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CNN Sunday Morning

TIME Names Bush 'Person of the Year'; Car Bomb in Karbala

Aired December 19, 2004 - 08:00   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.


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's already December 19, 8 a.m. at CNN headquarters here in Atlanta, 5 a.m. on the West Coast.
Go morning everyone. I'm Betty Nguyen.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for being with us. Now in the news.

TIME magazine selects its "Person of the Year." You can see we've got it covered and it's someone you'll probably recognize. TIME says the nod goes to President George W. Bush for quote, "reshaping the rules of politics."

Violence in Iraq escalates ahead of the January elections. Four people are killed in gun battles along Baghdad's notorious Haifa Street. Three victims were election workers.

And in Karbala 10 people were killed in a car bombing, dozens wounded. Complete details in about a minute.

Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf says he will not step down as the head of the country's military. Musharraf made that promise about a year ago amid ongoing public outcry. Musharraf says he will address the nation in a few days to explain why he's retaining the powerful military post.

NGUYEN: And here's what we've got coming up this hour.

A Kansas woman accused in a shocking crime. We'll hear from some of the people who knew her.

Also a live report from the heart of the holiday mail rush. How can you keep your Christmas goodies moving? We're live at the FexEx super hub in Memphis to show you how.

And we just told you who TIME magazine's "Person of the Year" is. But what goes into picking that special person? We'll find out.

HARRIS: We're following some escalating violence in Iraq this morning. Deadly attacks in Baghdad and in Karbala to the south.

Also a car bomb goes off near a key Shiite shrine in Najaf. CNN's Karl Penhaul is standing by in the Iraqi capital with the latest.

Hi, Karl. KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Hi there, Tony. In fact this afternoon two of the holiest cities for Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority have been bombed. They've been targeted by car bombs. The latest was only about a half an hour ago.

A huge car bomb, we're told by CNN journalist, on the ground exploded just yards away from the Imam Ali Shrine. That's one of the holiest shrines anywhere in the world for Shiite Muslims.

We are told by our journalist on the ground that he has seen at least 10 bodies piled into the back of a police truck. He says there are many other causalities but he says it's chaos in the area right now. Very difficult to get a clear picture of total numbers of causalities.

He suspects that one of the targets of this car bomb attack was the security force providing security for the Imam Ali Shrine. That security force works along side Iraqi police, but is in fact supported by some of the religious authorities within Najaf, the city of Najaf. That's south of Baghdad.

Now a few miles away from there the other holy city for the Shiites, Karbala. That was targeted by a car bomb a couple of hours earlier. About 1:30 our time a car bomb exploded by the main bus terminal there. We're told by police that at least 10 people killed and 37 others were wounded.

So far no claims of responsibility. But what I can tell you is that the Sunni backed resistance fighters here in Iraq do accuse some of the Shiite Muslim leaders of siding with the coalitions in their support of the elections.

That said, there is descent within Shiite factions and certain Shiite splinter groups are also accusing some of the Shiite religious authorities, some of the mainstream authorities of siding with the coalition as well.

So internal rivalry as well as external rivalry with the Shiites, but no claims of responsibility at this stage.

All of those attacks though came after a bloody morning here in Baghdad along Haifa Street. That street is a very troublesome street over the last few months. It's only about three blocks away from the green zone where the U.S. administration and the Iraqi government is housed.

And in some disturbing pictures released by Associated Press, they had a photographer down there, and they've shown some execution style killings on that street.

Police have told us that a passing vehicle was stopped by insurgent gunman, these men that we see in photos holding pistols, they have made no attempt to mask their faces, and they dragged three members of the Independent Electoral Commission out of their vehicles, forced them to kneel in the street and then shot them in the head. Unclear what precisely these officials were doing on that street. But obviously in general terms what they are doing is helping to get these January 30th elections on track -- Tony

HARRIS: And Karl what can you tell us about the Iraqis that were taken hostage? I believe there is a video. They worked in security for the U.S.-based Sandi Company.

