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Kansas Awaits DNA Tests to I.D. BTK Killer; Hollywood Star Takes Kids Through Big Apple; New Patch to Bolster Female Sex Drive?

Aired December 02, 2004 - 13:30   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Topping our news at the bottom of the hour now, the Philippines and a nightmare that won't end. More than 160,000 people are in shelters, riding out yet another typhoon. Mudslides and other misery from an earlier storm killed more than 420 people, including many whose bodies still have not been recovered.
The White House is said to be stepping up the pressure on Congress to get the 9/11 reform bill passed during next week's lame duck session. Top Senate negotiator Susan Collins said the president is launching a, quote, "full court press" on wavering lawmakers. Two key Republicans are blocking the bill, citing concerns about military intelligence and immigration issues.

Just a short time ago, President Bush tapped Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns as the next agriculture secretary, replacing Ann Veneman. Two years ago, Johanns became the state's first Republican governor in 40 years to win re-election. During his tenure, he led a delegation of farm and business leaders on a trade mission to Southeast Asia.

Afghanistan is about to welcome the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit since the Bush administration launched the war on terror. Accompanied by his wife Lynne, Vice President Dick Cheney plans to attend Hamid Karzai's presidential inauguration next week. Cheney's office says he also plans to hold talks with Mr. Karzai and other Afghan leaders during the visit.

People in Wichita, Kansas, are hanging on every word coming from police today. They're wonder whether a man arrested last night has any connection to a notorious serial killer whose unsolved crimes have haunted the city for decades. Killer calls himself BTK, an acronym for "bind torture kill." He has been linked to at least eight homicides dating back to 1974. And after years of silence, he began taunting police earlier this year with a series of cryptic letters.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk more about those cryptic letters. CNN's Keith Oppenheim joins us now with the latest on this case. He has been following it.

Keith, what can you tell us?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kyra, has done some DNA tests on the man who was arrested last night, and the results of those tests, which now have been relayed to Wichita Police, could be a big indicator of whether or not this is a big break in this old case or not. Let's show you some pictures of the suspect's home. It was last night that a man was arrested at his home on charges of trespassing and housing violation charges. That suspect is being held on what's pretty high bond for such charges, more than $25,000. Earlier this week, police released some details they had about BTK in recent letters they believe were sent by the killer, including that he may have been born back in 1939, that he always lived near railroad tracks.

And in fact, we're told the arrested suspect fits that description. 64, maybe 65 years old and his home is by railroad tracks. Quick background on this story, it was earlier this year this old case got new attention when police and the media began to receive letters believed to be from BTK, which stands for "bind torture kill." And it was way back in 1977 through 1979 that investigators and media outlets had been getting letters like that, letters that linked BTK then to seven murders in Wichita.

And then in very strange moment of silence for 25 years there was nothing until this spring when more mail surfaced to both police and the press connecting BTK now to an eighth murder. Sources are telling one of our affiliates that there were BTK lead detectives seen leaving the suspect's house last night.

And another thing that's getting our attention, of course, are these DNA tests, Kyra, that has been a very common theme throughout this long case is to collect DNA samples. Many have been collected.

So the question at this point is, is this going to be the big deal that many people in Wichita are hoping for, or is this just another moment, like many moments, that have been going on in this case over 25 years, somebody who is not a major suspect?

PHILLIPS: So Keith, what else do we know about this man, 64, 65 years old, the way he lived, what he did, any other details coming forward about his personal life?

OPPENHEIM: Well, other than that, he lived by the railroad tracks and there is a criminal trespassing charge that we don't have a lot of details on yet. He is also being charged with housing code violations because the house didn't look very good. It needed a lot of repairs. There was junk in the yard. And I think it's pretty clear that police are using these relatively minor charges to hold him until they can confirm or not as to whether he is the killer.

But just to give us context, the first murder in this case, Kyra, the first one we know of, took place back in 1974, 30 years ago, and all we can say for sure at this time that this man is being held on trespassing and housing code violations.

PHILLIPS: Interesting, Keith Oppenheim, thank you so much. We'll have more on this story next hour from CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks.

