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Iraq Study Group Releases Report; New National Hurricane Center Director Named; Water on Mars?

Aired December 06, 2006 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.

The president was up at the crack of dawn to crack open that new report on Iraq -- dozens of new recommendations. Which ones is he most likely to consider?

PHILLIPS: He survived a fatal lunch date, but an Italian security agent is still looking over his shoulder. Will assassins strike again?

LEMON: And much of the Midwest is already polar and powerless. Now another storm threatens to take the mercury further south. It's only December 6, and you're already sick of winter?

Well, then stay inside, and warm up, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Grave, deteriorating, possibly sliding into chaos -- the situation in Iraq right now, according to the Iraq Study Group.

The bipartisan panel released its long-awaited report just hours ago. It warns, there's no magic formula for success. But it is offering some hopeful options. Here's what we know right now.

The group calls for moving most U.S. troops out of their combat roles by early 2008. But it does not set specific timetables. It also urges direct talks between the U.S., Iran, and Syria, along with a new U.S. diplomatic effort across the Middle East. And it says the U.S. should reduce economic and military support, if the Iraqi government fails to meet specific goals.

LEMON: President Bush is promising to pay close attention to the Iraq Study Group's report, but he is not making promises that he will act on their recommendations.

Our White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano, is standing by for us -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And, Don, President Bush's aides are being very careful not to weigh in on any specific recommendation in any specific way -- 79 recommendations in all, put forth by the Iraq Study Group. Now, earlier this afternoon, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, in the briefing, repeatedly avoided expressing any kind of opinions on the various recommendations, saying that the White House had only received the report this morning, and was still studying it.

But we know that the panel did deliver its assessment in sobering terms, calling the situation in Iraq grave and deteriorating. It also said the Bush administration's policy was not working.

The question now, of course, what will President Bush do with those recommendations?

Here is what the president had to say earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I told the members that this report, called "The Way Forward," will be taken very seriously by this administration.

It's a -- this reports gives a very tough assessment of the situation in Iraq. It is a report that brings some really very interesting proposals. And we will -- we will take every proposal seriously, and we will act in a timely fashion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, what exactly does timely fashion mean? Well, the president's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said recently that it would likely be that the president would make decisions on his Iraq policy within weeks, not months.

We should mention to you, Kyra and Don, that, at this hour, the president is sitting down at the White House with members of Congress, a bipartisan group of leaders of various committees, including the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, in both houses of Congress -- obviously, the Iraq Study Group recommendations sure to be a main focus of the discussions -- Don.

LEMON: And the president expected to get a visit soon from Tony Blair?

QUIJANO: Exactly right -- tomorrow a big day here at the White House. Once more, the president will be sitting down with the prime minister of Britain, Tony Blair, of course, a staunch ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism -- but interesting, because, of course, Tony Blair was one of those who was interviewed by the members of the Iraq Study Group.

So, there will be a lot to talk about, a great deal of interest, of course, as to what President Bush might be thinking, in terms of adopting some of these recommendations. Right now, his aides, really, at this point, Don, keeping any kind of thoughts on that very close to the vest -- Don.

LEMON: Elaine Quijano, at the White House, thank you so much for that.

QUIJANO: Mmm-hmm.

LEMON: And stay with CNN for complete coverage of the prime minister -- Prime Minister Blair's visit to Washington. CNN plans live coverage tomorrow morning of a joint news conference with President Bush. That's at 10:55 a.m. Eastern.

PHILLIPS: The Pentagon has been doing its own assessment of the war in Iraq. And with today's release of the study group report, it might be time to compare notes.

Let's get straight to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

What do you think, Jamie?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you will see a lot of similarities between the approach advocated by the Baker-Hamilton commission and some of the strategy adjustments that are already being made by U.S. commanders on the ground, particularly the call for an increase in the number of U.S. military trainers embedded with Iraqi units.

The panel calls for increasing that number from roughly 4,000 to 15,000 to 20,000. We're already seeing that sort of increase happen, by U.S. commanders shifting some of their combat troops into more of a -- a mentoring, adviser and training role with other troops in Iraq.

