tonight for coming "outfront" and announcing your candidacy. >> you bet! >> we thought we'd have a little fun there. thanks for watching. "anderson cooper 360" starts right now. erin, thanks. good evening, everyone. we begin tonight keeping them honest, with what the dictator of a country says to the parents of a child his own security forces abducted, tortured, and murdered. syria's strongman, bashar al assad, rules just like his father did, by intimidation and brutality so complete that no one is safe, not even children. before you hear what assad is now saying about hamza, you should see what became of this little boy. but it's tough to take. this is what his body looked like when they returned him to his parents. there are burn marks over his body, signs of beatings, his genitals are mutilated.

this is a 13-year-old boy, taken off the streets, held for over a month, defiled, and dumped on his terrorized family. i want you to hear what bashar al assad said when asked by nbc's barbara walters about hamza. a portion of the interview airing today on "good morning america". >> you have seen these pictures, have you not? >> no, but i -- >> is this news to you? >> no, no, it's not news. i met with his father, with the father of that child. and he said that he wasn't tortured. >> he's saying in so many words, who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes? a pathologist attributed this to decomposition. as for assad's claim that hamza's father told him that his son hasn't been tortured, what would you say when a dictator who controls an army of torturers told you that. his wife says they detained him briefly, demanding he tell state immediate that hamza was killed

by sunni muslim extremists. that's been the regime's line for months. it's muslim extremists or outside agitators or roving bands of armed syrian criminals, tens of thousands of them, he says, roaming free in a police state. barbara walters confronted him on that claim. >> people went from houses to houses, children were arrested. i saw those pictures. >> to be frank, how did you know of this? we don't see this. >> bear in mind, he said that just days after his propaganda people released video claiming it showed opposition forces committing atrocities. in fact, the video was neither recent nor taken in syria. but this was a baby shot dead during a protest over the summer. according to a u.n. investigator, syrian state forces have killed more than 300 children during the uprising. that's according to investigators. he says november has been the deadliest month, 56 children killed. 56 children. this is the first chance we've had to see how the dictator assad responds when confronted with facts.

it's a rare opportunity to size up a dictator who barely allows western reporters into syria, and certainly doesn't allow them to travel freely, let alone answers their questions. >> credible? >> no. >> you have an ambassador to the united nations. >> yeah. it's a game you play. >> talking about the u.n. a game we play. keeping them honest, it is not a game, and there are no rules. in syria, ambulances and emts like this one are targeted. the red crescent, in this case, only making them easier to aim at. in syria, prisoners in handcuffs are fair game. [ speaking foreign language ] beatings in custody are the norm, not the exception. so are people being taken away in broad daylight, not even put in a police car, but crammed in the trunk, never to be seen again. or in the case of hamza, sent home the gruesome way you see him, as a brutal regime's reminder to everyone of what it can do to anyone at any time.

again, november's been the deadliest month so far for children. in addition, about 4,000 people of all ages have been killed since the uprising began in a crackdown syria's dictator ignores ordering and largely denies is even happening. a reality check now. i spoke by phone earlier tonight with a member of the opposition we've been talking throughout this uprising. for his protection, we're only using his first name, zaidoun. zaidoun, president assad claims he spoke with hamza's father and hamza's father claims hamza was not tortured. >> he was taken by the security forces, returned after one month with four bullets in his body and his testicles were cut off, and they went to meet the president, who told them that he personally will follow up the investigation. that was around six or seven months ago. nothing happened out of that.

>> assad is also saying that most of the victims of the violence have been syrian troops and syrian regime supporters, and he described the videos that we've been seeing for months of security forces opening fire on civilians as, quote, false allegations and distortions of reality. what do you say to that? >> this is absolutely not true. if he's saying that, all the videos shot by, i mean, what do you call, activists, that are using their mobile phones are faked. then, okay, fine, let the media go inside. let cnn, bbc, al jazeera, everybody go inside the country and let us know what is going on. this is absolutely not true. who is killing right now in syria is the security forces. and unfortunately supported also with the military. >> and we've repeatedly, of course, requested visas, obviously, and confronted the syrian ambassador to the u.n.,