PENHAUL: That's correct, Tony. That video was released to Associated Press television today. It's not clear when actually the kidnapping took place. But security forces here in Baghdad have confirmed to CNN that 10 Iraqi employees of the Sandi Group, that's a security firm based in Washington, D.C., have been taken hostage.

In the video the kidnappers claim to be representatives of the black banners (ph) brigade and also the Mujahedeen Army, two of the resistance factions operating in this country. They are calling on Sandi Group to cease all operations in this country and withdraw all operations. Otherwise, they're threatening to kill their hostages -- Tony.

HARRIS: Karl Penhaul reporting live from Baghdad this morning. Karl, thank you.

NGUYEN: The Iraq war has led to many U.S. families getting condolence letters. And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wants them to be more personal. He now plans to personally sign each letter sent to relatives of service members killed in action.

The military newspaper "Stars and Stripes" says some families had criticized Rumsfeld for not giving the letters his personal touch.

Peace in the Mid East, President Bush said it is coming. Mr. Bush says he is sure he can make peace between Israel and the Palestinians. And he tells an Israeli newspaper he can do it within his second term.

The president has backed Israeli leader Ariel Sharon's plan to pull out of Gaza and some of the West Bank. And he also hopes for more moderate Palestinian leadership in the wake of Yasser Arafat's death.

HARRIS: This time of the year it's always time to tell you who TIME magazine has picked for its "Person of the Year." Since we've already let the cat out of the bag, Steve Koepp deputy managing editor of TIME tells us why President Bush was picked.

Steve joins us live from the Time Warner Center in New York.

Good morning, Steve.

STEVE KOEPP, TIME MAGAZINE: Good morning, Tony.

HARRIS: Well, here's the line. TIME says the nod goes to President George W. Bush for quote, "reshaping the rules of politics." Explain please.

KOEPP: Well he, first of all he ran under difficult circumstances. His approval ratings were not high relatively speaking, historically speaking. We had a messy war in Iraq and you also had record high deficits. But Bush, against all odds, changed the rules in the sense that he did not sweet talk the swing vote.

He did not move to the middle. He didn't mind who his enemies were in terms of - in fact, he told us in an interview he took delight in who his critics were. And he ran as an outsider, meaning against the status quo and that's not easy to do when you're already the commander and chief.

HARRIS: Hey, Steve. How much did it help that there was a war going on and there was a sense that the country rallies around the commander and chief at a time of war? How much did that help him, do you think, in sort of setting up this very direct, very straight forward tone throughout much of the year?

KOEPP: Well it cut both ways. On the one hand, it's a difficult war, a messy war. People question whether it was worth it. However, people also felt like he was so steadfast, stood his ground in terms of following up and following through that I think that that carried the day in terms of giving him another shot.

HARRIS: Who wrote the essay?

KOEPP: The essay was by Nancy Gibbs, the opening essay, which explained the many ways in which Bush changed the rules and looked forward to how he - what he sees the moral of the story being.

And the question that we'll be facing is, by his standing his ground so firmly does that mean the death of compromise or does he now have new room to be flexible.

HARRIS: What's your sense? I mean you've read it, you've consulted on it, you were part of the brain trust that put it together, what's your sense of the tone of the piece?

KOEPP: The tone of the peace is one of probing and explaining and answering some questions that people might have. One being well, shouldn't it have been Carl Rove (ph). A lot of people find it easy to explain Bush's success as one that was backed by a genius behind the scenes, who - behind the curtains. That there was some magical formula.

And in fact what was striking is how Bush sticks to his guns with -- not only against his critics and enemies, some of the obvious characters, but also within the Republican Party. He would not apologize for mistakes, would not backtrack and that really comes through in this piece.

HARRIS: OK. Did you really have much of a choice? I mean given that it is an election year, given that it - I know you had choices, but given the events of the year, given the war in Iraq did you have much of a choice?

KOEPP: Sure. I mean there were other very fascinating characters. There's the bloggers. There were fundamentalist filmmakers like Michael Moore and Mel Gibson. There's al-Zarqawi, the insurgent leader in Iraq. So there's lots of compelling choices. But we just believed in the end that Bush is an important figure.