The other conclusion is the -- the phased withdrawal of U.S. troops, so that most of them are shifted out of a combat role by early 2008. That's also consistent with what U.S. military planners had hoped to see happen. In fact, that 2008 date appears to be similar to one recommended by General Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

But note that the -- even with a significant withdrawal of troops, there would still be a large number of U.S. troops, perhaps 70,000 to 80,000, still in Iraq. Many of those would be providing that training role, force protection for the troops that are there, as well as -- and this is the third recommendation of the Iraq Study Group -- focusing those remaining forces on targeting al Qaeda in Iraq as well.

But, you know, one of the things that's striking about the recommendations of the group is, it comes with no guarantee of success. In fact, it almost suggests that there's a good chance it won't succeed. It says that they realize that the events in Iraq may overtake their recommendations. They urge quick action. They say no course of action guarantees success. But, if this -- if their recommendations are implemented, they say the chances for success will improve, even as they give no guarantees -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jamie McIntyre, thanks.

And, even with all these recommendations coming down, and talking about the Iraq Study Group, of course, it happens with the backdrop of continued attacks happening in Baghdad.

We want to get straight to Nic Robertson, just getting word of another attack.

What does this bring it up to for the day, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we're learning now that 10 U.S. troops have been killed across Iraq today in four separate incidents. Those are all the details we have at this time. That is a very -- that is an unusually high figure of U.S. troop fatalities -- very few details at this time.

Of course, there have been attacks in Baghdad. Today, a suicide bomber on a bus in the Shia suburb of Sadr City, killed three people, wounded 16. Mortars rained in a market in the center of Baghdad, about four to five mortars. Ten people were killed, 54 wounded in that attack -- and another attack, very sectarian in nature, in the afternoon, 15 mortars fired into a Sunni neighborhood. At least three of those mortars landed close to the -- landed close to a mosque.

Five people were wounded, one of them the imam -- 45 bodies found on the streets of Baghdad so far today by the police, those people all shot and killed, many showing the signs of torture -- but, today, these new figures that we are quite literally just hearing about now, about these 10 U.S. military fatalities -- a very high and deadly day for U.S. troops, it would appear, today -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Nic Robertson live from Baghdad.

The man President Bush wants to run the Pentagon could get a thumbs-up from the full Senate in just a matter of hours. That vote on Robert Gates' nomination set for 5:00 Eastern, we're told. His nomination sailed through the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday. Members unanimously approved it, after just a few hours of questioning.

Now, if approved, Gates would replace Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary.

LEMON: A story developing right now.

Let's head to the NEWSROOM and Fredricka Whitfield with the very latest for us -- Fredricka.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, this out of Milwaukee -- and the city officials are now saying, again, three people were killed, at least 30 injured.

And you're looking right now at the aftermath of this explosion that took place just after many of the employees at this industrial center said they smelled gas. They evacuated the building. And, then, shortly thereafter, this explosion took place, a powerful explosion that you can see just decimated this 100-year-old-plus building, flipped another -- a number of vehicles, blew out windows in nearby buildings. And, again, the coroner's office is -- or the medical examiner's office is saying that three people were killed, many others injured, some minor. But there are at least four injuries that are considered serious.

Police and fire officials say they have no reason to believe that there was -- this is the result of anything but a tragic accident. This explosion may have been sparked by a propane tank that exploded -- Don.

LEMON: Whatever it was, it certainly did cause a lot of damage. Wow.

WHITFIELD: I mean, it's remarkable...

LEMON: Just unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: ... that kind of damage. And we're talking about an area that spans about two-and-a-half blocks.

The -- the entire complex is like one-and-a-half-million square feet. So, if you look at the shots that we have been able to show you, and, as they widen out, you will be able to see sort of like a crater that was created from this explosion, which not only decimated the entire structure, but left a significant mark in the ground.

LEMON: All right, Fredricka Whitfield, thank you so much for that.

PHILLIPS: A SWAT team, water rescue team, expert repellers all scouring the Oregon wilderness today for James Kim. The San Francisco man was last seen four days ago, when he set off to seek help for his family members stranded in the snow. They were rescued Monday. Helicopters will be dropping 18 survival packages into the search area with food, clothing, a number of other things for Kim. And his family has been buoyed by more possible evidence that he is still alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIEUTENANT GREGG HASTINGS, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, OREGON STATE POLICE: They did discover, and someone was dropped down to search a well-defined area. And this is in the area of where the hot spots were noted a couple evenings previously.