syrian ambassador to the united states, saying, let us into the country. he claims -- they claim, and they lie and they say, well, journalists are free to travel, but we all know from reporters who have been there, they're not free to travel without government escorts everywhere they go. do you believe the president at all when he says that he's not behind any orders to kill or torture demonstrators? >> this is not possible. this is not true. we know that he is ruling the country. he's been ruling the country for the past 12 years, after he succe seceded his father, who ruled the country for 30 years. and if he is not in charge, then who the hell is in charge? and if he is not in charge and he cannot control this, then, forgive me, he has to find somebody else to rule the country then. >> zaidoun, continue to stay safe. thank you for talking. >> you're very welcome, anderson. >> earlier i also spoke with a senior fellow at harvard university's institution. >> what did you make of the way

the president seemed? he can't be that disconnected from what's going on? >> what's really interesting, i know you are always -- there is something about dictators and rogues that somehow puzzles you and appeals to you. which is how normal they look. they wear nice suits, they speak well. look, bashar al assad is a very -- on the surface of it, is a very well-mannered man. he's speaking good english. this is his third language, because he was educated in arabic and french before he was educated in english. he really believes that in many ways, he's a man much misunderstood. and the decision to go public, if you will, the decision to go to barbara walters, to bring barbara walters and talk to her, you bring barbara walters because, in fact, as we know, bashar al assad is a creature of power in the arab world. she had once interviewed yassar arafat. so you come because you believe you have a good story to tell, and you tell an incredible story. and here you are the dictator,

you are basically almost the owner of this country, syria. but now you disown the forces of order, you disown the killers and you make yourself, you know, the innocent man on the scene. >> he's essentially saying, no one really controls the the army, no one's in charge, that i'm not the one making -- dictating stuff. he's a dictator. he just says, i'm the president. he's a dictator. his father was a dictator before him, killed thousands of people. it's as if he's living in an alternate universe. i mean, he can't actually believe that, though? >> there's a fraudian slip where he says, i don't own the country. he owns the country. he owns not only the country, but also now owns this horrible massacre that's going on in syria. >> the blood is on his hands quality. >> absolutely. and there is one reporter that went and made it to the epicenter of the syrian rebel rebellion there and spent four days there. and he made a comparison between

that today and sarajevo. it's become almost like a civil war. that city is divided. the killing goes over the faultline -- >> this is the bbc reporter. we had him on the show, talking about it. it was extraordinary what he did, he was able to sneak in. he saw the arming of opposition groups, the arms being snuggled in, the arms from lebanon, the threat of civil war. does assad project the image that things are stable, that he's very safe. is he that safe? >> i think bashar al assad think that the laws of gravity don't apply to him. and he also believes what happened to gadhafi in tripoli and what happened to hosni mubarak will not happen to him. he believes that he's really immune to this fury. and he believes that his community will really actually fight for him and keep him in

power. and i think in this kind of, you know, in this parallel universe, as you described it, it makes perfect sense for bashar al assad think that he could ride out the storm. for example, the arab league imposes sanctions on him. guess what he says. he said, we had 35 years, 40 years of sanctions. we can live with sanctions. the arab league again, in way, tries to corner him, he has nothing but contempt for the arab league. the united nations human rights council issues a report accusing him of war crimes. what does he say? he has no regard for the united nations. and when pressed, does he not think much of the united nations? he thinks -- he says, we only play the game that we are members of the united nations. this is a man who is really now gone rogue, if you will. the syrian state has really now left the decent and conservative order of nations. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> let us know what you think of the syrian dictator's new claims. we're on facebook, follow me on twitter @andersoncooper.

on google plus, add us to your circle as well. just ahead tonight, rick perry says that president obama is waging war on religious traditions, including christmas. question, though, did he get his facts straight before he cast the first stone? we're keeping them honest. also tonight, new accusers and new charges in the penn state sexual abuse scandal. jerry sandusky arrested again in connection with alleged abuses as recent ads three years ago. chilling details on this one, including an alleged victim who says his cry for help went unhelped. nothing can bring back murdered 7-year-old girl, but tonight authorities say they're one step closer to justice. we'll tell you about the arrest they made and the suspect they're holding. that and much more when "360" continues. this is web-based trading, re-visualized. streaming, real-time quotes. earnings analysis. probability analysis: that's what opportunity looks like. it's all visual. intuitive. and it's available free, wherever the web is. this is how trade strategies are built. tradearchitect. only from td ameritrade.

welcome to better trade commission free for 60 days when you open an account. try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know. it's different. first, it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast, and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. the best part? it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. test how fast it works for you. love it, or get your money back. i wanted support for my heart... and now i get it from centrum specialist heart. new centrum specialist vision... helps keep my eyes healthy. centrum specialist energy... helps me keep up with them. centrum specialist prenatal... supports my child's growth and development. new centrum specialist is a complete multivitamin that gives me all the benefits of centrum.

