gun-free zones for ours. >> the new nra ad, which i may say i personally find utterly pathetic. earlier we spoke to the cousins of ashley moser. they have a website. log on to helpash.org if you want to help. i thank my guests. tomorrow the man who called me a you willy for my take on guns, ben shapiro returns. before we go just leave me with an overview of how you feel this has gone tonight. >> listen, it's been a good discussion. but something has to happen. and i hope the president takes a very strong measure tomorrow and i hope congress has the courage to back him up with the appropriate legislation. although i have my doubts because their past has not been any indication that they'll take strong action in the future. but i'll try to be optimistic. listen, i've heard a lot of people talk about reality checks. i've been a cop 42 years. i've been to hundreds if not thousands of crime scenes. don't know how many homicides you guys have been to. but i have seen what happens out there on the street. we're not losing them 26 at a

time. one at a time, two at a time. but every life has value. and when you see the carnage on the streets every day you're going to have to deal with it. >> that's a perfect way toned what's been a fascinating debate. thank you all very much indeed. i appreciate it very much. that's all for us tonight. that's all for us tonight. "ac 360" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we begin as we dover night keeping them honest, looking for facts not trying to play favorites, not supporting one political side or another, you can get that on plenty of other news channels. we're looking for facts finding the truth, calling out hypocrisy and there's no bigger example of that tonight of hypocrisy possibly ever in the history of sports than what hamid to lance camera strong in the past 24 hours. he cheated, he lied about it for years and years, and now he's reportedly coming clean. somewhat. how much did lance armstrong say in the interview he just taped with oprah winfrey? he reportedly admit to using performance-hancing drugs to win bicycle races. and oprah says he was "pretty forthcoming" but that he did not come clean in the manner she expected.

exactly what that means is not clear. oprah is too good to give it all away. >> i choose not to characterize. i would rather people make their own decisions about whether he was contrite or not. i felt that he was thoughtful. i thought that he was serious. i thought that he certainly had prepared himself for this moment. i would say that he met the moment. and at the end of it, 2 1/2 -- literally 2 1/2 hours, we both were pretty exhausted. and i would say i was satisfied. >> well, whatever ultimately made it to tape -- we won't know till later this week -- long-time followers of armstrong say they are not ready to take anything he says at face value. reporters, teammates and even one-time friends they all describe the seven-time tour de france winner, cancer survivor and charity founder as a born manipulator who will do whatever it takes for only one person, lance armstrong. ing them honest they point tie record of lying that rivals his record of winning.

>> we're sick and tired of these allegations and we're going to do everything we can to fight them. they're absolutely untrue. >> i've said it for seven years. i've said it for longer than seven years. i have never doped. i can say it again. but i've said it for seven years. it doesn't help. >> how could it have taken place when i've never taken performance-enhancing drugs? >> go back to 1995. one of your former teammates, steven schwart, he was riding with you, a kiwi on the motorola team. he has told espn when the team was struggling in 1995 that you announced to the team you were going to begin doping and encouraged other teammates to do the same. what do you say to that account? >> no, again, complete nonsense. >> it can't be any clearer than i've never taken drugs, than incidents like that could have never happened. >> why would i then enter into a sport and dope myself up and risk my life again? that's crazy. i would never do that. that's -- no. no way. >> my case, i mean, i came out of a life-threatening disease. i was on my deathbed. you think i'm going to come back into a sport and say okay, okay,

doctor, give me everything you've got, i just want to go fast? no way. i would never do that. >> lance armstrong denying it all, time and time again. since then, u.s. anti-doping agency has put out more than 1,000 pages of allegations and evidence against armstrong and his teammates, calling armstrong's drug ring the most sophisticated in the history of sports. he has been stripped of his seven tour de france titles, barred from competition, has stepped down from the live strong charity that he founded. until now he has denied everything. not only that. as you'll see, he's got a long history of lashing out at people who tried to expose him. the people who dared suggest that armstrong was on something other than his bike. that was, in many cases, a brave stance to take because in almost every case it was followed by a lance armstrong-sponsored scorched earth campaign. >> lance, how do you feel? >> anchy andrew would have once described lance armstrong as one of his closest friends. they were teammates in the 1990s. frankie and his wife betsy frequently socialize theed with lance armstrong.