Like him or not, he's a bold leader and the risks he's taking will change our lives.

HARRIS: OK. Steve, we'll be reading the piece. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us this morning.

KOEPP: You're welcome.

HARRIS: And coming up at the bottom of the hour, just how does TIME magazine select the candidates for "Person of the Year"? We'll find out all the answers to those questions and more in about 20 minutes.

NGUYEN: Well it's a crime that's difficult to understand. Ahead the suspect in the stolen baby scandal and how she showed off the child as her own.

HARRIS: And we want to hear from you. Who's your pick for "Person of the Year"? Send your e-mails - I guess this is your personal pick.

NGUYEN: Right.

HARRIS: We know who TIME magazine has picked. How about your personal pick for person of the year. Send us the e-mails at wam@cnn.com. We'll read some of your comments on the air throughout the program this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Checking our top stories now. Deadly violence in Iraq. Three election workers are shot dead by insurgents in Baghdad. Police say they were killed after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle.

A car bomb in the Iraqi city of Karbala leaves 10 people dead. Nearly 40 others were wounded. Also 10 Iraqis working for an American company have been taken hostage.

And in the latest attack a huge car bomb explodes within miles of the holy Iman (ph) Ali Mosque in Najaf. A witness reports seeing at least 10 bodies being loaded into the truck.

HARRIS: A pregnant Missouri woman strangled and her baby stolen. Now the woman accused of the crime faces a court appearance.

Police say Lisa Montgomery has already confessed. Meantime, people in her Kansas town of Melvern say she had shown off the infant girl of her own. Montgomery's pastor says it was all a bit odd.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MIKE WHEATLEY, PASTOR: It was pretty small and I commented to her about it. I asked her if she was due - when she was due and she said she was due in December. And I said well, you're kind of small to be having a baby that soon. And she said well, I always have small babies and so I just let it go at that.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

HARRIS: Montgomery attended the First Church of God and took the baby to visit the pastor. He describes the infant as beautiful.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

WHEATLEY: I got to hold the baby and just love on it and she sat there and just watched us and commented bout the delivery and how her water had broke. My wife asked her where she had had it and she said she had it at the Birthing Center in Topeka.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The baby has been recovered and is said to be in good shape. Montgomery appears in federal court tomorrow.

And here's a look at other news across America.

Four men now face charges in the $10 million Maryland arson case. Fires two weeks ago destroyed or heavily damaged 45 homes in an upscale suburban Washington development. A sub division security guard was arrested first then three others yesterday including an volunteer fire fighter.

A federal judge in Iowa slams three spammers with a billion dollar judgment. It's believe to be one of the largest judgments against companies accused of sending junk e-mails.

NGUYEN: OK. You won't find Santa's elves or those magical reindeer, but you will find countless airplanes and workers that could be mistaken for Santa's southern workshop. It is the FedEx hub in Memphis, Tennessee. And the shipping nerve center is all abuzz with the holiday rush.

CNN's Sara Dorsey joins us with some tips on getting those gifts out on time. And time is running out isn't it Sarah?

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is starting to tick down a little bit, Betty. If you're shipping here in the United States you need to have those packages out by the 23rd in order to get those before Christmas.

Now if you're shipping internationally you need to do it by tomorrow. So keep those two dates in mind. That's something you're going to want to know to make sure your gifts do arrive by Christmas.

As you can imagine, the industry, the shipping industry for FedEx is a big deal, $27 billion a year they make off of this. So they meticulously plan everything. They have it down to a science. There's about 600 airplanes in their fleet. Many of which come through the Memphis hub here. And once they get in it takes only about 20 minutes for crews to get into those airplanes, get all the packages off and they are then sent in to be sorted. At that time once they get sorted they will be reloaded on the airplane and shipped out. The Fed Ex company serves 213 - fifteen countries rather that they send packages to and it's their goal they tell us all the time to try to get these packages to the destination whenever people are asking for those.