They found two gray long-sleeve shirts, a red short-sleeved T- shirt, I believe one wool sock, a blue girl's skirt, and pieces of an Oregon state map that was sort of cut up. And these, according to the information I have, were sort of placed, again, with our belief that little signs are being left by James for anyone that may be trying to find him, so that they can continue into the area that he's continuing to move in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The rescue effort has a new eye in the sky. A Virginia company is rerouting one of its satellite to help look for James Kim. We are going to speak to one of the investigators live, right here in the NEWSROOM, in just a few minutes.

LEMON: His warning came too late to save a friend's life. Now he fears the assassins are after him -- new leads, dead ends. We're digging for every detail on a former Russian spy case -- the latest from London, next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: H2O. Do Martians have enough toes to hang 10? Well, new pictures seem to show a fair amount of water on the red planet. We're going to with the flow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I guess you can consider this a household name, because, for the past six years, he has been the voice of calm whenever a hurricane was bearing down on the United States. On January 3, Max Mayfield steps down as director of the National Hurricane Center.

Now, taking up the mantle, Bill Proenza -- that announcement coming just minutes ago from Washington. Most recently, Proenza has overseen the Southern region for the National Weather Service. Proenza officially takes the helm four weeks from today.

So, who is the new top dog at the NHC?

Well, let's get the top dog at the CNN Weather Center...

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: ... meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

Who is he?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys.

Well, as you mentioned, he's the southern director for the National Weather Service. That's 12 different offices in one of the biggest severe weather places in the world -- deals with tornadoes, deals with hurricanes. While you may think that he has been with tornadoes more often than not, he actually has a big background in tropical meteorology. He's been with the National Weather Service for 30 years. And his first job was with the National Hurricane Center.

After that time, he went on and was a hurricane hunter, before he went on to other jobs. We're looking for a big face, is what Conrad Lautenbacher had to say. They're looking for someone to be the voice of calm in that time. So, we're going to be seeing a lot of Bill Proenza in the coming days.

Max Mayfield did a great job. And it's going to be a really, really big job, certainly, to fill those shoes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: A river runs through it. NASA unveils new images that suggest liquid water on the surface of Mars. They were taken by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. And researchers who have been studying them say they have spotted changes in the walls of two craters. That may have been caused by the flow of water, and recently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MEYER, LEAD SCIENTIST, MARS EXPLORATION PROGRAM: The Mars Exploration program has been following the water since the mid- '90s. And now we have found it. Water seems to have flowed on the surface of today's Mars. The big questions are, how does this happen? And does it point to a habitat for life?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So, "Is there life on Mars?" is a question that has intrigued humankind for centuries.

Here's a quick check on some of the missions seeking an answer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since the early 1960s, there have been dozens of missions to Mars. All but two were launched by the United States and the former Soviet Union.

Many have been extraordinarily successful, others, stunning failures. The first missions were spacecraft that flew by the red planet, taking as many pictures as possible. The first successful flyby was the U.S. Mariner 4 in 1964. Next came orbiters. Mariner 9 became the first artificial satellite of Mars, when it went into orbit in 1971. And it revealed that Mars contained huge volcanoes and a canyon stretching 3,000 miles.

The next missions were landers and rovers -- one, the Viking project, made history by safely landing two spacecraft on Mars in 1976. Viking 1 and 2 set down in two different areas, and successfully returned images to Earth.

The Mars Pathfinder was launched in 1996. Its findings suggest that, at one time, Mars was warm and wet, with water existing in its liquid state. Three years ago, two robotic geologists named Spirit and Opportunity landed on opposite sides of Mars. They have trekked for miles, sending more than 100,000 full-color images to Earth. Both are among several Mars explorers still on the job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: NASA also has its sights set on a rare nighttime launch. That shuttle Discovery is scheduled to lift off tomorrow, but it could be delayed by an approaching cold front. At the moment, there's a 40 percent chance the Discovery crew will take off as scheduled, at 9:35 Eastern tomorrow night.

Whenever they do, CNN will be there.