this picture shows the three of them cooking dinner in 1995. what would become a quickly pattern, armstrong turned on the andreas after they testified in a lawsuit alleging that armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs. armstrong vehementally denied the charges. and it didn't stop there. betsy andrue says armstrong vilified her in the press, calling her vindictive and jealous and portraying her husband as bitter because his cycling contract with armstrong's team was not renewed after the 2000 season. and then there was this. a voicemail left for betsy andrieu in 2008 by a friend and associate of armstrong. >> i hope somebody breaks a baseball bat over your head but i also hope that one day you will have adversity in your life and you have some type of tragedy. it's pathetic, betsy. i thought you were a better person than that. >> betsy andreu provided the voicemail to the "new york daily news" as evidence of the threats and intimidation she says they suffered. and then there's greg lemond,

the only american to win the world's most grueling race before armstrong went on his string of seven straight wins. the relationship between the two men was anything but close, especially after lemond questioned armstrong's association with a controversial italian doctor named michaeli ferrari. frankie andreu said armstrong was clearly upset at lemond's comments and in an affidavit andreu said, "i recall lance saying words to the effect of who does greg think he is talking about ferrari? i'm going to take him down." and he did. armstrong had great influence with the bike sponsor trek, which dropped its support of the lemond brand, damaging lemond's bike business. armstrong also intimidated his critics and rivals during competition. in the 2004 tour de france armstrong comfortably held the race's overall lead but surprised everyone when he chased down felipo simioni. why? turned out it was only to punish

simioni to prove a point. simioni had crossed armstrong in the past by testifying against dr. ferrari about doping. armstrong publicly called simioni a liar and told him privately he could "destroy him." after catching him this gesture from armstrong during the race was widely seen to be directed toward simioni. a warning to stay silent. former teammate tyler hamilton followed a code of silence and lied about doping until this "60 minutes" interview in 2011. >> you saw lance armstrong inject bpo? >> yeah. like we all did. like i did many, many times. >> after that interview aired hamilton began to cooperate with a federal investigation into armstrong. he was physically accosted by armstrong inside a restaurant according to an affidavit and armstrong told hamilton he'd make his life a living hell. >> why would they say these things -- >> in an interview with espn armstrong was asked about his former friends, teammates, and

associates who testified about his doping. he had only this to say. >> i've surrounded myself with at times questionable people and i've not in the past been great with -- when riders leave teams or relationships end. perhaps i haven't handled that properly, and i admit that freely, and personally people hate that. i would hate it, too. but you know, why people would lie and tell stories -- some of them obviously were paid. some of them had other motives. that's clear. >> so he's lying there. you heard a bit from tyler hamilton there. he and daniel coyle have co-written "the secret race: inside the hidden world of the tour de france, doping, cover-ups, and winning at all costs." i spoke with daniel coyle along with espn analyst roger cossack and "new york times" sportswriter juliet mckerr. >> daniel, what i don't understand really is why armstrong is doing this now. because just a few months ago he had a chance to avoid lifetime banishment. the u.s.a.d.a. had invited him

to come clean to be part of the solution. he turned them down flat. so what happened between then and now? what changed? >> this is a perfect lens into the way lance's brain works. he's really good at figuring out complex situations, looking at them in a very binary way and figuring out a path forward. it's not about being consistent with him. it's about winning. and that brain is really built for that. so at this point he figured the best path forward was to go to oprah. and that's what he's doing. but the problem that he faces is that you can win the tour de france but it's hard to win a confession. that has to do with genuine feeling. it has to do with contrition. >> but juliet, i mean, you were saying that the most important thing to remember is that armstrong is an athlete, that he's not in this to say sorry or clean up cycling or help charity. he wants to compete in competitions and he can't do that now. >> exactly. i think the difference between several months ago and now is he's had several months of no competition. and for a guy like lance armstrong that must be torture. he's been an athlete since he's just been a little kid, like a teenager. he was a professional triathlete

and really barely finished high school because of his triathlon career. and he's had a lot of time to think about how he is lonely, how he doesn't have the adulation of fans at the finish line and he has nobody to beat right now, and it's driving him nuts. >> and roger, legally, there's a whole bunch of reasons why he should not have done this, right? >> yeah. you know, i hear what the other guests are saying, but as a lawyer, it goes against everything that i know. i'm not the only one that knows the liability he's facing. he has wonderful lawyers who have given him advice over the years. but he's looking at in excess, if everything goes wrong, of judgments in excess of perhaps $100 million. i am still waiting to actually see what he -- see how much he really confesses and what he confesses to. >> legally, who does he owe money to if he's -- depending on who decides to sue him or currently who is suing him? >> well, there's a whistleblowers lawsuit that's going on right now that floyd