Later on today we're going to be taking you inside what they call the matrix. That's the sorting area where all of these packages are sorted out. It's the areas that they need to go in order to be shipped to the different locations to make it to their destinations on time.

And of course Christmas, in-between Christmas and -- Thanksgiving and Christmas, rather, is the busiest time for people here. Many do not get vacations during this time. So like you mentioned, Betty, they are much like Santa's elves. They're working around the clock to make sure everyone has a very merry Christmas.

NGUYEN: Some very busy bees there at the FedEx hub in Memphis, Tennessee. Thanks, Sara.

DORSEY: Thank you.

HARRIS: And TIME magazine makes it picks for the "Person of the Year." Straight ahead, how they make that tough choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it could catch on. Allowing us to greet and offend everyone all at once.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: If you think this new holiday greeting will catch on and more importantly, see if you can say it. That's ahead in our Faces of Faith segment. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Time to look into our Faces of Faith this Sunday morning. The holiday season it's much more than just Christmas. Jewish and Muslim celebrations are also part of the mix. So in today's politically correct world what is the proper holiday greeting? CNN's Tom Foreman has come up with an idea that is all inclusive, or is it?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): During the most celebrated holiday in America are you like so many businesses not sure how to greet people? Are you embarrassed by misplaced Merry Christmases and ill targeted Happy Hanukkahs. But are you already tired of the lukewarm happy holidays?

(on camera): Have no fear. A new seasonal greeting is here and I call it happy ChrismaKwanzHamadan. A little hard to say, but it has a nice swing to it and I think it could catch on allowing us to greet and offend everyone all at once. (voice-over): It's not a fairly balanced greeting. After all, despite declines in organized religion about 76 percent of Americans still call themselves Christians. Thirteen percent profess no faith, 1.3 percent are Jewish and Buddhist, Muslims and Agnostics are a half percent each.

(on-camera): But ChrismaKwanzHamadan covers almost all the basis. The Buddhists get a little shortchanged, but I think they're pretty easy going. We'll have to iron out some of the details anyway.

)voice-over): The postal service might struggle to fit ChrismaKwanzHamadan onto a stamp and I'm not sure St. Rabbi Mohammed Imbutto (ph) would be all that popular or even fit into a chimney. There could be unintended consequences too. Movements to combine other holidays, the Fourth of Thanksgiving and Valanoween (ph)come to mind.

(on-camera): But we have to do something. With more schools, offices and local governments giving up Christmas parties in favor of winter celebrations nobody knows what to say. I don't throw Merry Christmas at friends of differing faiths. Rather I wish them the best of their own holidays.

But as a practicing Christian I do say merry Christmas a lot. I don't think respecting other peoples beliefs means hiding your own.

(voice-over): That's why even if ChrismaKwanzHamadan does not work in the long run, I'm not sure happy holiday does either. Not when what we mean is happy Hanukkah, a joyous Kwanzaa, a peaceful Ramadan and a merry Christmas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: All right, ChrismaKwanzHamadan doesn't exactly roll off the lips. Those thoughts from CNN's Tom Foreman.

Also this morning we want to take you live to Iraq because we are getting some new details about a car bomb in Najaf. Let's go now to CNN's Karl Penhaul with the latest -- Karl.

PENHAUL: Hi there, Betty. We just had information from the head of security operations in the holy Shiite city of Najaf just south of Baghdad. He has confirmed to us that a car bomb that took place now about three quarters of an hour ago has killed at least 10 people.

He says though that that death toll could easily rise. Eye witnesses at the scene say that it's chaos there right now. What the security forces chief has told us is that a car bomber drove his vehicle into a funeral procession.

That funeral was for a prominent tribal leader in the city of Najaf. The funeral procession had made its way seven times, as is tradition, around the holy shrine of the Iman-Ali (ph) and were heading out towards the cemetery when this car bomber struck.

No claims of responsibility as to who was behind this attack so far, but it did come two hours after another car bomb in the holy city of Karbala. Ten people were killed in that attack and 37 others wounded, Betty.

NGUYEN: A very violent day there. Karl Penhaul in Baghdad, thank you for that update.