WHITFIELD: An Oscar-winning actor, Cuba Gooding Jr., takes on a new role and the kids of New York City are loving it. You see right there. He joins me live to talk about it straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "JERRY MAGUIRE")

CUBA GOODING JR., ACTOR: Show me the money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Everybody loves that scene. How memorable is that? Cuba Gooding Jr., everyone knows him from "Jerry Maguire", well, now he's saying, "show me the kids." He's showing a group of New York City boys and girls some holiday cheer with a tour of the Big Apple's favorite holiday sites today. He joins us live from Central Park right now. He's taking a break from the tour, a little break, maybe, Cuba, from a little ice skating back there?

GOODING: I am. Those kids tried to kill me.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Don't let that happen.

GOODING: They tried kill a brother, and I'm in shape.

WHITFIELD: So what sort of things have you guys been doing?

GOODING: Everything, we started off...

WHITFIELD: Other than trying to kill you on the ice.

GOODING: Well, yeah. We started on "The Tony Danza Show." We went buggy riding through Central Park with a horse and carriage. We're going to go some window shopping at Lords & Taylor, we're going to do it all, a little bit of everything.

WHITFIELD: That's wonderful. And you know, this is a great time of year, of course, in New York, the holiday season. But you know, how is it that you find that you're able to really connect with these kids who know Manhattan, they're familiar with the city, but they're being, I guess, taken around town by you, this big megastar?

GOODING: Well, it's awesome. When Mastercard called me -- I guess they got some new promotion that they're -- if you use your Mastercard, they're going to take you and 20 of your relatives anywhere in the world.

So I said, I'll be involved if you let me take 20 Boys and Girls Club kids out on the town for a day, you guys pay the bill, they said absolutely. So we actually are going to try to do so much stuff. They just might kill me at the end of the day. But you know, it was just -- it's an awesome opportunity to use your celebrity to influence kids. Because I was -- let me show you something. It's very important to say -- Boys and Girls Club member myself, since I was young. I used to be a break dancer, hanging out in front of the stores and stuff. WHITFIELD: Because you grew up in the Bronx, didn't you?

GOODING: I was born in the Bronx, but I grew up in California. Before that I lived in Tucson, Orange County, and there's a Boys and Girls Club branch out there -- you can tell I've said that a few times today.

WHITFIELD: Not a problem.

GOODING: But there's a branch out there, and that's where we used to hang out at, and kept me off the streets, out of trouble. And now these kids are hanging with Cuba, you know, all day and this is -- this truly will be a priceless moment in their lives, and hopefully they'll never forget it.

WHITFIELD: And what a dream come true for a lot of these kids. You know, do you feel like you can really identify with these kids? Because, in part, while they probably look at you and say, wait a minute, you're the son of the famous Cuba Gooding Sr. You know, you grew up then in Hollywood. You got into the acting business. And things seem to have just been swimming right along. Do you also try to impress upon them that you, too, have, you know, come across some obstacle and can identify with some of the obstacles these kids are facing?

GOODING: A lot of these kids are homeless, a lot of these kids have broken homes, marriages, adopted, and my life -- I came from -- we were living in the streets. We were living in a car, in a hotel. We had -- we moved around a lot, and the one constant that I had in a lot of the city I lived in is the Boys and Girls Club. I knew I could go down there. I'd see peers, I'd people who were there just to help the kids enjoy themselves, not in a school setting, but in a way where they can just feel they belong. You know, somewhere -- like a second home to them. I think it's very important. If I was in the same situation that they were in, then we're looking at 20 of the next Academy Award winners.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's so great.

GOODING: Because that's how I see it and that's what's really -- what really hooked me to be a part of this, is to show these kids -- and to hang with these kids. We've been laughing -- this one girl's -- she's got an amazing voice, and she's like 9. And it's great, because there's so much talent out there. And we got to go back to the family and parents taking care of their -- reconnecting with their kid, not just putting them in organized sports, but connecting with them, just like the program, the Mastercard program.

WHITFIELD: And you feel like you really have connected with these kids. You know, they've gotten over the part where they're completely enamored by you as Cuba Gooding Jr. And now it's kind of like, hey, you know, you're like our big brother.