landis has brought and that the justice department may join. and that has to do with all of the money he got from the u.s. postal service and the question is did he get it under false pretenses? because under his contract he said that he would do nothing that would bring him embarrassment and not use drugs. so if he gets up and admits that he breached that contract under the whistleblower statute, he not only has to pay back all the money he has, he has taken, but could get hit with trouble damages, which means three times the amount of money he's taken. >> it is pretty -- go ahead. >> this is what makes lance lance. he likes risk. this is why he has succeeded in this very corrupt world of cycling for so long. it's why, as we describe in our book, they were smuggling bags of blood underneath dog kennels during the tour. giving transfusions on the bus during the tour. he doesn't shy away from risk. that's what this is. he has made the calculation. he has a net worth over $100 million. he probably won't lose all of it. >> you think he's going to have to pay back some of these lawsuits? >> he'll pay back some. he'll settle.

the government usually settles these sorts of cases. the rest of them often can settle. let's say he loses 50 million bucks. he's still got a fair amount. he's not going to starve. and he will more importantly have his narrative back. have his life as a competitive athlete back. and the question is is he going to apologize to the people he hurt along the way? you know, we talk about this as if he's the only part of this story. in fact, he's not. the story is much bigger than just him. >> i mean, he's got great pr. but as you and i talked about before, juliet, he was a jerk to an awful lot of people. i mean, he sought to destroy people who had testified against him, who had spoken the truth. >> i think that jerk is an understatement. i think a lot of those people are devastated right now. and i don't really know what to think when he's calling some of these people up to apologize. i actually spoke to a few people he's reached out to. and they're like dumfounded. they don't know whether to believe him or not. >> juliet, did you see him threaten people, reporters who reported things that he felt were inappropriate?

>> well, i mean, he has threatened lawsuits many, many times against reporters, including one that he actually won, a libel lawsuit against the "sunday times" of london when a writer, david walsh, who was one of his earliest naysayers, shall we say, published some information in the paper that said that he had doped. he won that lawsuit. of course, the "sunday times of london" is asking for that money back right now. he was a master at intimidating people. he had this great story going on. he was a fairy tale story from the very first time he won the tour de france. and people were enamored with it. that's including many of the journalists who were covering it. and if anybody wrote anything that was negative, he sometimes would call you on the phone in the morning, yelling at you or criticizing you, or he would actually blackball you and not give you any interviews if you wrote anything negative. and for a journalist who had made their money or made their living covering cycling or covering lance armstrong, to not get access to lance that meant they were dead in the water. so he had a lot of power.

>> can he portray himself as just one of many people on his team who dope? because i read an article in the "times" i think it was that seemed to indicate that was the way he was going to spin this, that he wasn't at the epicenter of this. >> he can try. he can try to do that. but i think it's going to be difficult for him because of the thousand pages. >> right. >> of evidence that paint a very different picture. >> right. >> because of the book "the secret race" that paints a very different picture. this is about power. it's not really about drugs. armstrong wielded a tremendous amount of economic, political, sporting power. and he used it ruthlessly. >> because lance armstrong called the shots on that team. he was the star of the team. everybody was there to make sure he won, right? >> he was the tony soprano. >> yeah. >> they were literally extensions of his body. you know, their power was his power. and that's how he used it. and when you crossed him, he cut you dead. you were gone. >> it's going to be interesting, juliet, to see how he plays this interview. they taped i guess for 2 1/2 hours. oprah's going to air this over two nights. and she said that she was prepared, she'd done a lot of

reading, she'd watched a lot of his interviews, she was prepared to get very specific and found that she didn't have to do that if he denied one thing, she would say what about on page such and such of this book. she said she didn't have to do that. whether that means he got specific -- i'm not sure how to read that. what do you think? >> i think oprah is great. she's a great businesswoman and a great interviewer. i'm sure she prepared a lot for this interview. but i guarantee you that lance armstrong prepared more. he had about a dozen people telling him what to do, what to say, what to act. i'm sure he went over and over in a mirror to get the right facial expressions, to find the right emotions. i mean, this is his chance on turning his life around. >> it's going to be fascinating to watch. juliet macur, appreciate it. roger cossack. and daniel coyle. thank you so much. >> thanks. good night. >> thank you. >> let us know what you think about this. follow me on twitter @andersoncooper. i'm tweeting tonight about this. just ahead, the outrageous flat out crazy claims being made about the newtown shootings and

the victims. the florida professor who says the massacre may have been staged is now accusing me of targeting him and trying to do him harm and his family harm. we're keeping them honest, ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission. they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. it's just common sense. trying to find a better job can likbe frustrating.gs, so at university of phoenix we're working with a growing list of almost two thousand corporate partners - companies like microsoft, american red cross and adobe - to create options for you.