plus additional support... [ all ] for what's important to me. [ male announcer ] new centrum specialist helps make nutrition possible. [ woman on radio, indistinct ] [ male anno♪ bum-bum new centrum specialist ♪ bum-bum, bum-bum, bum-bum ♪ ♪ ai, ai, ai ♪ bum-bum

♪ bum-bum, bum-bum ♪ [ ice rattles rhythmically ] ♪ [ imitates guitar noise ] the redesigned, 8-passenger pilot. smarter thinking. from honda. crime and punishment. former penn state football coach jerry sandusky was arrested and jailed today on new charges of child sexual abuse, allegations made by two new accusers, bringing the number of alleged victims to ten. like the others, the two new accusers met sandusky through the charity he founded for underprivileged kids, that's according to the grand jury report, which describes in pretty graphic detail their allegations, including rape. victim nine is now 18 years old. he says he was 11 or 12 when he

first met sandusky, testified that sandusky abused him between 2004 and 2008, just three years ago. victim ten was 10 years old when he became involved with sandusky's second mile charity. what they describe in the grand jury report is incredibly disturbing. jason carroll joins me now from state college, pennsylvania. jason, you've read the new report. what are some of the details of what happened to victims nine and ten, allegedly. >> reporter: well, anderson, as you say, some of the details are really disturbing, especially those coming from the man who was identified as victim number nine. he says that when he was a boy, sandusky allegedly raped him at least 16 times. many of the assaults, anderson, he says happened in the basement of sandusky's home, which was turned into a bedroom and a play area. he says that whenever he came over to sandusky's home, that's where he had to sleep, even though there were other bedrooms in the house. he also said that's where he had to eat. he also says that when he was at the home, he knew sandusky's

wife was there on many occasions, but he says she never came down into a bedroom area. i want to read to you one particular segment from the grand jury report, in reference to this. it says, "the victim testified that on at least one occasion, he screamed for help, knowing that sandusky's wife was upstairs, but no one ever came to help him." now, switching over now to victim number ten, victim number ten also testified that he spent a number of times downstairs in that basement as well, and that's where some of the assaults took place with him as well. let me just read you one segment of the report in reference to victim number ten, anderson. it says, "sandusky asked the boy to perform oral sex on him and victim ten did so. sandusky frequently told the boy that he loved him." some very chilling details coming out of this new grand jury report. anderson? >> so, jason, are these people who came forward after the other charges were revealed? is this a new grand jury that

was impanelled? >> reporter: that is correct. and in fact, in the case of victim number ten, he called in on a tip line. and what we're hearing are some of the similar allegations that we heard in the previous grand jury report. remember, anderson, as you know, that grand jury report outlined eight alleged victims. and some of the similarities that we're hearing has to do with what prosecutors called grooming. that process of giving the boys gifts, giving them money, gaining their trust. and that would eventually lead to the sexual assaults. that's what we saw with the allegations with the previous eight victims, and that's what we're seeing now with these two new victims, once again, identified as victim number nine and victim number ten. anderson? >> jason, appreciate the reporting. sandusky, of course, has said repeatedly he's innocent. after his arrest today, he was unable to post bail, which was set at $250,000. he remains in jail tonight. joining me now is senior legal

analyst, jeffrey tuoobin, also sunny hostin from our sister network, trutv. so these are new charges, they impanelled a new grand jury. i mean, will there -- do we know if they're going to -- are there more people out there who are going to come forward? >> we'll see. these cases often have what you call superceding indictments. you have one set of charges and then more people -- we're talking about ten people. that's a lot of people to abuse. >> will these be separate trials? >> probably not. they usually do them together if they're the same general set of charges. but that's one of the many pre-trial issues that'll have to be dealt with down the line. >> were you surprised he was given bail? >> i was surprised he was given bail. we're talking about ten victims, in my mind, a serial rapist who's clearly a threat to the community. i think he's a flight risk. so in situations like that when the judge considers these types of facts, oyou remand him back into custody with no bail.