GOODING: Oh, it's awesome. It really is. And It's so funny because -- they'll start to fight and then they'll come to me and make me solve it for these kids. I'm like, yes, she had the hot dog, and don't have me snatch the hot dog out of somebody's hands now, because I will go off.

WHITFIELD: Well, outside of these projects, you're involved with the Boys and Girls Club there in Manhattan, you are still in the filmmaking industry. You've got a movie coming out, "Shadowboxer." And that's being directed by somebody who has been notably received a lot of accolades for producing "Monster's Ball," Lee Daniels. What's this movie about?

GOODING: Well, it's a movie of a dysfunctional family of hitmen and it studies relationships that aren't as neatly put together as they would in, say, a TV show or whatnot. This is reality. Helen Mirren is my costar, who's raised me since I was 7. And now, you know, she's an older lady, and I'm her -- I'm her lover now, and we're also hit people, so we -- and then finally, we have an epiphany and we have to decide in life, you know, does our life make sense? We need to find our moral center.

It's a very dark movie. It's a very provocative movie. But one of the best scripts I've read. I'm more proud of this movie than any movie I've made. It's an emotional roller coaster. But I think, you know, there's -- the American family's made up of so many different understandings and relationships and positions and, again, as an actor, we get to, you know, look into the relationship with people. They don't fit neatly in a box, and this was a great opportunity to do that. Wow, sorry -- my jaw's getting -- I go to talk and it locks up a little bit.

WHITFIELD: I know it's a little cold there. Plus I know, you know, it's a tough transition to make. You're talking about a very serious topic and the movie that you're going to be starring in, and then having so much fun with the kinds and letting them be kids and they're having a great time, and you know, continue to have a great holiday season with the boys and girls there in Manhattan. And I know they're appreciating the time that you're taking out.

GOODING: Absolutely. They really are. And they'll never -- like I say, this moment in time for them is priceless. Just glad to be a part of it.

WHITFIELD: All right, Cuba Gooding Jr., thanks so much. Happy holidays to you.

GOODING: You, too. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And don't break a leg out there on the ice rink.

GOODING: They can't get me. I'll take one of these kids out. I'll take you out!

WHITFIELD: All right, before they get you first. All right, take care -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And we're going to talk medical news now, a little bit of a serious subject, I guess you could say, the dangers of desire- enhancement exaggerated. Well, an update on that testosterone patch for women that we told you about yesterday. Elizabeth Cohen, back with more, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, some are calling it the first female Viagra. A small patch is being promoted as a way to restore sexual desire among women.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us to help separate the facts from the hype, and I think there's probably a lot of hype to talk about, too.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, there's hype, and there's some fact, so let's get right to it. An FDA advisory committee is reviewing whether or not a testosterone patch should be put on the market for women, for menopausal women with sexual dysfunction. Here are the issues -- the FDA has written a memo to this expert advisory committee, saying, does this patch really work? In fact, there's some data that says that when women get this patch it increases their desire, but basically, the bottom line it make them have one more sexually satisfying encounter a month, just one more a month, and some people might say, gee, is it really worth it to have a patch for that? Other people would argue that it really is worth it.

Another question, is it safe? There are concerns about giving menopausal women hormones. You remember when women have taken hormone replacement therapy, post-menopause, the there have been some been health issues, with cancer and with heart attacks. And some people now saying, gee, do we want to mess around with more hormones. Is that going to be safe or not? And so the FDA is reviewing this to see whether this patch really works and whether it's safe.

PHILLIPS: All right, so you're talking about one extra time a month, I mean, female Viagra, seems a little bit exaggerated.

COHEN: Right, exactly, this isn't the female Viagra in the way that we think of Viagra. But certainly, pharmaceutical companies, ever since Viagra came out in 1998, have been trying to come out with some equivalent to Viagra.

But one really important thing to remember with this patch is that women suffer from sexual dysfunction for a whole host of reasons. Only a certain percentage of them are because they have low testosterone. So this patch is going to help, or potentially help, that percentage. It's not going to help certainly a huge majority of the women who have sexual dysfunction.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.

WHITFIELD: Well, the White House is getting into the holiday spirit. This morning, First Lady Laura Bush showed off this year's holiday decorations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: This room is always so beautiful, however it's decorated, but especially this year, with the snow-covered trees and the red tablecloth, the white tulips. I think it really makes a beautiful room and this is the room that, of course, all of our guests who will be coming to parties all over the holiday season, will be able to fill their plate.