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another "keeping them honest" report on the growing conspiracy theories about the

shootings at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut. if you don't know about this, you are going to be stunned. we were in newtown last night. and a number of residents have been inundated with hateful messages, crank calls, by piem who believe they are part of a government and media conspiracy surrounding the shootings. now, it's not just some internet extremists alleging these conspiracies. this is a guy named james tracy a tenured associate professor at florida atlantic university, a public school that's taxpayer funded. now, as we told you first on friday, professor tracy claims the shooting at sandy hook elementary did not happen as reported and may not have happened at all. here's what he wrote originally on his personal blog, and i quote. "one is left to inquire whether the sandy hook shooting ever took place. at least in the way law enforcement authorities and the nation's news media have described." as we told you friday, normally we wouldn't dignify these types of remarks by covering them, but james tracy is a tenured professor at a public university and these claims by him and others online have begun to cause deep distress to victims'

families. we invited professor tracy to come on the program friday night. he declined. he gave us a statement, though, saying, "i apologize for any additional anguish and grief my remarks and how they have been taken out of context and misrepresented may have caused the families who've lost loved ones on december 14th. at the same time i believe the most profound memorial we can give the children and educators who lost their lives on that day is to identify and interrogate the specific causes of their tragic and untimely demise." now, after a report aired on friday, professor tracy basically accused me on his blog of targeting him and his family. he posed it as a question, as he often does, in the headline of the post, "does anderson yeerp want james tracy and/or his family members harmed?" he also includes a photo of me that looks like i'm in the middle of a rant. i'm not, actually. that's a picture of me from an interview i did with comedian kathy griffin on her show. so it's not even from this show. in the blog post tracy says that because i named him and showed

his picture on air on friday i must have wanted to cause him harm. now, i can assure him and anyone else that is not the case. like all reporters i believe in free speech, and professor tracy has the right to say whaefr wants but as a teacher at a public university we think he should be accountable for the things he says and be willing to defend them. about that tras makes the case if you want to call it a case that news organizations and the government may have worked together to dupe you, the public, in order to gain support for gun control laws. he even suggested the government may have hired trained crisis actors to aid in this ruse. at the very least tracy thinks the reporters botched the story by not digging deep enough, not investigating what really happened in newtown. on his blog he points to early reports that other suspects were arrested after the shooting, suggesting that perhaps there was more than one gunman. now, this is a major point many of the conspiracy theorists argue. they say the reporters never followed up on who was arrested. that is not true. we know, for instance, that

chris manfredonia, whose 6-year-old daughter attends sandy hook, was handcuffed by police the morning of the shooting. he confirmed that to us. he was on his way to the school to help make gingerbread houses with first-graders when he heard popping sounds and smelled sulphur. in a chaotic situation he ended up in handcuffs. now, as i mentioned, tracy isn't the only one claiming sandy hook might have been staged. others say the family of emily parker, who passionately spoke about his daughter, this man who spoke about his daughter, you may remember he came out, spoke to reporters about his daughter being killed, you probably watched this speech. well, a lot of people say he was an actor pretending to be a grieving father. in fact, the family of emilie parker has had to take down emilie's online memorial page because they've come under attack in the comments section on the site by these conspiracy theorists. some sandy hook conspiracy theorists say that emilie in fact didn't actually die. as proof they point to the fact that a dress emilie wore in a family photo before the shooting is the same dress her little sister wore when the family met with president obama after the

shooting. the internet conspiracy theorists say that is not emilie's sister at all, it is emilie herself. in a statement earlier today emilie's father robbie told us, "as a country we cannot let us become derailed by the preposterous claims that are being made by a tiny number of people. this time is sacred for my family and for every family affected by this horrific event. we cannot let these false claims distract us from the things that matter most to all of us." now, it's one thing for ill-informed people to take to the internet to voice their parano paranoia. there are all these kinds of people. but it's another for an associate professor at a university to do it. again, we were hoping to talk to the professor tonight. we asked him again yesterday if he'd come on tonight. today he called us back and said he couldn't come on because he teaches a class on tuesday nights. we offered to send a satellite truck to him or to pretape the interview. he he declined. alex sides wald is a political report reporter for salon.com. he's been out in front on the reporting on the sandty hook conspiracy theorists. he joins me along with jordan gaui whose sister jessica was