You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING. We'll be right back.

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Aired December 19, 2004 - 08:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's already December 19, 8 a.m. at CNN headquarters here in Atlanta, 5 a.m. on the West Coast.
Go morning everyone. I'm Betty Nguyen.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for being with us. Now in the news.

TIME magazine selects its "Person of the Year." You can see we've got it covered and it's someone you'll probably recognize. TIME says the nod goes to President George W. Bush for quote, "reshaping the rules of politics."

Violence in Iraq escalates ahead of the January elections. Four people are killed in gun battles along Baghdad's notorious Haifa Street. Three victims were election workers.

And in Karbala 10 people were killed in a car bombing, dozens wounded. Complete details in about a minute.

Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf says he will not step down as the head of the country's military. Musharraf made that promise about a year ago amid ongoing public outcry. Musharraf says he will address the nation in a few days to explain why he's retaining the powerful military post.

NGUYEN: And here's what we've got coming up this hour.

A Kansas woman accused in a shocking crime. We'll hear from some of the people who knew her.

Also a live report from the heart of the holiday mail rush. How can you keep your Christmas goodies moving? We're live at the FexEx super hub in Memphis to show you how.

And we just told you who TIME magazine's "Person of the Year" is. But what goes into picking that special person? We'll find out.

HARRIS: We're following some escalating violence in Iraq this morning. Deadly attacks in Baghdad and in Karbala to the south.

Also a car bomb goes off near a key Shiite shrine in Najaf. CNN's Karl Penhaul is standing by in the Iraqi capital with the latest.

Hi, Karl. KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Hi there, Tony. In fact this afternoon two of the holiest cities for Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority have been bombed. They've been targeted by car bombs. The latest was only about a half an hour ago.

A huge car bomb, we're told by CNN journalist, on the ground exploded just yards away from the Imam Ali Shrine. That's one of the holiest shrines anywhere in the world for Shiite Muslims.

We are told by our journalist on the ground that he has seen at least 10 bodies piled into the back of a police truck. He says there are many other causalities but he says it's chaos in the area right now. Very difficult to get a clear picture of total numbers of causalities.

He suspects that one of the targets of this car bomb attack was the security force providing security for the Imam Ali Shrine. That security force works along side Iraqi police, but is in fact supported by some of the religious authorities within Najaf, the city of Najaf. That's south of Baghdad.

Now a few miles away from there the other holy city for the Shiites, Karbala. That was targeted by a car bomb a couple of hours earlier. About 1:30 our time a car bomb exploded by the main bus terminal there. We're told by police that at least 10 people killed and 37 others were wounded.

So far no claims of responsibility. But what I can tell you is that the Sunni backed resistance fighters here in Iraq do accuse some of the Shiite Muslim leaders of siding with the coalitions in their support of the elections.

That said, there is descent within Shiite factions and certain Shiite splinter groups are also accusing some of the Shiite religious authorities, some of the mainstream authorities of siding with the coalition as well.

So internal rivalry as well as external rivalry with the Shiites, but no claims of responsibility at this stage.

All of those attacks though came after a bloody morning here in Baghdad along Haifa Street. That street is a very troublesome street over the last few months. It's only about three blocks away from the green zone where the U.S. administration and the Iraqi government is housed.

And in some disturbing pictures released by Associated Press, they had a photographer down there, and they've shown some execution style killings on that street.

Police have told us that a passing vehicle was stopped by insurgent gunman, these men that we see in photos holding pistols, they have made no attempt to mask their faces, and they dragged three members of the Independent Electoral Commission out of their vehicles, forced them to kneel in the street and then shot them in the head. Unclear what precisely these officials were doing on that street. But obviously in general terms what they are doing is helping to get these January 30th elections on track -- Tony

HARRIS: And Karl what can you tell us about the Iraqis that were taken hostage? I believe there is a video. They worked in security for the U.S.-based Sandi Company.

PENHAUL: That's correct, Tony. That video was released to Associated Press television today. It's not clear when actually the kidnapping took place. But security forces here in Baghdad have confirmed to CNN that 10 Iraqi employees of the Sandi Group, that's a security firm based in Washington, D.C., have been taken hostage.