it's better what we saw before, before he had unsecured bail of $100,000. now you have 250, an ankle monitor, which is great. he can't be next to any of the victims, can't be next to children. >> and has to stay away from the penn state campus. >> that's right. but bottom line, he should have been remanded. >> although, in a perverse way, i think the prosecution benefited from the fact he was out on bail, because he gave all these ridiculous interviews and made all these incriminating statements. >> that's true. >> now that he's locked up, he can't talk anymore. >> and those interviews seem to have angered some of the victims from the original case. i showed the mother of victim number one, or alleged victim number one, who said hearing that interview made her son all the more determined to move forward with prosecution. victim nine, now, is saying that sandusky's wife was present in the house when some of this abuse took place. if that is, in fact, the case, could she be held accountable? >> the question would be, is she aiding and abetting, which is a

crime. it is rarely prosecuted in a case like this. and it's also complicated because there's the marital privilege. she couldn't be forced to testify against him. based on what's in the grand jury report, i don't think she's legally in danger of being indicted. but morally, i mean, just to think about what it is like to be a human being and hear a kid screaming in the basement and not doing anything, that's a -- >> it's hard to believe. >> it's just -- i mean, the whole thing is hard to believe, but that alone is just a really -- >> we've heard some about the statute of limitations. what is the reasoning for there to be even statute of limitations with child sexual abuse cases? because we know so many kids who go through this, it's not until much later in life that they're actually able to kind of think about, talk about it, come forward about it. >> i think it's really full. there's the movement now after the the adam walsh case, there really is no statute of limitations when it comes to first-degree sex crimes against children.

i think all the states are reviewing it, anderson, but the bottom line is memories fade, witnesses don't come forward. you don't want someone to be accused of something many, many, many years down the line. it's more difficult to defend onesself. but i really do think that the movement has been towards abolishing, really, statute of limitations when it comes to child sex crimes. >> i think abolition would be too great a state. >> jeff! >> well, to fairness, if someone said to you, where were you january 23rd, 1980 -- >> but these are very different cases, because children when they're abused, it's shrouded in secrecy, it's uncomfortable -- >> well, this is a different situation. obviously, there's the children's perspective, but then there's the potential that somebody could be used of something -- >> it's important to keep in mind that sometimes these people are innocent. and they have a right to defend themselves and if it's just too long ago to get phone records -- >> so that's the thinking behind

it? >> okthat's the thinking behind it. >> there's going to be a preliminary hearing on tuesday that's already been scheduled. what's going to come out of that? what happens there? >> i think it's going to be a pretty big deal. all these victims will have to testify. >> so they're going to review all the charges there? >> they'll review all the charges. and the standard is very low. all the government has to prove is probable cause. and it's essentially -- it's essentially just going to be discovery for the defense. the defense is going to be able to hear the witnesses testify -- >> but the witnesses actually have to be there? >> absolutely. as far as i understand it, under pennsylvania law, they're going to have to be there and they're all making plans to be there and it's going to be quite a scene, when you consider the number of charges. it's just incredible. >> we'll be watching, obviously. jeff toobin, sunny hostin, thanks very much. up next, a major development in the sex abuse investigation at syracuse university. a really fascinating day. the d.a. announced that he will not charge former associate basketball coach bernie fine with sexually abusing two former ball boys because of the statute of limitations. after the announcement, he sat down for an exclusive interview with gary tuchman and shared new details about the case. you'll want to hear that. also tonight, police make an

arrest in the murder of a 7-year-old georgia girl. how they caught the suspected child killer when we continue. the employee of the month isss...

the new spark card from capital one. spark miles gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. the spark card earns double miles... so we really had to up our game. with spark, the boss earns double miles on every purchase, every day. that's setting the bar pretty high. owning my own business has never been more rewarding. coming through! [ male announcer ] introducing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

"360" exclusive now. new information tonight about the bernie fine investigation. prosecutors said today that they will not charge the former syracuse university basketball coach with sexually abusing two former ball boys, bobby davis and mike lang, but only because the statute of limitations has expired. the district attorney, william fitzpatrick, made a point of saying that both men's allegations were credible. he called the taped phone conversation between davis and fine's wife compelling evidence. you heard that on this program. he also left the door wide open for new charges. >> i can't bring bernie fine to