killed in the aurora, colorado shooting. believe it or not, conspiracy theorists have been making outrageous claims about that massacre as well. alex, one of these conspiracy videos has gotten millions of hits on youtube and a lot of claims are based on initial reporting which as we all know is often inaccurate. but instead of seeing it as the fog of war or just incorrect reporting early on, have you seen a theme of why people believe that the media and the government are in cahoots to hire actors and make up killings? >> yeah, i spent all day talking to scholars on conspiracy theories. there's conspiracies all the way back to wroelz and john birch and the militia movement. these are people who are inclined to believe that the government is out to get them anyway, the media is in cahoots with it, and they jump on events like sandy hook as just further confirmation of these things. basically they kind service this confirmation bias as psychologists call it to look for only evidence that supports their theories and disregard anything that says otherwise.

in a way it kind of helps explain what happened, explain this tragedy. it kind of gives meaning to why all these children died. >> and alex, you spoke to a man named gene rosen, the man who sheltered six students fleeing from the shooting at sandy hook in his house and i diel spoke to him last night. he came up to me off krarcamera. and he's weeping because he's being harassed by people who believe he made up the entire experience, that he's part of some sort of government hoax. >> yeah, this is really tragic. this is a guy who just happened to be in the right place at the right time to help. he lives just down the street from the school. he heard the shooting and he found six kids on his driveway. so he took them inside. he gave them food. he called their parents. and he sat with them and talked with them. and then he kind of became a very public if i in the days afterwards. he gave a lot of media appearances because he told me he wanted to highlight the bravery of these children. but now he's had his whole world turned upside down by these people. they've called him at his house. they've september him threatening e-mails.

they've created fake google plus and youtube accounts in his name. he's afraid. and it's really outrageous. >> jordan, you say there are people actually that you are lying about your sister's murder in aurora. >> correct. exactly what alex was saying, that i was a crisis actor, that this is a government false flag operation. just these aberrant thoughts about how the government is out to pull the wool over our eyes, if you will, and mislead us to let obama take away gun rights. good and you say you've actually had death threats from some of them. >> i have received one death threat that was investigated by three separate state entities, and the feds. >> when you -- it's bad enough to be grieving the loss of your sister and your family, but to be going through attacked online and stuff and have people contact you, what is that like for you? >> i'm not worried about the safety of myself or my family. i'm worried about these individuals. like i said this is an aberrant behavior. and when you reject facts,

reality, and you grasp to this idea that the government is out to get you it's a slippery slope. what's next? the helicopters that fly over your house, the medevac helicopters, the news helicopters, they're out to get you. these are the types of people who should not have their hands on weapons. these are the time of people who should not have a platform to speak. these are the people that should be seeking mental help and evaluation. >> alex, the other thing that's very upsetting is they often say we're just asking questions. i've heard this from the professor and others. we're just asking questions. we don't have the facts. we're just asking these questions. i mean, that seems like, you know, under that ruse you can ask anything you want. you can say the most heinous things and say, wash your hands and just say well, look, we're just asking questions. >> yeah. it's absolutely right. and it is a fine line. and you know, we don't want to trample on the right to free speech. but asking questions also means asking questions of these conspiracy theories. and they just don't stand up to any kind of logic or interrogation of the facts. so if they are actually asking questions, then ask why 99% of

the evidence disproves what they're claiming and only this tiny little thing supports what they're trying to say. >> it's also so upsetting because, i mean, i interviewed family members who those videos have now popped up on some of these conspiracy videos that have been viewed millions of times and people are saying the people that i interviewed are trained actors, that no grieving parent could possibly smile when recounting how beautiful their little girl is. and no grieving parent could appear on a camera without weeping when talking about their child. and that's just -- i mean, that's just not true. i mean, i've interviewed so many people in grief. and this is one of the interviews people are pointing to. the other one is another interview i did with a man and wife whose little daughter grace was murdered. and the idea that grief has a certain timetable or that you have to appear a certain way and that a parent couldn't have a smile on their face when recounting their beautiful little girl, i mean, jordan, it just seems -- it's just so

offensive, i think. >> it's incredibly offensive. within days of the shooting there were videos on-line like that from infowars and others out there that were stating that i was an actor, that there's no way i could deal with this in the way i had dealt with it and my use of social media just proves -- they were digging through even facebook photos and photos i posted years prior of me with the s.w.a.t. team that i had trained with showing hey, look, this is proof that he's an actor. look, he's really an officer. there was multiple shooters, he could have been at the theater. it's just a xlees objection -- rejection of reality and facts. many of their statements are completely contradictory, in fact. >> and the idea that you have to look a certain way when you're grieving, i mean, there are parents who i interviewed on camera who cried off camera before the interview and had to steel themselves but felt it was important to tell the story of who their child was and they wanted people to know who their child was, not just how their child got killed but how their child lived their life. so for these people, these