In the video the kidnappers claim to be representatives of the black banners (ph) brigade and also the Mujahedeen Army, two of the resistance factions operating in this country. They are calling on Sandi Group to cease all operations in this country and withdraw all operations. Otherwise, they're threatening to kill their hostages -- Tony.

HARRIS: Karl Penhaul reporting live from Baghdad this morning. Karl, thank you.

NGUYEN: The Iraq war has led to many U.S. families getting condolence letters. And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wants them to be more personal. He now plans to personally sign each letter sent to relatives of service members killed in action.

The military newspaper "Stars and Stripes" says some families had criticized Rumsfeld for not giving the letters his personal touch.

Peace in the Mid East, President Bush said it is coming. Mr. Bush says he is sure he can make peace between Israel and the Palestinians. And he tells an Israeli newspaper he can do it within his second term.

The president has backed Israeli leader Ariel Sharon's plan to pull out of Gaza and some of the West Bank. And he also hopes for more moderate Palestinian leadership in the wake of Yasser Arafat's death.

HARRIS: This time of the year it's always time to tell you who TIME magazine has picked for its "Person of the Year." Since we've already let the cat out of the bag, Steve Koepp deputy managing editor of TIME tells us why President Bush was picked.

Steve joins us live from the Time Warner Center in New York.

Good morning, Steve.

STEVE KOEPP, TIME MAGAZINE: Good morning, Tony.

HARRIS: Well, here's the line. TIME says the nod goes to President George W. Bush for quote, "reshaping the rules of politics." Explain please.

KOEPP: Well he, first of all he ran under difficult circumstances. His approval ratings were not high relatively speaking, historically speaking. We had a messy war in Iraq and you also had record high deficits. But Bush, against all odds, changed the rules in the sense that he did not sweet talk the swing vote.

He did not move to the middle. He didn't mind who his enemies were in terms of - in fact, he told us in an interview he took delight in who his critics were. And he ran as an outsider, meaning against the status quo and that's not easy to do when you're already the commander and chief.

HARRIS: Hey, Steve. How much did it help that there was a war going on and there was a sense that the country rallies around the commander and chief at a time of war? How much did that help him, do you think, in sort of setting up this very direct, very straight forward tone throughout much of the year?

KOEPP: Well it cut both ways. On the one hand, it's a difficult war, a messy war. People question whether it was worth it. However, people also felt like he was so steadfast, stood his ground in terms of following up and following through that I think that that carried the day in terms of giving him another shot.

HARRIS: Who wrote the essay?

KOEPP: The essay was by Nancy Gibbs, the opening essay, which explained the many ways in which Bush changed the rules and looked forward to how he - what he sees the moral of the story being.

And the question that we'll be facing is, by his standing his ground so firmly does that mean the death of compromise or does he now have new room to be flexible.

HARRIS: What's your sense? I mean you've read it, you've consulted on it, you were part of the brain trust that put it together, what's your sense of the tone of the piece?

KOEPP: The tone of the peace is one of probing and explaining and answering some questions that people might have. One being well, shouldn't it have been Carl Rove (ph). A lot of people find it easy to explain Bush's success as one that was backed by a genius behind the scenes, who - behind the curtains. That there was some magical formula.

And in fact what was striking is how Bush sticks to his guns with -- not only against his critics and enemies, some of the obvious characters, but also within the Republican Party. He would not apologize for mistakes, would not backtrack and that really comes through in this piece.

HARRIS: OK. Did you really have much of a choice? I mean given that it is an election year, given that it - I know you had choices, but given the events of the year, given the war in Iraq did you have much of a choice?

KOEPP: Sure. I mean there were other very fascinating characters. There's the bloggers. There were fundamentalist filmmakers like Michael Moore and Mel Gibson. There's al-Zarqawi, the insurgent leader in Iraq. So there's lots of compelling choices. But we just believed in the end that Bush is an important figure.

Like him or not, he's a bold leader and the risks he's taking will change our lives.