justice for what he did to bobby davis and mike lang, and if there's other victims out there, we'll certainly pursue them with the fullest extent of the law. >> well, federal authorities are still investigating allegations brought by a third accuser, named zack tomaselli. but fitzpatrick said his office has turned over exculpatory evidence that would support fine's defense in that case. in a statement, fine's attorney said, "it appears now that there is proof that tomaselli fabricated this allegation. the incredible damage that tomaselli has inflicted on mr. fine cannot be overstated. we are hopeful that federal authorities will soon come to the same conclusion regarding tomaselli's lack of credibility." all from the start of tomaselli's charges, there have been questions about whether or not he was telling the truth. his own father, point-blank, said he was not. after his news conference, district attorney fitzpatrick gave an exclusive interview to our gary tuchman. gary joins me now. gary, why is the district attorney so sure that bobby davis and his stepbrother are telling the truth? >> well, anderson, he thinks the

stepbrothers' words are very credible. and he also thinks that audiotape that we heard with laurie fine is devastating. but then we learned this today. and that is there is a witness whose identity is being protected. she's now about 40 years old, but back then she was 16 years old and she was an au pair in the fine's house. and she heard and saw a lot. listen to what the d.a. told us about that. it's your impression that the au pair is convinced that bernie fine had a sexual relationship with bobby davis, while she worked at that house? >> no question about it. all kinds of things that -- i mean, she didn't physically witness any molestation. but, clearly, body language, affect, the way they talked to each other, the way they acted around each other, the conversations she had with laurie fine. there's no question that she felt that. >> for example, when it came to bernie, what did she say about the way that bernie fine acted that made her know they had sexual -- >> the way they would do things, the way they would watch tv

together, the way they would eat food together, the way they would suddenly disappear together. >> and what did laurie fine said to her? >> laurie fine had numerous conversations with her, and the gist of the conversations were, i don't have the right parts for bernie. and clearly implicating -- you recognize the hearsay elements of this, but clearly implicating that laurie fine thought that bernie fine was gay and they were leading two separate lives. >> so the au pair said that laurie fine talked to her, a 16-year-old girl, that she didn't have the parts for her husband? >> you know, it was difficult to listen to, but that's exactly right. >> that's amazing. gary, are there any other witnesses of fine's alleged abuse who were in the fine house? >> yeah, the district attorney told me that this au pair who he was talking about said there was another girl who worked in the house, doing some housekeeping duties, and they say that particular girl actually saw bernie fine with bobby davis in a compromising position in the

house. as we speak, the d.a. is still trying to locate this girl, who is now a woman, to talk to her about that. >> i also understand the district attorney actually met with bernie fine's attorneys before he was fired. what was that all about? >> well, that's exactly right. the d.a. went to the attorney's office, representing bernie fine, and this is before this all went down, while he was still the associate head coach of the syracuse university orange, and he said, listen, i want to cut a deal with you and with bernie fine. now, he knew the statute of limitations had expired, but the d.a. is telling us he wanted to cut a deal because he wanted to keep bernie fine away from young people. >> before the feds got involved in this case, i met with bernie fine's lawyer and i -- with bobby davis' permission, i suggested the following scenario. i said, look, i have proof that bobby davis is telling the truth. the lawyer didn't seem surprised by that. bernie fine needs to acknowledge that bobby's telling the truth.

that's important. bernie fine can then say all the lawyerly-like things he wants, i'm going into counseling, i want to save my marriage, et cetera, et cetera. that's irrelevant to me. he's got to affirm those things and resign from his position at syracuse university. with the knowledge that we're going to continue to investigate him. and the lawyer and i, you know, went back and forth and we were fairly close to a resolution with those stipulations. >> we've asked bernie fine's attorneys the reaction to what the district attorney just said and we have not yet received a response. anderson? >> he said they were close to those stipulations. do we know why they didn't take the next step and actually make that deal? >> because the next day, after this conversation, the tape became public and the university made the immediate decision to fire bernie fine. >> hmm, interesting. gary, appreciate it. great reporting, as always. there's a lot more we're following tonight. asiah is back with the "360 news

and business bulletin." asiah? >> anderson, there's been an arrest of that 7-year-old girl in georgia. the suspect is ryan brunn, a maintenance worker at the apartment complex where jorelys rivera lived and was apparently killed. her body was found monday in a dumpster at the complex. authorities say he died of blunt force trauma to the head, was stabbed, and sexually assaulted. the chicago federal judge sentenced rod blagojevich to prison for 14 years. the former illinois governor was convicted on corruption charges, including trying to sell president obama's old u.s. senate seat. before learning his punishment, he apologized, saying he was, quote, with unbelievably sorry. on wall street, stocks ended mostly on the upside with investors betting european union leaders can find the solution to the nation's debt crisis when they meet tomorrow and friday. the dow rose 46 points, the s&p gained 2 points, and the nasdaq almost unchanged. and at pearl harbor, thousands gathered to remember this date that lives in infamy.