And, as you can see back here behind us, we have Frosty the Snowman, made by Thaddeus Dubois, our pastry chef. So that's the dessert table that is set up back there. And then on each of the mantles in this room is one of the songs that American children know and remember, and we have "Rudolph" over here, and "Marshmallow World" on that one, "Frosty the Snowman" back here, and "Toy Land" on the other mantle, so.

Of course, I want peace. And I hope we have peace in the New Year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, that is a stunning sight. And tasty looking one as well, with all that candy. The holiday festivities continue in Washington tonight as the president throws the switch on the National Tree, and that's at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

PHILLIPS: All right, get ready for this now, Fredricka. Business is looking up for Merriam Webster. Actually, the Merriam Webster folks are in the business of lexicography, or dictionary writing and we're the ones doing the looking it up. Thanks to the Web, looking up no longer requires an actual hold-it-in-your-hands dictionary, but it does require an annual list of the top ten words that people looked up online.

So here you go. This year, it starts with "blog," which hasn't even made it into the print edition. That makes sense, right? It's abbreviated form of the term "Weblog." And then you've got political words, including "incumbent," "electoral." That got a lot of hits. And thanks to the situation in Iraq, of course, "insurgent" was also very popular.

Now, for some reason, "defenestration" also made the list. Let's say that six times. I know, that's what we all said, too. It means the throwing of a person or thing out of a window. Well, here, I'll use it in sentence: "After Merriam Webster included 'irregardless' in their print dictionary, many of our writers committed defenestration with the now poorly esteemed bulky tome." And does that make sense to anybody?

WHITFIELD: We kind of get it, once you refer back to the Webster's dictionary definition.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, we do have much more ahead in the second hour of LIVE FROM.

Phillips: You probably already know that everything you do at work is not exactly private. But can you do anything about it? Daniel Sieberg's privacy series continues with the pros and cons of trying to build a wall between you and Big Brother. LIVE FROM's "Hour of Power" begins right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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


Aired December 2, 2004 - 13:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Topping our news at the bottom of the hour now, the Philippines and a nightmare that won't end. More than 160,000 people are in shelters, riding out yet another typhoon. Mudslides and other misery from an earlier storm killed more than 420 people, including many whose bodies still have not been recovered.
The White House is said to be stepping up the pressure on Congress to get the 9/11 reform bill passed during next week's lame duck session. Top Senate negotiator Susan Collins said the president is launching a, quote, "full court press" on wavering lawmakers. Two key Republicans are blocking the bill, citing concerns about military intelligence and immigration issues.

Just a short time ago, President Bush tapped Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns as the next agriculture secretary, replacing Ann Veneman. Two years ago, Johanns became the state's first Republican governor in 40 years to win re-election. During his tenure, he led a delegation of farm and business leaders on a trade mission to Southeast Asia.

Afghanistan is about to welcome the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit since the Bush administration launched the war on terror. Accompanied by his wife Lynne, Vice President Dick Cheney plans to attend Hamid Karzai's presidential inauguration next week. Cheney's office says he also plans to hold talks with Mr. Karzai and other Afghan leaders during the visit.

People in Wichita, Kansas, are hanging on every word coming from police today. They're wonder whether a man arrested last night has any connection to a notorious serial killer whose unsolved crimes have haunted the city for decades. Killer calls himself BTK, an acronym for "bind torture kill." He has been linked to at least eight homicides dating back to 1974. And after years of silence, he began taunting police earlier this year with a series of cryptic letters.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk more about those cryptic letters. CNN's Keith Oppenheim joins us now with the latest on this case. He has been following it.

Keith, what can you tell us?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kyra, has done some DNA tests on the man who was arrested last night, and the results of those tests, which now have been relayed to Wichita Police, could be a big indicator of whether or not this is a big break in this old case or not. Let's show you some pictures of the suspect's home. It was last night that a man was arrested at his home on charges of trespassing and housing violation charges. That suspect is being held on what's pretty high bond for such charges, more than $25,000. Earlier this week, police released some details they had about BTK in recent letters they believe were sent by the killer, including that he may have been born back in 1939, that he always lived near railroad tracks.