HARRIS: OK. Steve, we'll be reading the piece. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us this morning.

KOEPP: You're welcome.

HARRIS: And coming up at the bottom of the hour, just how does TIME magazine select the candidates for "Person of the Year"? We'll find out all the answers to those questions and more in about 20 minutes.

NGUYEN: Well it's a crime that's difficult to understand. Ahead the suspect in the stolen baby scandal and how she showed off the child as her own.

HARRIS: And we want to hear from you. Who's your pick for "Person of the Year"? Send your e-mails - I guess this is your personal pick.

NGUYEN: Right.

HARRIS: We know who TIME magazine has picked. How about your personal pick for person of the year. Send us the e-mails at wam@cnn.com. We'll read some of your comments on the air throughout the program this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Checking our top stories now. Deadly violence in Iraq. Three election workers are shot dead by insurgents in Baghdad. Police say they were killed after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle.

A car bomb in the Iraqi city of Karbala leaves 10 people dead. Nearly 40 others were wounded. Also 10 Iraqis working for an American company have been taken hostage.

And in the latest attack a huge car bomb explodes within miles of the holy Iman (ph) Ali Mosque in Najaf. A witness reports seeing at least 10 bodies being loaded into the truck.

HARRIS: A pregnant Missouri woman strangled and her baby stolen. Now the woman accused of the crime faces a court appearance.

Police say Lisa Montgomery has already confessed. Meantime, people in her Kansas town of Melvern say she had shown off the infant girl of her own. Montgomery's pastor says it was all a bit odd.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MIKE WHEATLEY, PASTOR: It was pretty small and I commented to her about it. I asked her if she was due - when she was due and she said she was due in December. And I said well, you're kind of small to be having a baby that soon. And she said well, I always have small babies and so I just let it go at that.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

HARRIS: Montgomery attended the First Church of God and took the baby to visit the pastor. He describes the infant as beautiful.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

WHEATLEY: I got to hold the baby and just love on it and she sat there and just watched us and commented bout the delivery and how her water had broke. My wife asked her where she had had it and she said she had it at the Birthing Center in Topeka.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The baby has been recovered and is said to be in good shape. Montgomery appears in federal court tomorrow.

And here's a look at other news across America.

Four men now face charges in the $10 million Maryland arson case. Fires two weeks ago destroyed or heavily damaged 45 homes in an upscale suburban Washington development. A sub division security guard was arrested first then three others yesterday including an volunteer fire fighter.

A federal judge in Iowa slams three spammers with a billion dollar judgment. It's believe to be one of the largest judgments against companies accused of sending junk e-mails.

NGUYEN: OK. You won't find Santa's elves or those magical reindeer, but you will find countless airplanes and workers that could be mistaken for Santa's southern workshop. It is the FedEx hub in Memphis, Tennessee. And the shipping nerve center is all abuzz with the holiday rush.

CNN's Sara Dorsey joins us with some tips on getting those gifts out on time. And time is running out isn't it Sarah?

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is starting to tick down a little bit, Betty. If you're shipping here in the United States you need to have those packages out by the 23rd in order to get those before Christmas.

Now if you're shipping internationally you need to do it by tomorrow. So keep those two dates in mind. That's something you're going to want to know to make sure your gifts do arrive by Christmas.

As you can imagine, the industry, the shipping industry for FedEx is a big deal, $27 billion a year they make off of this. So they meticulously plan everything. They have it down to a science. There's about 600 airplanes in their fleet. Many of which come through the Memphis hub here. And once they get in it takes only about 20 minutes for crews to get into those airplanes, get all the packages off and they are then sent in to be sorted. At that time once they get sorted they will be reloaded on the airplane and shipped out. The Fed Ex company serves 213 - fifteen countries rather that they send packages to and it's their goal they tell us all the time to try to get these packages to the destination whenever people are asking for those.

Later on today we're going to be taking you inside what they call the matrix. That's the sorting area where all of these packages are sorted out. It's the areas that they need to go in order to be shipped to the different locations to make it to their destinations on time.