And tune in to the NEWSROOM tomorrow afternoon. Astronaut Jeff Ashby, who piloted Columbia in 1999, he is going to be our live guest.

LEMON: One billion dollars that went into the wrong hands? Well, a new federal report about where the money went after Hurricane Katrina proves you didn't have to take a direct hit to end up getting soaked -- details that will probably burn you up next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Developing story now.

Fredricka Whitfield, take it away.

WHITFIELD: Well, from the start, all day today, we have been reporting to you, Don, that, from the air and on the ground, that searchers out in Oregon have been intensifying their search, looking for this man, James Kim, who went missing after Saturday.

He -- he left his family in their abandoned vehicle in southern Oregon, as they were ending their Thanksgiving holiday. Well, now airborne rescuers say, according to our affiliate KTVU, that they spotted a flash in a heavily wooded area, and then caught a glimpse of a man laying face down that they believe may be this missing man from San Francisco, James Kim.

Searchers are now being lowered, with the use of a helicopter, to try to assist this man. There is no immediate word on his condition. We had been reporting earlier that some clothing and bits of an Oregon map seemed to turn up in a drainage area in the area of this search, and that rescue workers also had put together 18 care packages, and were dropping them in this area, in hopes that at least one of these packages may find itself in the proximity of James Kim.

And in that package was a sweatshirt, sweatpants, flashlight, MREs, as well as some flares. And now we're just learning from our affiliate that they have spotted what appears to be a man's body in this wooded area in kind of a three-mile circumference area of this drainage area in southern Oregon that they have located.

And now they're lowering the rescuers, via helicopter, to try to get closer to this man to find out if it is indeed that of James Kim. But, again, we don't know his condition or the condition of the man that they believe that they have spotted -- Don.

LEMON: Yes.

And, Fredricka, apparently, one of the reporters from KTVU out on the story, and saw the rescuers going down, trying to get to that body.

And, as you said, we don't know if it's him. And we don't know if the person they found is dead or alive, or what's going on...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Right.

And it is a remote area. And the terrain is very challenging. The weather had made it very difficult, too. At night, the -- the weather and the temperatures gets to freezing and below. So, they have been very concerned about James Kim, as he set out on foot to try to find help, while his family ended up being rescued just a couple days after he left the vehicle.

All of them had been in their vehicle, abandoned and stranded on this Oregon road, for about a week, before he decided: I'm going to set out on foot and try to find some help.

All he had is -- were the clothes on his back. And, then, of course, when rescuers say that they located some of these articles of clothing, that did concern them. But they thought that perhaps this man was trying to let rescuers know just where he might be, because of the way in which the clothing and bits of map were left in this proximity.

But, again, we really don't know anything more about this figure...

LEMON: Right.

WHITFIELD: ... that they believe to be a man that they have spotted. And now they're trying to get to that person.

And investigators and searchers have only said that, perhaps, it could be James Kim. But, again, we don't know the condition of that figure.

LEMON: And investigators did say that, as you said, certainly, the way things were laid out, and what he left, pieces of a map, you know, a...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: ... a little girl's blue skirt, that the family all identified as being their items, that it appears that he was trying leave some clues.

Fredricka Whitfield, we're also hearing that there is going to be a press conference. And, when there is a press conference, of course, we will follow it right here on CNN -- on CNN.

We will have more of this on the other -- other side of the break. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: New information now on the search for a man who has been missing in Oregon for ten days now. Fredricka Whitfield joins us from the NEWSROOM -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well Don, again, according to our affiliate KTVU, it is believed that airborne rescuers may have spotted what appears to be a man laying face down in a wooded area there in southern Oregon and now they are lowering some of those rescue workers from the helicopter to try to reach this man.

All of this taking place as the search intensifies for this man right here, James Kim, 35-year-old man and father of two and husband. He had set out on foot in the cold leaving his family behind in their abandoned vehicle where they all had hunkered down for a week.

He left on Saturday and here we are now four, five days later. His family was actually spotted and rescued on Monday. They were all treated for you know exposure and they had no food except for some rations in the vehicle that they had for their two small children.