And in fact, we're told the arrested suspect fits that description. 64, maybe 65 years old and his home is by railroad tracks. Quick background on this story, it was earlier this year this old case got new attention when police and the media began to receive letters believed to be from BTK, which stands for "bind torture kill." And it was way back in 1977 through 1979 that investigators and media outlets had been getting letters like that, letters that linked BTK then to seven murders in Wichita.

And then in very strange moment of silence for 25 years there was nothing until this spring when more mail surfaced to both police and the press connecting BTK now to an eighth murder. Sources are telling one of our affiliates that there were BTK lead detectives seen leaving the suspect's house last night.

And another thing that's getting our attention, of course, are these DNA tests, Kyra, that has been a very common theme throughout this long case is to collect DNA samples. Many have been collected.

So the question at this point is, is this going to be the big deal that many people in Wichita are hoping for, or is this just another moment, like many moments, that have been going on in this case over 25 years, somebody who is not a major suspect?

PHILLIPS: So Keith, what else do we know about this man, 64, 65 years old, the way he lived, what he did, any other details coming forward about his personal life?

OPPENHEIM: Well, other than that, he lived by the railroad tracks and there is a criminal trespassing charge that we don't have a lot of details on yet. He is also being charged with housing code violations because the house didn't look very good. It needed a lot of repairs. There was junk in the yard. And I think it's pretty clear that police are using these relatively minor charges to hold him until they can confirm or not as to whether he is the killer.

But just to give us context, the first murder in this case, Kyra, the first one we know of, took place back in 1974, 30 years ago, and all we can say for sure at this time that this man is being held on trespassing and housing code violations.

PHILLIPS: Interesting, Keith Oppenheim, thank you so much. We'll have more on this story next hour from CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks.

WHITFIELD: An Oscar-winning actor, Cuba Gooding Jr., takes on a new role and the kids of New York City are loving it. You see right there. He joins me live to talk about it straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "JERRY MAGUIRE")

CUBA GOODING JR., ACTOR: Show me the money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Everybody loves that scene. How memorable is that? Cuba Gooding Jr., everyone knows him from "Jerry Maguire", well, now he's saying, "show me the kids." He's showing a group of New York City boys and girls some holiday cheer with a tour of the Big Apple's favorite holiday sites today. He joins us live from Central Park right now. He's taking a break from the tour, a little break, maybe, Cuba, from a little ice skating back there?

GOODING: I am. Those kids tried to kill me.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Don't let that happen.

GOODING: They tried kill a brother, and I'm in shape.

WHITFIELD: So what sort of things have you guys been doing?

GOODING: Everything, we started off...

WHITFIELD: Other than trying to kill you on the ice.

GOODING: Well, yeah. We started on "The Tony Danza Show." We went buggy riding through Central Park with a horse and carriage. We're going to go some window shopping at Lords & Taylor, we're going to do it all, a little bit of everything.

WHITFIELD: That's wonderful. And you know, this is a great time of year, of course, in New York, the holiday season. But you know, how is it that you find that you're able to really connect with these kids who know Manhattan, they're familiar with the city, but they're being, I guess, taken around town by you, this big megastar?

GOODING: Well, it's awesome. When Mastercard called me -- I guess they got some new promotion that they're -- if you use your Mastercard, they're going to take you and 20 of your relatives anywhere in the world.

So I said, I'll be involved if you let me take 20 Boys and Girls Club kids out on the town for a day, you guys pay the bill, they said absolutely. So we actually are going to try to do so much stuff. They just might kill me at the end of the day. But you know, it was just -- it's an awesome opportunity to use your celebrity to influence kids. Because I was -- let me show you something. It's very important to say -- Boys and Girls Club member myself, since I was young. I used to be a break dancer, hanging out in front of the stores and stuff. WHITFIELD: Because you grew up in the Bronx, didn't you?

GOODING: I was born in the Bronx, but I grew up in California. Before that I lived in Tucson, Orange County, and there's a Boys and Girls Club branch out there -- you can tell I've said that a few times today.

WHITFIELD: Not a problem.