today marked the 70th anniversary of the surprise japanese attack that launched the u.s. into world war ii. 2,400 people lost their lives in the raid. a lot of painful memories on this day. >> asiah, thank you. still ahead, keeping them honest. texas governor and presidential candidate rick perry claiming president obama is waging a war on christmas. we're going to check the claim against the fact, and against the governor's past statements. also ahead, after the death of florida a&m drum major robert champion, the band director was fired. now they have change third minds. can i help you? yeah, can i get a full-sized car? for full-sized cars, please listen to the following menu. for convertibles, press star one. i didn't catch that. to speak to a representative, please say representative now. representative. goodbye! you don't like automated customer service, and neither do we. that's why, unlike other cards, no matter when you call chase sapphire preferred,

you immediately get a person not a prompt. chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. (phone ringing) chase sapphire preferred, this is julie in springfield. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] some people just know how to build things well.

give you and your loved ones an expertly engineered mercedes-benz... ho ho ho! ...at the winter event going on now. but hurry -- the offer ends january 3rd.

another keeping them honest report now. the focus on rick perry who's attacking for president obama who's waging, in his words, a war on religious traditions, especially christmas. he's also on tape doing precisely what he accuses the president of. he first launched the attack with a campaign ad in iowa. >> i'm not ashamed to admit that i'm a christian. but you don't need to be in the pew every sunday to know that there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can't openly celebrate christmas or pray in school. >> well, there's a whole bag of insinuations in the ad, some of them uglier than others, including suggestions that there's a war being waged against christianity and christmas. today on "the situation room," governor perry doubled down on the christmas run. >> what we're seeing from the left, of which i would suggest to you that president obama is a member of the left, and substantial left of center beliefs, that you can't even

have a christmas party. >> let's just state some facts. there are millions of christians in america, left, right, and center. president obama and his wife are christian. and in addition to many christmas trees inside the white house itself, there's a national christmas tree outside. and at the lighting ceremony just last week, there was an overtly christmas and christ-themed message from the president. >> more than 2,000 years ago, a child was born to two faithful travelers who could find rest only in a stable among the cattle and the sheep. but this was just not any child. christ's birth made the angels rejoice and attracted shepherds and kings from afar. he was a manifestation of god's love for us. and he grew up to become a leader with a servant's heart, who taught us a message as simple as it is powerful, that we should love god and love our neighbor as ourselves. so on behalf of malia and sasha

and michelle and our grandmother in chief, marion, i wish you all a happiest holiday season, the merriest of christmases, god bless you all, and may god bless the united states of america. >> now, we should point out, governor perry too is christian. not our position to question the sincerity of his faith or the president or anyone else's. but not only does perry have his fact straights about the president, but he doesn't always practice what he appreciates. >> the holidays are a special time of year to pause and take stock of the many blessings we enjoy. not just as human beings, but as americans, texans. of all those blessings, i offer that the most precious is our freedom. >> well, that's how it begins. here's how it ends. >> so during this holiday season, remember to thank a

first responder or salute a veteran for their service and pray for god's protection on them and their families. god bless you, and through you, may he continue to bless the great state of texas. >> well, nowhere in the message does the governor mention christmas? in fact, he simply calls it the holiday season. and the governor seems to be using the very same language that he, himself, is now railing against the president. so rick perry may be stirring the controversy today. we'll talk more about that shortly. but it's newt gingrich who continues to be stirring likely voters. new cnn/time/orc polling gives him a 23-point lead among florida republicans. mitt romney, the only other candidate in double digits. in iowa, gingrich now up by 13. ron paul, mitt romney in a statistical tie for second place. and governor perry with 9% support. gingrich is destroying governor romney in south carolina, a 23-point lead. even in new hampshire, where mitt romney's practically the hometown boy, gingrich has now moved to within nine percentage points. to talk about the gingrich soy and rick perry's play for