And now the search has been carrying on now and has reached a heightened pitch when they started, rescuers started finding articles of clothing and bits of a map that they reported to us this morning hoping that perhaps James Kim was giving some signal or even direction as to where he might be. And so now, Don, we're at this juncture, where this man laying face down has been spotted there in that wooded area.

LEMON: And you know what Fredricka, when we have something like this, when new details are coming in, they come in pretty quickly. But we're also hearing now -- not found face down, that's according to the reporter there saying that it was initially believed that that was the case but not the case now.

But again, a report from KTVU, which is one of our affiliates out there, saying that the reporter actually saw the body being rescued or being looked at or rescuers going down to get that body and then reporting information back to us.

And again let's talk about those items you said. Items all been identified from the family, a wool sock, one blue girl's skirt, one piece of an Oregon map or pieces of an Oregon map, and maybe some other pants, I think some outer pants that they believe belonged to this man. So either he was leaving clues but then you know when hypothermia sets in, sometimes you do things you might not do that you normally do.

WHITFIELD: Right and the wife had described to the officials that her husband James was wearing two pair of pants and it appears that one of those layers of pants was among those items that you just described that were left behind.

But you know, it was quite remarkable to hear the police and rescue officials earlier today saying that they were really holding out hope and are still holding out hope that they are going to able to locate James Kim, feeling like those items that were left behind, and the way in which they were left behind really may have been quite deliberate and it was their hope that perhaps he's trying to sent a signal or some pointing in some directions as to where he might be. So, things are still crossed among the emergency officials that are hoping for a positive outcome.

LEMON: Yes, and apparently knowing this guy, (INAUDIBLE) we've seen some stuff, he appeared to be pretty industrious. And also yesterday, we learned that he was in order for his kids not to be so concerned about it, he pretended that they were going on some sort of a hiking trip or a camping trip so that the children wouldn't become worried.

But Fredricka, we're awaiting a press conference to happen at any moment now because the Oregon State police have been pretty forthcoming about that. And as soon as that happens, we'll bring it to our viewers. Thanks so much for all of that.

PHILLIPS: Another story that's continuing to develop within the past hour, reports out of Baghdad, our Nic Robertson first told us about this, ten U.S. troops killed today in four incidents across Iraq.

Specifics of those incidents not immediately released, the deaths now bring the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the start of the Iraq war to 2917. And as you know, these deaths coming forward on the same day as the Iraq Study Group painted a pretty grim picture of what the situation looks like in Iraq.

Coming forward with 79 recommendations it believes can at least improve the prospects of stability in that country and getting U.S. troops to come home.

LEMON: The poison spy case that reads like a thriller is anything but. It's real, at least one real person died and others may be sick. Today, a key figure in the story got a clean bill of health but he tells a frightening story. CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh joins us now from London. Alphonso, what do you know?

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well there are some new developments in this ever mysterious case. As you mentioned, Scotland Yard here now confirming that their probe into death of the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko is now officially a murder investigation.

An investigation that will bolster the efforts of British anti- terrorism forces, not just here in London, but also in Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAN MARSH (voice-over): Inside Russia's justice buildings, British anti-terrorism officials pressed on with their investigation into who killed former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. They're hoping Andre Lugavoy (ph) a ex-KGB bodyguard who met with Litvinenko the day he fell ill can help them determine who poisoned Litvinenko with polonium 210.

British officials say they found barely detectable levels of the radioactive isotope at Arsenal Stadium where Lugavoy (ph) says he attended a game after seeing Litvinenko. Investigators are also looking at traces of radiation at a London hotel where Lugavoy (ph) says he stayed. And from the Piccadilly branch of the sushi restaurant where Litvinenko was thought to have been poisoned, some good news. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All 31 of the Piccadilly team have been given a clean bill of health.

VAN MARSH: Mario Scaramella, who had lunch with Litvinenko at the sushi bar looks to have a clean bill of health, too. He tested positive for trace levels of polonium 210 but isn't showing ill effects. Before being dispatched from hospitals he spoke exclusively to CNN's Matthew Chance about who he thinks is behind the poisoning.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): And what kind of hostile forces do you believe were placing and targeting you and your colleagues?

MARIO SCARAMELLA, LITVIENKO'S FRIEND: People -- people linked with some common theme, organizations, not directly under control of Russian establishment, but from Russia.