GOODING: But there's a branch out there, and that's where we used to hang out at, and kept me off the streets, out of trouble. And now these kids are hanging with Cuba, you know, all day and this is -- this truly will be a priceless moment in their lives, and hopefully they'll never forget it.

WHITFIELD: And what a dream come true for a lot of these kids. You know, do you feel like you can really identify with these kids? Because, in part, while they probably look at you and say, wait a minute, you're the son of the famous Cuba Gooding Sr. You know, you grew up then in Hollywood. You got into the acting business. And things seem to have just been swimming right along. Do you also try to impress upon them that you, too, have, you know, come across some obstacle and can identify with some of the obstacles these kids are facing?

GOODING: A lot of these kids are homeless, a lot of these kids have broken homes, marriages, adopted, and my life -- I came from -- we were living in the streets. We were living in a car, in a hotel. We had -- we moved around a lot, and the one constant that I had in a lot of the city I lived in is the Boys and Girls Club. I knew I could go down there. I'd see peers, I'd people who were there just to help the kids enjoy themselves, not in a school setting, but in a way where they can just feel they belong. You know, somewhere -- like a second home to them. I think it's very important. If I was in the same situation that they were in, then we're looking at 20 of the next Academy Award winners.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's so great.

GOODING: Because that's how I see it and that's what's really -- what really hooked me to be a part of this, is to show these kids -- and to hang with these kids. We've been laughing -- this one girl's -- she's got an amazing voice, and she's like 9. And it's great, because there's so much talent out there. And we got to go back to the family and parents taking care of their -- reconnecting with their kid, not just putting them in organized sports, but connecting with them, just like the program, the Mastercard program.

WHITFIELD: And you feel like you really have connected with these kids. You know, they've gotten over the part where they're completely enamored by you as Cuba Gooding Jr. And now it's kind of like, hey, you know, you're like our big brother.

GOODING: Oh, it's awesome. It really is. And It's so funny because -- they'll start to fight and then they'll come to me and make me solve it for these kids. I'm like, yes, she had the hot dog, and don't have me snatch the hot dog out of somebody's hands now, because I will go off.

WHITFIELD: Well, outside of these projects, you're involved with the Boys and Girls Club there in Manhattan, you are still in the filmmaking industry. You've got a movie coming out, "Shadowboxer." And that's being directed by somebody who has been notably received a lot of accolades for producing "Monster's Ball," Lee Daniels. What's this movie about?

GOODING: Well, it's a movie of a dysfunctional family of hitmen and it studies relationships that aren't as neatly put together as they would in, say, a TV show or whatnot. This is reality. Helen Mirren is my costar, who's raised me since I was 7. And now, you know, she's an older lady, and I'm her -- I'm her lover now, and we're also hit people, so we -- and then finally, we have an epiphany and we have to decide in life, you know, does our life make sense? We need to find our moral center.

It's a very dark movie. It's a very provocative movie. But one of the best scripts I've read. I'm more proud of this movie than any movie I've made. It's an emotional roller coaster. But I think, you know, there's -- the American family's made up of so many different understandings and relationships and positions and, again, as an actor, we get to, you know, look into the relationship with people. They don't fit neatly in a box, and this was a great opportunity to do that. Wow, sorry -- my jaw's getting -- I go to talk and it locks up a little bit.

WHITFIELD: I know it's a little cold there. Plus I know, you know, it's a tough transition to make. You're talking about a very serious topic and the movie that you're going to be starring in, and then having so much fun with the kinds and letting them be kids and they're having a great time, and you know, continue to have a great holiday season with the boys and girls there in Manhattan. And I know they're appreciating the time that you're taking out.

GOODING: Absolutely. They really are. And they'll never -- like I say, this moment in time for them is priceless. Just glad to be a part of it.

WHITFIELD: All right, Cuba Gooding Jr., thanks so much. Happy holidays to you.

GOODING: You, too. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And don't break a leg out there on the ice rink.

GOODING: They can't get me. I'll take one of these kids out. I'll take you out!