conservative christians with our political panel, former bush administration secretary, ari fleischer. follow him on twitte twitter @arifleischer, and also hilary rosen, who happens to be in the white house briefing room tonight. ari, i know governor perry is going to the try the win over evangelical voters. what do you make on the kind of war on christmas argument he's now making? >> if you look at republican primaries, there's a history of candidates going to the state of iowa, particularly, and making an appeal on the basis of being christian. mike huckabee did that four years ago. we all remember the advertising he ran, where the window pane that looked like a cross, some people said. and pat robertson ran a vote on the evangelical vote in iowa. there's a long history of them trying to play up the evangelical vote in iowa with caucusgoers. >> hilary, you were at the white house christmas party tonight. >> and there are christmas trees everywhere here at the white

house, anderson. >> what do you make of the suggestion that there's somehow a war against christmas being made by the obama administration. >> i'm not that casual about it the way ari is, because i just find it offensive that rick perry would sort of blame the president for something that is so deeply held in our constitution, that if you want to be president of this country, you better understand the separation of church and state. he -- president obama has nothing to do with whether local communities can celebrate christmas. courts make those decisions and they've ruled multiple times on the separation. you know, and president obama, i think, walks as far to the line as rick perry does in celebrating christmas and celebrating his own christianity. and it's just offensive. but, really, i think the fact that you read those polls about how far down rick perry is and newt gingrich is rising as the anti-romney, that's really what this is about. he's just looking for anything to get attention, and, you know, taking on some inflammatory position is his latest stab at it. >> ari, let's talk about these

new poll numbers, particularly for gingrich and for romney. how significant do you think are these numbers? how real are they? >> well, with we haven't seen any real numbers yet, at least any enduring numbers in this republican primary. every time somebody goes up, they come down again. so the number still stands out at me is some 60 to 70% of the voters said they were undecided, they can change their minds. so it remains volatile. i think with newt gingrich, you're always one step away from it becoming even more volatile. that's up to newt. anderson, it still remains a topsy-turvy republican race. you're starting to get the sense, though, that it could much more likely be a newt/romney long sprint than anything else. but i'm still not willing to make any hard predictions. it's just that kind of cycle for republicans. >> i'm just stunned at how people had written off newt gingrich a few weeks or months ago, and now he's everywhere. hilary, obviously, most people are focused on gingrich and mitt

romney as the two front-runners. how worried should mitt romney be? >> i think he should be really worried. and maybe nationally, 60% of the voters are undecided, but in iowa, there's a much smaller number of undecided voters, and same within new hampshire and north -- south carolina and gingrich is surging. we'll get our first test of that on saturday night, what is romney's strategy going to be? is he going to try and take down newt gingrich, or is he going to try and do what gingrich is doing, which is really focus attacks on president obama. >> which is what gingrich has been very effective at in all of the debates, by trying to be the elder statesman, above the fray. and he's had the luxury of doing that, because he hasn't been in the top tier of candidates. but now that he is, i wonder, can he stay kind of above the fray? >> well, my guess is that if romney starts attacking gingrich, gingrich is going to take the bait. and that's always going to be, you know, the risk with newt gingrich, is does he take the bait, in any fight?

>> ari, what do you think? >> and anderson, he will. i will predict to you that mitt romney is very shortly about to take the gloves off and go after newt gingrich. and he's going to hit him on policy. but you've already saw the advertisement that he's run, which really plays up his personal background, the relationship with his wife, et cetera. i think you're going to the see a tougher and feistier mitt romney literally in the days ahead. and who knows how that's going to play. mitt romney has said he's going to stay positive and not attack any of his rivals. we'll talk about that too. romney doesn't have a record for staying silent when things are said about him. he has been rather temperamental about it. it's been going to be a test for newt to show what kind of candidate he is. >> ari, thanks, and hillary, sorry to interrupt your party. >> it's all good. what's going to happen to the band director at florida a&m university in the wake of hazing scandal that led to the death of

a drum major. we have the latest on that. and new details about what really happened on that american airlines flight that got alec baldwin booted off. the airline has its own version and baldwin has his own. and find out why stephen colbert has landed a spot on the ridiculist. today, investors want retirement planning on their terms. i want to work with people who are objective. how about a plan with my name on it? can we start with realistic goals, please? show me how to keep more retirement money in my pocket. now and down the road. those are my terms. then this is your place. td ameritrade, where millions of investors plan for retirement on their terms. [ male announcer ] trade commission-free for 60 days. plus get up to $600 when you open an account.

yeah, i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] a simple gesture can spark romance anytime. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven

low-dose tablet you take every day so you can be ready anytime the moment's right, even if it's not every day. [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. [ man ] do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, stop taking cialis and call your doctor right away. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if cialis for daily use is right for you. for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com. [ knock on door ] cool. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice.