VAN MARSH: The Kremlin denies Litvienko's hospital bed accusation that Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed off on his poisoning. One military analyst doubts Litvinenko's death could have been carried out by rogue individuals acting alone.

PAVEL FELGENGAUER, MILITARY ANALYST: This was done by a big organization. This was, of course, a very sophisticated job. It is not rat poison or something. This was a first time documented case, polonium 210 being used as a poison actually in world criminal history.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAN MARSH: Now, even though British officials are considering this officially a murder investigation, Scotland Yard is stressing that they have reached no conclusion on whomever may be responsible for this killing. Back to you, Don.

LEMON: Alphonso Van Marsh as Scotland Yard. Thank you sir.

PHILLIPS: Let's get back to the NEWSROOM now. Fredricka Whitfield with more details on the developing story out of Oregon. What more do we know about this body that they have spotted -- Fred.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: She's still -- yes, she's still working on getting that information actually right now. She's monitoring the wires and of course talking with our desk on the latest information.

Let's get to Mike Brooks one of our law enforcement analysts on the phone with us right now. I don't know how up to date, Mike, you are, but the situation is that we're getting word that rescuers did locate a body.

They're going in for that body, mixed report whether that body's face was down, face down or not. Kind of getting conflicting reports about that. But what are you hearing? Have you been able to call on your sources about James Kim and if indeed this is him. MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I've been following it pretty closely, Kyra. And, you know, the other evening, we were talking about the same thing -- and that they have had a coordinated ground and air search and apparently saw a reflection from the air from one of the helicopters.

They've had four shifts out there going almost 24/7 on visual and nighttime, trying to use a flare, trying to pick up any kind of heat signatures but apparently hadn't had any luck.

There's conflicting reports as you said, whether the body was face up or face down. When you're up in the air looking down, especially with the snow, it's kind of hard to tell. But they've been lucky they have not had any snow fall.

And they had been following some tracks -- any fresh snow fall, I should say.

And they had sent two trackers out there initially when they did find his wife and the two children. And they had been finding bits and pieces as they go along, almost as if Mr. Kim had been dropping things. So, hopefully rescuers would find him.

But when you're out there in this kind of weather he had on tennis shoes. He did have snowshoes, apparently blue jeans, a parka. It's going to be tough for survival. But everyone is hoping for the best.

PHILLIPS: We actually saw video of a Coast Guard helicopter coming in, obviously a search and rescue crew. That's what they do. That's its specialty. Will they initially go down -- can you sort of describe what they will be doing? Will they go down and immediately try to see if -- well obviously if it's a body and if it is, if he is alive, where do they go from there?

Do they start working on him in those conditions? Do they get him into the chopper, work on him as they take him to a hospital? How will it happen?

BROOKS: What they try to do is, if it's a Coast Guard helicopter they will have a crew member on there usually a rescue swimmer for sea operations.

But they could lower someone down depending on the terrain they're in. Whether they try to land, get a GPS reading exactly where he is and have the people go in either by horse or snow cat or ATV. These are all different things that using in the search.

And depending how long, you know, hopefully he's conscious. But if he's not, there still is hope that if he hasn't been unconscious too long, core temperature is too low, there's a possibility could warm him up.

But it's all speculation right now, Kyra. But they're trying to get some people there on the ground and to see whether or not he is conscious. And everyone, as I said, is hoping for the best. PHILLIPS: Thirty-five-years-old. He's obviously been missing since Saturday. That's a long time in those type of conditions, not only the temperature but also the lack of proper clothing and survival gear that he had.

Give us a reality check about hypothermia and what you know about that and how -- is it -- does it depend on your -- what kind of physical condition you're in, on how long you can endure hypothermia?

BROOKS: It depends on your physical condition. It depends also -- you know, you can go without food for a number of days but going without water for just -- you can go without water for maybe three, four days, maybe five at the most. That's the very, very far end.

But he's a very, very intelligent man. Rescuers -- he said -- they were say he did have some wilderness experience, how much that was, they weren't really sure. But he could melt snow just to get water, keep himself hydrated. Because that's the most important thing in conditions like this, keep yourself hydrated.

You know, after a number of days your body breaks down the proteins in the muscle to use that up for heat.

