and threatening.

(on camera): What has he said to you in terms of threats?

BETH COLE: The worst is that he's going to kill us. Kill all of us, burn down the house.

BILL COLE, FATHER: He's talked about wanting to blow up the house, wanting to burn down the house, wanting to get a knife to stab us with, and we -- it seems silly, but we took the stuff to hide the knives and the kitchen knives in the house and put them up to where he couldn't get to them. TUCHMAN: Your parents have told the people here that you once said, "I'll get a gun and shoot you in the neck, then in the heart." Did you say that to them?

A. COLE: Yes.

TUCHMAN: How come?

A. COLE: Because I just get mad.

TUCHMAN: Do you remember what else you've said to them that may be mean?

A. COLE: I'm going to stab them.

TUCHMAN: Huh?

A. COLE: I'll stab them.

TUCHMAN: You want to stab them? How does that make you feel when you say those things?

A. COLE: Sad.

TUCHMAN: I understand. Because they love you so much, right? You know what? They love you, and that's the most important thing. And you love them, right?

(voice-over): Parents send their children here for about $3,500 a month, because they usually don't know what else to do.

STERKLE: All of our kids, they've been to the psychiatrist. They've been to the psychologist. They've been to the therapist. They've been medicated.

TUCHMAN (on camera): So you're saying the people that have the expertise haven't done anything for them?

STERKLE: In many cases. I'm not saying all, but in many cases, those modalities failed.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): They get love here, but sometimes it's tough love. There's a lot of snow to shovel, chores to do. They go to school, where in addition to the three "R's," there's lessons in human relations.

A. COLE: I am sad because I have been mean in treating treated my family. I feel sorry for the way I've treated people in the past. The end.

TUCHMAN (on camera): It sounds like a feel-good story. It is. And it isn't. That's because the endings are not always happy ones. Sometimes these children don't improve enough to go back home. Other times, their parents just don't want them back.

(voice-over): But most of the parents are desperate for their kids to get better and come home.

Christopher was adopted from China when he was a toddler.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know where (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

TUCHMAN: His mother and sister, also adopted in China, live in Florida. Anneke Napp says she loves her son very much, but...

ANNEKE NAPP, CHRISTOPHER'S MOM: He would hit me. He would kick me. He would throw things at me. He would throw things at her.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Would he say threatening things to you?

NAPP: Absolutely.

TUCHMAN: Like what?

NAPP: Like -- that he was going to hurt me. That he was going to kill me.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): And now she says she has made a painful decision, mainly because she fears for her daughter's well-being.

NAPP: I've decided not to bring him home.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Ever?

(voice-over) While we were at the ranch, Joyce Sterkle broke the news to Christopher.

STERKLE: So she's kind of talking about maybe she thinks you would be happier if you got a second chance in a new family.

TUCHMAN: Christopher was told another family in Washington state is interested in adopting him.

NAPP: You have to make a decision of what's best for everybody. And I believe that this is also best for Christopher.

TUCHMAN: Alec's parents have a much different outlook.

(on camera) Is there any chance that you would realize that maybe he would be too dangerous to be back in your family setting and that you would send him to a foster home or maybe get another family to adopt him?

BILL COLE: No, not at all.

TUCHMAN: Not a chance at all?

BETH COLE: No. He's our son.

TUCHMAN: So what do you want to do when you grow up?

A. COLE: I really want to, like, discover new places in the world. Discover new land. TUCHMAN: You want to be an explorer?

A. COLE: Yes, I want to have like my own country that I own. Like...

TUCHMAN: We'll call it Alec Land. Right?

A. COLE: I'm not sure about that. I may name it related to Florida because that's my home-like, place.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Back at his home-like place, they hope and pray he'll be well enough to some day come back.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Eureka, Montana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Still ahead, "Building up America": how one man's vision is helping to rebuild a battered community. Because of him, more than 50 people now have jobs in one of New York's poorest neighborhoods. Could his plan help other struggling cities?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight in building up America, another example of the power of one. The man you are about to meet could have launch his career just about anywhere with his Ivy League business degree.

Wall Street would have been an obvious choice but not for him. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Harlem, long the epicenter of African- American culture has seen its share of hard times. Central Harlem is one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York City and during this recession it owns the city's highest unemployment rate. More than one-third of the people now live in poverty.

Joe Holland is determined to change that.

(on camera): So why did you come to Harlem? You didn't grow up here. You went to Harvard Business School. You probably could have had a lot of different opportunities. Why did you come to Harlem?

JOE HOLLAND, OWNER, "GOSPEL UPTOWN": It was out of a sense of wanting to get back to my community. I believe in the biblical mandate, "To whom much is given, much is required." And I saw Harlem as a place where I could make a difference.

COOPER (voice-over): Joe and his business partners, his sister and brother-in-law own and operate "Gospel Uptown", a soul-food restaurant with a twist.

(on camera): What was the vision? You wanted more than just a restaurant? HOLLAND: Yes. We see it as a live music, fine dining destination; a throw-back to the Harlem renaissance where you had the great places, small paradise, the cotton club.

COOPER (voice-over): Joe was close to realizing his dream and investors were lined up, then the economic crisis hit.