anonymous internet trolls and this professor to suddenly be suggesting just asking questions, alex, it's just -- i don't know. i just think it really -- i know for a lot of the families in newtown it's something they never thought that they would have to deal with. >> yeah. and another thing is that when you, you know, blame the government or whoever, you're actually removing the blame from the actual perpetrator and you're putting it on somebody else. so in this quest to speak the truth, or whatever, they're really doing a disservice to everyone involved. zblal ex, i appreciate your reporting. as i said, i honestly didn't know about this until i read some of your stuff early last week and that's when we started reporting on it as well. and jordan, i'm so sorry that you have had to deal with these people, and i wish you continued strength and peace in the days ahead. thank you. >> thanks for keeping them honest, anderson. >> we've got a "360" follow-up now. it involves newtown and a woman that authorities say was trying to turn the tragedy into cash. you remember we told you about her.

her name is noelle alba. and we think it's important we name these people. noel alba. she lives here in new york. we learned of allegations she was falsely claiming to be noah pozner's aunt and soliciting donations in his name. here's what happened when our producer david fitzpatrick paid her a visit. >> oh, hi, are you miss alba? you've set up, you say, donations on behalf of one of the victims of the newtown tragedy? >> no. >> no? >> no. >> your name and address on the e-mail. >> no. i'm going to show you what i have. come in. >> can i come in with a camera crew? >> no. close the door. >> she went on to claim that people in the -- in the crafting community, that she's a crafter and she has enemies in the crafting community who are out to get her. well, today a grand jury in bridgeport, connecticut indicted her. she faces one count of making false statements to federal agents in connection with their investigation into newtown-related fund-raising fraud. and we're going to continue to

stay on that story. more newtown fallout next. specifically, how the white house plans to prevent another tragedy or hopes to. we've got breaking news on that. details on what you're going to have to wait to hear tomorrow from president obama to formally announce, the steps he plans to take to try to curb gun violence including one that's going to be a tough sell with a lot of lawmakers. jessica yellin has the inside info, next.

we've got breaking news tonight. details of president obama's announcement tomorrow on gun control including one step that

gun advocates say is simply a non-starter. chief white house correspondent jessica yellin did a lost digging to get this advanced look. she joins us now. what have you learned, jessica? >> reporter: hey, anderson. tomorrow when the president unveils his proposal you can expect him to press for a ban on all high-capacity magazines with bullets -- or ten bullets or more, a background check for all gun sales. that includes mental health and criminal background checks that would apply to gun shows, private sales, and would crack down on what's called private swaps. if i try to privately sell a gun to you, even that would require a background check under the legislation he's pressing for. he will press for an assault weapons ban and also for more funds to either be made available or additional funding to be introduced for mental health preparedness and also to make school safety even more readily available. some of this, anderson, some of these steps he can take could be through executive action, but most of the ones i've outlined just now would require congressional approval.

>> certainly i mean the major one there would be and probably the most difficult would be an assault weapons ban. >> yes. it would be. and i'll tell you, i've had a number of conversations with democrats who have met with the vice president, and they have downplayed the assault weapons ban to me. what they have said is their top priorities are making universal background checks the law of the land and making a ban on high-capacity ammunition the law of the land. they say that those two components could do even more to improve gun safety than the assault weapons ban. they point out that the gabby giffords shooter used a handgun with a high-capacity ammunition clip and so the assault weapons ban couldn't have done good there whereas their legislation would have. whether there's a political reality seeping into that analysis, we can both assume that there may be. >> jessica, stay with us. i want to bring in dan gross, he's president of the brady campaign to end gun violence. mr. gross, what do you make of what jessica is reporting?