But again, it depends on his physical condition. Because it didn't sound like, Kyra, that he had the proper clothes you know out for these kind of conditions. But you know, he is a smart man.

You can also make shelters out of snow and you know hopefully they will find him alive. But as -- when you're in these kind of conditions and it's very, very rugged. Because let me go back a couple days, when they found his initial tracks he apparently had gone back down the road where they had come up and then he had gone down into a drainage ditch, a ditch area. And that's where trackers picked up footprints from the snowshoes.

And they were trying to follow that. And also trying to use the helicopters from the air to get a heat signature but didn't have luck. But again, going back to hypothermia, it's very, very tough. Hopefully they'll be able to get him warmed up and if they hasn't been unconscious too long.

PHILLIPS: Take a minute and let me -- maybe you can give advice to our viewers, just learning from this situation, as we wait to get word if indeed that is the body of James Kim that rescuers have come across.

But you're in a situation like this, your car breaks down, what is -- what is the best way to handle something like that? How long do you wait until you decide to step out into those conditions and try and find help? Is it the sort of thing that if you're on a road, that you have been in touch with people that you should know that eventually rescue crews will come after you?

I mean, what would be your advice to other families that might be in this situation? When's a good time to go for help? And how long do you wait it out? BROOKS: Well Kyra, it depends on if you know the terrain, if you know the area or not, if you have a compass, you know the direction you're heading, you know the last time you saw any sign of civilization.

Apparently, the Kims had printed off some road maps and they were traveling on in an area that usually is not passable during this time of the year. You know, and did not have any kind of clothing backup should something happen.

And you know talking -- our viewers, if you're going to go into an area like this, make sure you have some kind of a small survival kit with a few days of water just -- contingency plans, just in case something does happen. Boots, Gore-Tex, layered clothing, wool, those kind of things. But apparently, they did not have any of this and hadn't planned on any of this happening.

But going back to when you decide to venture out on your own, the best thing to do is, is to stay with the car. I mean, it provides shelter. And it sound likes Mr. Kim did not know this area well.

Beside these conditions you have wildlife in this part of the country. And you know, venturing out on your own might not have been the best thing for Mr. Kim do especially since they did find his, his wife and the two children there at the car. And they had been burning the tires on the car when the car ran out of gas. They had been burning the tires, apparently at nighttime, to keep warm.

So they were having -- they were using their survival instincts. But to venture out in an area you don't know is not a wise thing to do.

PHILLIPS: Law enforcement analyst, Mike Brooks, appreciate it.

If you're just tuning in, we're following the search for this missing man, James Kim. We are getting word that search and rescue teams have spotted a body, possibly -- actually we're being told that -- they're going to be holding a news conference. I'm hearing they're coming to the mike right now. Let's go ahead and listen in -- find out indeed if this is James Kim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that many of you possibly heard some information. Undersheriff Brian Anderson's got a few comments to make. And then we may follow it up with just a few additional comments. Thank you.

At 12:03 today the body of James Kim was located down in the Big Windy Creek.

LT. GREGG HASTINGS, OREGON STATE POLICE: Mr. Kim was located down in the area where the sent activity was occurring. Arrangements are being made to have him removed from the area to an undisclosed location. The Kim family has made a direct specific request not to be contacted by any representatives from the media.

OK, we may they have additional information here in about an hour. We're trying to find a few more details, but given these recent developments, we obviously are not going to be releasing a lot of information related to the recovery of Mr. Kim.

This is something that we want the Kim family to know that we appreciate all of their support. They have been true champions throughout this whole ordeal. And we just want them to know that our thoughts and our prayers have been with them from day one. And the commitment by those involved in the search for Katie, for the kids and for James has gone nonstop around the clock, determined.

We have said it many types before, but this obviously is extremely tough on those that have an emotional commitment throughout these last self-days here and we truly support all that they have done for us. The support that they have given us, the words of encouragement just have been unbelievable. We thank you.

And we'll come back in about an hour. We're not sure how much more information we'll have to share. We appreciate your understanding a few minutes ago. And we'll be back. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's nothing but heard-wrenching. The Undersheriff Brian Anderson couldn't even come to the mike and give us all of the news so Lieutenant Greg Hastings from the Oregon State Police stepped up to the mike. You can see he had a lump in his throat.