And of course Christmas, in-between Christmas and -- Thanksgiving and Christmas, rather, is the busiest time for people here. Many do not get vacations during this time. So like you mentioned, Betty, they are much like Santa's elves. They're working around the clock to make sure everyone has a very merry Christmas.

NGUYEN: Some very busy bees there at the FedEx hub in Memphis, Tennessee. Thanks, Sara.

DORSEY: Thank you.

HARRIS: And TIME magazine makes it picks for the "Person of the Year." Straight ahead, how they make that tough choice.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it could catch on. Allowing us to greet and offend everyone all at once.

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NGUYEN: If you think this new holiday greeting will catch on and more importantly, see if you can say it. That's ahead in our Faces of Faith segment. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

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NGUYEN: Time to look into our Faces of Faith this Sunday morning. The holiday season it's much more than just Christmas. Jewish and Muslim celebrations are also part of the mix. So in today's politically correct world what is the proper holiday greeting? CNN's Tom Foreman has come up with an idea that is all inclusive, or is it?

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): During the most celebrated holiday in America are you like so many businesses not sure how to greet people? Are you embarrassed by misplaced Merry Christmases and ill targeted Happy Hanukkahs. But are you already tired of the lukewarm happy holidays?

(on camera): Have no fear. A new seasonal greeting is here and I call it happy ChrismaKwanzHamadan. A little hard to say, but it has a nice swing to it and I think it could catch on allowing us to greet and offend everyone all at once. (voice-over): It's not a fairly balanced greeting. After all, despite declines in organized religion about 76 percent of Americans still call themselves Christians. Thirteen percent profess no faith, 1.3 percent are Jewish and Buddhist, Muslims and Agnostics are a half percent each.

(on-camera): But ChrismaKwanzHamadan covers almost all the basis. The Buddhists get a little shortchanged, but I think they're pretty easy going. We'll have to iron out some of the details anyway.

)voice-over): The postal service might struggle to fit ChrismaKwanzHamadan onto a stamp and I'm not sure St. Rabbi Mohammed Imbutto (ph) would be all that popular or even fit into a chimney. There could be unintended consequences too. Movements to combine other holidays, the Fourth of Thanksgiving and Valanoween (ph)come to mind.

(on-camera): But we have to do something. With more schools, offices and local governments giving up Christmas parties in favor of winter celebrations nobody knows what to say. I don't throw Merry Christmas at friends of differing faiths. Rather I wish them the best of their own holidays.

But as a practicing Christian I do say merry Christmas a lot. I don't think respecting other peoples beliefs means hiding your own.

(voice-over): That's why even if ChrismaKwanzHamadan does not work in the long run, I'm not sure happy holiday does either. Not when what we mean is happy Hanukkah, a joyous Kwanzaa, a peaceful Ramadan and a merry Christmas.

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NGUYEN: All right, ChrismaKwanzHamadan doesn't exactly roll off the lips. Those thoughts from CNN's Tom Foreman.

Also this morning we want to take you live to Iraq because we are getting some new details about a car bomb in Najaf. Let's go now to CNN's Karl Penhaul with the latest -- Karl.

PENHAUL: Hi there, Betty. We just had information from the head of security operations in the holy Shiite city of Najaf just south of Baghdad. He has confirmed to us that a car bomb that took place now about three quarters of an hour ago has killed at least 10 people.

He says though that that death toll could easily rise. Eye witnesses at the scene say that it's chaos there right now. What the security forces chief has told us is that a car bomber drove his vehicle into a funeral procession.

That funeral was for a prominent tribal leader in the city of Najaf. The funeral procession had made its way seven times, as is tradition, around the holy shrine of the Iman-Ali (ph) and were heading out towards the cemetery when this car bomber struck.

No claims of responsibility as to who was behind this attack so far, but it did come two hours after another car bomb in the holy city of Karbala. Ten people were killed in that attack and 37 others wounded, Betty.

NGUYEN: A very violent day there. Karl Penhaul in Baghdad, thank you for that update.

You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING. We'll be right back.

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