>> it's exactly what the -- [ inaudible ] >> sorry. >> it reflects exactly -- >> we're having a hard time hearing you because of the announcement. i know you're on the train. zblae. sorry about that. >> let me bring jessica back and we'll come back to you. hopefully, they will have stopped that announcement. in terms of what could be possible through executive order on this list, i guess some of the information on background checks, perhaps? >> expanding the way background checks -- improving the way background checks are conducted could be done through executive order. making that information more readily available. improving the way especially mental health is reported forward could be done through executive order. and also gathering more research on where the guns are in america. that's another thing that could be done. there's a long list. i could go on, anderson, but you might want to get to your guest. >> yeah, let's check in back with dan gross. again, mr. gross, what do you

make of this? is this what you expected? is this what you hoped for? >> it is what we expected and what we hoped for. i mean, the president and vice president from the beginning have been saying that they want to take an earnest look at what we can do to prevent not only tragedies like newtown but the 32 murders that happen every day in our country, the gun deaths that happen every day, and they want the american public, stakeholders and act according to the consensus they were hearing and there is a passionate outcry from the american public around all these solutions and all of these solutions preventing tragedies. and as a result we're very pleased. >> if you are not able to get an assault weapons ban, which obviously seems to be the most difficult to get through congress and perhaps even the high-capacity magazines, would you be satisfied with all the other things on the list? >> you know, i don't think it's time to start pargs the list yet. the administration said they were looking for a comprehensive

solution to everything we've had to make this a safer nation. it's really going to be up to the american public now to rally a voice to hold our elected officials accountable to listen to the conversation that's going on in the public. and if we can do that, i don't think anything should be off the table. and if we can't, nothing will pass. the white house has done its job, we'll appreciate their continued leadership on, this but now it's up to us. it's up to the american public to make our voice heard and it's not time to start dismissing any solution yet. >> dan gross, i appreciate you joining us on the phone. i know you're on a train. jessica yellin as well. there's a lot more we're following tonight. kyung lah joins us with the "360" bulletin. kyung? well, anderson, a month and a day after the newtown killings new york governor andrew cuomo today signed tough new gun legislation into law. a ban on assault weapons and gun clips to seven rounds maximum. the national rifle association

denounced the measure, saying it will have no impact on public safety and crime. now turning to breaking news. from capitol hill, the house has approved a $50 billion aid package for areas hit hard by superstorm sandy. that's on top of the nearly $10 billion in flood relief money approved late last month. the senate will either have to take up the house bill or restart with a new bill for the 50 billion. and that could delay relief efforts. weather watches and warnings are in effect from texas to maine. flooding and icy conditions are the concern in places like tennessee while heavy snow is forecasted for parts of the mid-atlantic states and new england. and near stockholm, sweden a 20-year-old cleaning lady stole a train. her joyride ended when she crashed it into an apartment building. no one in the building was hurt. but the woman was trapped in the wreckage for two hours. she was hospitalized with serious injuries. let that serve as a lesson to you at home, kiddies. >> why she decided to take that

out, who knows? kyung, appreciate it. we've been following the ordeal of a former u.s. marine who was jailed in mexico for more than four months, sometimes chained to a bed, his life threatened, his parents fighting to bring him home. now john hammer is finally free. i'll speak to him next. [ female announcer ] what if the next big thing, isn't a thing at all? it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away. we're going to wake the world up. and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here.

crime and punishment tonight. a former marine whose harrowing ordeal we've been covering is finally free from the mexican prison where he was held for more than four months. john hammer was chained to his bed at times. he was there on a questionable

gun charge after crossing the border with a fellow veteran on a surfing trip. hammer took an antique shotgun that used to belong to his great grandfather with him on the trip, and u.s. border officials said he could bring it into mexico with the proper paperwork. but soon as he crossed the border he was arrested and taken to a jail. our gary tuchman actually went there, tried to talk to hammer, but he wasn't allowed in. i spoke with hammer's parents in early december. they told me the conditions in the prison were horrible, it was a nightmare for him and obviously for them. now, after the media coverage and an intervention by politicians john hammer's finally been released. he joins me now live. it is very good to see you back here. first of all, how are you doing? >> i'm all right. i'm doing a lot better. i was sick when i first got out. i spent five days in the hospital. but i think i'm doing a lot better right now. >> so when you crossed the border, you told the u.s. border officials that you had this old gun that you wanted to bring it down on this trip with you.

what did they tell you? >> they told me if i fill out the proper paperwork that they were giving me and i declare it when i get into mexico, just across the border, that i should be fine. i paid a fee after i filled out the paperwork, took the paperwork and the weapon to the mexican side, and declared the shotgun. >> why did you want to bring a shotgun to mexico? >> that shotgun is -- you know, it was basically a part of my camping equipment. we were planning on camping in the wilderness. so if we're in a place where hunting was allowed, you know, and we saw something that we could eat and cook on a fire, you know, we'd take the shot and have food. >> so you pay the fee. you fill out the forms. you cross over the border. basically, you get arrested in mexico. they don't tell you at first that they're going to arrest you. they tell you they're going to take you someplace. but you end up in this jail. what were the conditions like? when you first walk in the