But we can confirm that search and rescue teams did find the body of James Kim, that father and husband that tried to find help for his family when their car got stranded in Oregon. As you know, his wife Katie and two daughters stayed in that car, did everything they could to survive for more than a week. They are OK. But the unfortunate news is that search and rescue teams found the body of James Kim today.

LEMON: And it's tough, you know, it's been on the rescuers. You can imagine the family waiting, because they have been waiting out in the snow for days -- for at least four, or five days before rescuers found them. And they actually found them because she was holding up an umbrella, waving the umbrella and they saw it from the helicopter and then went and found them. So maybe Mike Brooks' (ph) advice may have been correct.

You shouldn't leave -- Mike Brooks, you heard rescuers here talking about -- very emotional for them, obviously, talking about finding this young man's body, 35 years old.

BROOKS: Yes, it was, Don. And I can say, having been, you know, a police officer for 26 years and also a volunteer firefighter and rescuer for over 25, it's tough on the family and tough on the rescuers, both. I mean, they've been out there 24/7, you know, hoping to find Mr. Kim alive.

But in conditions look this, as we talked about, Don, it's very, very difficult, especially when you're not prepared, you're not dressed for this kind of -- for this kind of weather and these kind of conditions. LEMON: Hey, Mike, you talked a little bit earlier about whether or not -- you know, what to do in this situation. When he first -- when we first found out that this young man went missing, they said that his wife said that she saw him go towards the water when she last saw him and then go towards a creek bed. And possibly, I guess -- is that a smart idea to go to follow a creek bed or to follow a river or what have you, thinking it may lead you to, I guess, safety?

BROOKS: You know, in hindsight, it's always 20/20, Don. But, you know, when you're in situations like that and you don't know the terrain, unless he had some kind of GPS, a compass knowing which way that particular drainage ditch would go toward the water, towards the larger body of water in, you know, a downhill fashion, because, you know, they always flow towards a larger body of water, for the most part, usually.

You know, staying with vehicle probably would have been the best thing to do. But, you know, we can second guess. It's just unfortunate that, you know, that he did venture out on his own.

But he thought -- he did what he thought was the best for his family and that's what his number one concern was at that time, was to make sure his family alive, probably not caring too much for his own well-being and, you know, just wanted to make sure his family was found and rescued.

LEMON: OK. Mike Brooks, thank you so much. Thank you so much.

We're going to try to get in a break here. But for our viewers who are just joining us, it's 3:52 Eastern. We've just have been told by the Oregon State Police, 12:03 Pacific time, that the body of James Kim, 35 years old, missing now for ten days, has been found. The good news out of this: at least his wife and two kids are safe and alive.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you're just joining into CNN, you've probably heard that within this last few minutes, we got the sad news that the body of James Kim has been found in Oregon in that wilderness area, after days of being stranded after their car broke down after Thanksgiving vacation.

The wife, two daughters, found OK in that car for more than a week. They had been doing everything they could to survive. And at that point when rescuers had not found them, James Kim decided to take off on his own with what little that he had, some clothes, some maps, his tennis shoes to try to get help.

The sad news is search and rescue teams, the U.S. Coast Guard found his body just about 20 minutes ago and confirmed to CNN that indeed they have found him. And now the search effort is over.

LEMON: And you know, we have been following this story just now for a week, wondering, you know, what was going to happen to this family, and got the good news a couple of days ago that they had actually found the wife and kids. And of course, it was hopeful then that they would find James Kim.

They found the wife after a couple -- they had been missing since November 25th -- nobody had seen them -- missing since November 25th. And then rescuers gave a press conference and saying -- saying that they had found the wife and kids because she had stuck an umbrella up in the air after she saw rescuers in a helicopter. And so they got to her. And then -- she is OK and kids are OK.

But then today, of course, we got the news just a few minutes ago, they're saying 12:03 Pacific time that they found James Kim.

So, we're going to go over now to Jacqui Jeras to talk about the weather conditions there and the weather conditions throughout the country on what's proving to be a very cold winter.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Let's go to Susan Lisovicz for the Closing Bell.

(MARKET REPORT)

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And now let's go to the "SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.

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