between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go. priority mail flat rate shipping at usps.com. a simpler way to ship.

hey, welcome back. let's check in with asiah with the "360" bulletin. >> a new development in the disappearance of a woman in long island, new york. shannon gilbert's purse has been found along with what may be her phone and some of her clothes. her body still hasn't been found, but police say they think they're close to finding it. the search for gilbert led to the discovery of ten other sets of human remains, which authorities say could be the work of a serial killer. the band director at florida a&m university has been put on administrative leave with pay. during the investigation into the death of drum major robert champion, allegedly from hazing. according to multiple reports, actor harry morgan has died. he was 96 years old. and anderson, new details about alec baldwin getting booted from an american airlines flight. the airline says baldwin was kicked off the flight because he

wouldn't turn his cell phone off, was rude to the crew, and slammed the bathroom door. baldwin has a somewhat different take on the incident. on twitter, baldwin wrote this. "there's always united. last flight with american where retired catholic school gym teachers from the 1950s find jobs as flight attendants." ouch! >> wow. >> i know. >> all right. >> do you play? >> do i play? >> "words with friends." >> i don't know what that is. >> it's a scrabble-like game, the game that's at the heart of all of this. >> is that what's at the heart of all of this? a game? >> a game. >> that's what it's all about. i'll send it to you. >> no, i really don't like playing games. >> no, i'll send it to you. >> i don't want to play games with you, asiah. >> no, we're going to play. and you're going to like it. >> all right. >> bye. >> bye. i'll see you later. coming up, stephen colbert does a hilarious report on a story that's near and dear to the ridiculist, and it sounds

very, very familiar. oh, yeah, that's right, i'm talking about you, colbert.

time now for the ridiculist. and tonight, we're adding stephen colbert. i've got to do it. no, look, we love "the colbert report" around here, so some of us were watching two nights ago when in a recurring and brilliant segment called "mysteries of the ancient unknown," colbert did a story about what's really going on at the denver international airport.

>> strange art, mysterious architecture, signs. what is going on in denver? no one has been able to crack the code. until now. >> phallic symbol. phallic, phallic. phall phallic. somebody's butt. >> hang on! you mean to tell me there's a guy who sees phallic symbols at the denver international airport? hmm. it sounds similar, for some reason. tell me more, colbert report. >> i did not understand that i had this gift. it's a gift from the holy spirit. >> a gift that has earned happily not one, but two self-bestowed titles. >> william taply, also known as the third eagle of the apocalypse and the third eagle of the end times. >> time nows for the ridiculist.

and tonight we're adding a gentleman by the name of william taply. but you probably know him by his other names. >> i'm your host, william taply. also known as the third eagle of the apocalypse and the co-prophet of the end times. >> quite a resume, isn't it? >> did you happen to notice the date on that clip? june. that's when i put william tapley on the ridiculist, june. i hate to say this, mr. colbert, but you, sir, are about six months tardy to this particular party. let's watch some more colbert report, shall we? >> just look at what tapley has found. starting with the airport's demon horse. see if you can spot the hidden fallice here. >> these sure look like phallic symbols to me. >> and let's roll these crusty old ridiculist from six months ago again. >> let's take a closer look at

the mane on this blue demon horse. these sure look like phallic symbols to me. i don't know. what do you think, mr. cooper? >> that's right. you heard it right. he said, "mr. cooper." colbert conveniently left that part out. i did this story three different times six months ago on the ridiculist, and some of the video from the colbert report, some of the video they used came from the third eagle's video responses to my ridiculist. i like to call them ridi krurcu but you get the point. let's see some more colbert report, shall we? >> and there's more! >> what do you suppose this street name is that runs right down the center? you guessed it. that's penia boulevard. >> you are kidding? >> no, i am not kidding. >> and now some more ridiculist, if you can find that tape, it was just so long ago. >> it's not just the

phallic-shaped terminal, it's also salacious-sounding street names. >> what do you suppose this treat name is that runs right down the center? you guessed it, that's penia boulevar boulevard. >> i'm sorry. yep. now, mr. colbert, i was going to late this whole thing slide, but as long as we're dredging up old stories, i seem to remember something you accused me of back in april. >> you, sir, are nothing but a thief! because your segment, the ridiculist, is a clear rip-off of my "on-notice" board. and for stealing my idea, i am putting you and your ridiculist on my absurdoo chart. all right. there you go.