WHITFIELD: All right, before they get you first. All right, take care -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And we're going to talk medical news now, a little bit of a serious subject, I guess you could say, the dangers of desire- enhancement exaggerated. Well, an update on that testosterone patch for women that we told you about yesterday. Elizabeth Cohen, back with more, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, some are calling it the first female Viagra. A small patch is being promoted as a way to restore sexual desire among women.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us to help separate the facts from the hype, and I think there's probably a lot of hype to talk about, too.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, there's hype, and there's some fact, so let's get right to it. An FDA advisory committee is reviewing whether or not a testosterone patch should be put on the market for women, for menopausal women with sexual dysfunction. Here are the issues -- the FDA has written a memo to this expert advisory committee, saying, does this patch really work? In fact, there's some data that says that when women get this patch it increases their desire, but basically, the bottom line it make them have one more sexually satisfying encounter a month, just one more a month, and some people might say, gee, is it really worth it to have a patch for that? Other people would argue that it really is worth it.

Another question, is it safe? There are concerns about giving menopausal women hormones. You remember when women have taken hormone replacement therapy, post-menopause, the there have been some been health issues, with cancer and with heart attacks. And some people now saying, gee, do we want to mess around with more hormones. Is that going to be safe or not? And so the FDA is reviewing this to see whether this patch really works and whether it's safe.

PHILLIPS: All right, so you're talking about one extra time a month, I mean, female Viagra, seems a little bit exaggerated.

COHEN: Right, exactly, this isn't the female Viagra in the way that we think of Viagra. But certainly, pharmaceutical companies, ever since Viagra came out in 1998, have been trying to come out with some equivalent to Viagra.

But one really important thing to remember with this patch is that women suffer from sexual dysfunction for a whole host of reasons. Only a certain percentage of them are because they have low testosterone. So this patch is going to help, or potentially help, that percentage. It's not going to help certainly a huge majority of the women who have sexual dysfunction.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.

WHITFIELD: Well, the White House is getting into the holiday spirit. This morning, First Lady Laura Bush showed off this year's holiday decorations.

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LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: This room is always so beautiful, however it's decorated, but especially this year, with the snow-covered trees and the red tablecloth, the white tulips. I think it really makes a beautiful room and this is the room that, of course, all of our guests who will be coming to parties all over the holiday season, will be able to fill their plate.

And, as you can see back here behind us, we have Frosty the Snowman, made by Thaddeus Dubois, our pastry chef. So that's the dessert table that is set up back there. And then on each of the mantles in this room is one of the songs that American children know and remember, and we have "Rudolph" over here, and "Marshmallow World" on that one, "Frosty the Snowman" back here, and "Toy Land" on the other mantle, so.

Of course, I want peace. And I hope we have peace in the New Year.

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WHITFIELD: Well, that is a stunning sight. And tasty looking one as well, with all that candy. The holiday festivities continue in Washington tonight as the president throws the switch on the National Tree, and that's at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

PHILLIPS: All right, get ready for this now, Fredricka. Business is looking up for Merriam Webster. Actually, the Merriam Webster folks are in the business of lexicography, or dictionary writing and we're the ones doing the looking it up. Thanks to the Web, looking up no longer requires an actual hold-it-in-your-hands dictionary, but it does require an annual list of the top ten words that people looked up online.

So here you go. This year, it starts with "blog," which hasn't even made it into the print edition. That makes sense, right? It's abbreviated form of the term "Weblog." And then you've got political words, including "incumbent," "electoral." That got a lot of hits. And thanks to the situation in Iraq, of course, "insurgent" was also very popular.

Now, for some reason, "defenestration" also made the list. Let's say that six times. I know, that's what we all said, too. It means the throwing of a person or thing out of a window. Well, here, I'll use it in sentence: "After Merriam Webster included 'irregardless' in their print dictionary, many of our writers committed defenestration with the now poorly esteemed bulky tome." And does that make sense to anybody?

WHITFIELD: We kind of get it, once you refer back to the Webster's dictionary definition.

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WHITFIELD: Well, we do have much more ahead in the second hour of LIVE FROM.

Phillips: You probably already know that everything you do at work is not exactly private. But can you do anything about it? Daniel Sieberg's privacy series continues with the pros and cons of trying to build a wall between you and Big Brother. LIVE FROM's "Hour of Power" begins right after this.

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