place, what's it like? >> well, the first jail that we went to was more like a holding cell. we spent four days over there. they released my friend because i was driving and i declared the shotgun. and after four days, they took me to prison. it was a state-run prison. and the conditions were pretty bad, especially since they put me in solitary confinement after my first day. and you know, they -- like you know, they chained me up. and you know, i spent the majority of the time by myself in like an outside shed. so i was outside for the whole time i was there. >> and i know your parents got a call from other prisoners who were basically trying to extort money from you and from your family. >> right. when i first came into that prison, it was like 3:00 in the morning. and other inmates in there when i first got in there tried to extort money from my family. and the american consulate was

contacted. and then they told the jail that they had to take me out of the general population. so their solution to it was put me in a solitary confinement area and have the guards watch me. >> i mean, i know you're a marine, you have military training. how do you not completely freak out, you know, in solitary confinement in a mexican prison with people outside the door, you know, who want to do you harm? >> it was very hard. and i had to really concentrate. and i think -- i had two books while i -- i somehow got a hold of two books that were in english while i was in there. that helped me a lot. and then other parts of it, i went through the phases of depression, anger, and things like that. but you know, i got through it. >> i know a number of news groups, politicians got involved.

i know our gary tuchman went down there. were you aware that he was trying to get into the prison to talk to you? >> no. i had no idea. >> when -- you know, i've got to ask that feeling of what was it like to finally be released, finally see your family, and to know that you're safe? >> it was pretty amazing. when i crossed that border, i was very sick at the time but i still, you know, was thrilled and extremely grateful to have my freedom back and be able to see my family. >> well, i know the whole point of this trip was to have a relaxing time to go surfing. i know you've got some recovering to do. do you still plan to go surfing? would you go back down to mexico? >> mexico has a lot of issues right now. and you won't be seeing me in mexico for a long time, if ever. but there's a lot of other countries that i'd like to visit that are, you know, involved with surfing. and yeah, you know, in the near future hopefully i can get back

in the water and do what i like to do. >> i was just on the north shore of oahu. they've got great waves there. so i recommend that. it's pretty safe. so john, i wish you the best. i'm so glad that you're safe and back with your family. thank you. >> thank you, anderson. thank you very much. >> all right. you take care. jon hammar. up next breaking news. another deadly school shooting, this time on a college campus. details ahead. ♪ ♪ ♪

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prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides.

get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. i'm kyung lah with a "360 news and business bulletin." officials in kentucky say two

people died in a shooting in a parking lot at hazard community and technical college. a third victim was rushed to the hospital with injuries. a boeing 787 dreamliner made an emergency landing in japan after an alarm signal on a battery went off. the emergency landing comes as u.s. officials are investigating a battery fire aboard a boeing 787 in boston last week. all nippon airways and japan airlines have now grounded their dreamliner fleets. wal-mart says it will hire 100,000 u.s. military veterans over the next five years. it will be one of the largest hiring commitments for veterans on record, according to the company. and a man watching a police chase on tv in inglewood, california got an unexpected surprise when he looked out his window and he saw the drama drive right past his house. anderson? >> kyung, thanks very much. coming up, if your gps told you to drive to a whole different country, would you do it?

the "riduculist" is next. for singing definitely dry mouth has been a problem for me. but i'm also on a lot of medications that dry my mouth out. i just drank tons of water all the time. it was never enough. i wasn't sure i was going to be able to continue singing. i saw my dentist and he suggested biotene. it feels refreshing. my mouth felt more lubricated. i use the biotene rinse twice a day and then i use the spray throughout the day. it actually saved my career in a way. because biotene really did make a difference. aww man. [ male announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes if you need them. visit usps.com pay, print, and have it picked up for free. any time of year. ♪ nice sweater. thank you.

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time for the "riduculist" and tonight we've got a rather extreme reminder that in these modern niemz which we live we shouldn't blindly rely on all the technology that's designed to make things easier. a woman in belgium learned this the hard way when she set off to pick up a friend aught train station in bruce new zealand what should have been an hour's drive. instad she absent-mindedly followed her gps and ended up driving to croatia, 900 miles away. now, the journey took more than a day. she had to pull over and sleep and even got in a fend why bender. the story's all over the place today but i've got to admit i was skeptical. it sounds lie like an onion article but she reportedly told a belgian newspaper "i switched on the gps and started poupt my gps seemed a bit wonky it sent me on several diversions and that's where i must have gone wrong.