HOLLAND: We had qualified a number of people ready to go in the fall of 2008. We went forward and signed the lease, and then the economy went crazy, and the portfolios started to shrink and everybody backed up.

COOPER: Joe didn't give up and eventually secure aid federally backed small business loan. He now employs more than 50 people.

HOLLAND: There's kitchen and wait staff, bar staff, hostesses and we're an entertainment destination, so we have production staff. We have sound engineer, light engineer.

COOPER: Joe hosts several bands and individual artists at his restaurant showcasing homegrown Harlem talent.

(on camera): It has to feel good to be in the community and say I've been able to employ 50 people.

HOLLAND: Yes. That's really the key because I've been in this community for almost 30 years as a lawyer first and then a minister and entrepreneur, a government official, and what I've learned is the best thing that you can do for the community is to build the economic base and create jobs.

COOPER (voice-over): Elsa Garcia is Holland's pastry chef. She was unemployed for two years before hired to create desserts for Gospel Uptown. What did you think when you finally got this job?

ELSA GARCIA, PASTRY CHEF, GOSPEL UPTOWN: It was my dream come true. I was so excited. A second income is what we needed. I have three children, and we had one income, my husband's income. It's helped a lot.

COOPER (voice-over): Joe knows the restaurant business is tough especially in New York City where businesses open and close almost daily. Tonight as he introduces a live musician by famed Jazz musician Jimmy Heath, Holland is thankful his dream of helping others is being fulfilled with an added bonus.

HOLLAND: That it would feel this good to have a great house with great music, people enjoying themselves, eating great food. This is really what it's all about. It's a dream come true.

COOPER: Business is picking up each month, he says. Holland wants to expand his restaurant to communities like Harlem around the country. Until then he's happy to personally impact those he's employed and help rebuild the community he's grown to call home.

(END VIDEOTAPE) Up next the end to the search for a hiker who fell into a crater of a volcano.

Plus dramatic video of a landslide that forced hundreds of people from their homes.

And the moment we've been waiting for, the announcement of the winner of 360's Best in Show contest. See if your favorite dog is our top dog next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. Let's check some of the other stories we're following. Poppy Harlow has a "360 Bulletin" -- Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, a tragic story: a climber who fell into a crater of Mount St. Helen's volcano on Monday is now dead. The body of 52-year-old Joseph Bohlig was recovered today and flown to Carson, Washington, for an autopsy. Rescuers had been trying to reach Bohlig since yesterday when he fell and slid 1,500 feet into that crater.

And a massive mud slide in southern Italy sends residents running, literally, for their lives. Some 200 people were forced to flee their town Monday after a hillside collapsed in the Calabria region of Italy. No deaths, though, have been reported.

Meantime, Toyota's troubles continue. The government today turned the heat up on its investigation of the carmaker, ordering Toyota to produce documents showing when and how it learned of the defects in roughly 6 million U.S. vehicles that have been recalled.

And what a rally. On Wall Street today, stocks soared as better- than-expected earnings reports boosted investor confidence. The Dow finished the day up nearly 170 points. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 also posted solid gains.

And a week after New Orleans celebrated its first Super Bowl win, Mardi Gras -- you see it right there -- in full swing. Despite the chilly weather in New Orleans, revelers filled the streets of the French Quarter, enjoying the floats, the beads, the jazz and all that drinking that Fat Tuesday brings.

It is, Anderson, a city that just lets the good times roll, right?

COOPER: Certainly is.

Poppy, tonight's "Shot" is -- well, it's gone to the dogs.

HARLOW: Love this one.

COOPER: Twenty-five-hundred dogs competing at Madison Square Garden tonight for the coveted title of best in show, the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. The competition is tough. We can't show you the winner this year unless we want to get sued. But here at 360, we decided to hold our own dog show and make you the judges. Now, all day you've been voting for the top dog among these ten contenders who belong to our staff. My dog's not on there. There's Nola and Star, Sugar, Guapo and Maddy, also Emma, Romeo, Sammy, Buddy and Bruiser.

And, all right, time for the winners, Poppy. The winners are...

HARLOW: Here we go. Drum roll.

COOPER: Second runner-up -- exactly. Second runner up is Buddy.

HARLOW: Buddy.

COOPER: He belongs to our talented associate producer Devna (ph).

First runner-up...

HARLOW: Sugar.

COOPER: Sugar. She belongs to our executive administrative assistant Joey (ph).

And the 360 "Best in Show" -- and the drum roll, please -- Nola, Tom Foreman's dog.

HARLOW: How fitting, Nola, with all the partying in New Orleans right now.

COOPER: Yes.

HARLOW: Anderson, my dog didn't even make -- Anderson, my dog didn't even make the top three.

COOPER: No, that's sad.

HARLOW: Can you guess which one it was?

COOPER: No. Which one is your dog?

HARLOW: Bruiser, the bulldog.

COOPER: Bruiser?

HARLOW: Bruiser. Bruiser runs my life. It's OK, though.

COOPER: There's Bruiser. All right.

HARLOW: There's Bruiser.

COOPER: Poppy, thanks very much. And Bruiser, thank you.

Hey, that's it for 360. Thanks for watching.

"LARRY KING" starts now. See you tomorrow night.