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The Fight For Iraq; Missing Climbers; Gaza Gunfights; Phillips Sentenced To Life; Small Car Safety; Fatal Plane Crash; Ministries At Work
Aired December 19, 2006 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM this morning and stay informed. Here's what's on the run down.
Mount Hood searchers zeroing in on a steep slope today. They had hoped to find two missing climbers alive. Time and weather working against them.
COLLINS: Signal to Iran. The Pentagon may send a second carrier group to the Persian Gulf. Top gun pressure in the nuclear stalemate.
HARRIS: And a beauty queen too much of a party queen. Miss USA could lose her tiara today. Tuesday, December 19th. You are in the NEWSROOM.
New Defense Secretary Robert Gates preparing to head to Iraq. He'll get this first look at the situation and the strategy. At the same time, a report of a deep divide. The White House and the Joint Chiefs of Staff said to be split over a troop surge for Iraq. Here's CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A car bomb attack at a vegetable market in a mostly Sunni area of southern Baghdad killed five and wounded 19 on Monday. Could more U.S. troops on the streets have stopped this from happening?
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I, Robert Gates, do solemnly swear.
STARR: As Robert Gates is sworn in as the 22nd secretary of defense, that is the military question he has to answer. President Bush wants to know if the violence would ease if an additional 30,000 U.S. troops were in Iraq. Gates will soon go there to meet with his commanders.
GATES: I look forward to hearing their honest assessments of the situation on the ground and to having the benefit of their advice, unvarnished and straight from the shoulder, on how to proceed in the weeks and months ahead. STARR: Increasing troop levels would be accomplished by leaving some units in Iraq for more than a year-long tour of duty and sending others in early. If the idea is approved, it would mean potentially the highest number of troops on the ground ever, perhaps nearly 165,000. Commanders say sending more troops might mean only putting more targets on the street.
GEN. JAMES CONWAY, U.S. MARINE CORPS COMMANDANT: We would fully support, I think, as a Joint Chiefs, the idea of putting more troops into Iraq if there is a solid military reason for doing so. But I don't think that we believe -- in fact I can tell you we do not believe -- that just adding numbers for the sake of adding numbers, just thickening the mix, is necessarily a good way to go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Barbara Starr joins us from the Pentagon this morning.
Barbara, good to see you.
You know we've heard all along the president relies on the judgment of the commanders on the ground. So are those commanders asking for more troops?
STARR: Well, Tony, not at this point, as far as we know. I mean, let's be really clear on this. The Joint Chiefs of Staff will not oppose the president, but they will give him their best military advice. And what we are hearing from many senior commanders is that at this point more U.S. troops on the ground, as General Conway says, just to put them there, isn't really the answer. And there's a couple of reasons.
There's no question, the military is stretched thin. They can't put 30,000, 40,000 more troops on the ground for more than a few weeks without really causing some serious manpower problems. And what would these troops do? Here's the ultimate dilemma, Tony. What if they put all those troops out there and the violence doesn't stop? The violence doesn't ease up? Then what comes next? So it's a very tough question. They want to know if they put more troops on the ground that there's a clear, military objective, military reason to do it.
HARRIS: Yes. Hey, Barbara, tell us about this request for a second carrier group to the Persian Gulf.
STARR: Well, what we have also confirmed and learned this morning is that last week, indeed, General John Abizaid, the head of the U.S. Central Command, sent a request here to the Pentagon for a second aircraft carrier battle group to go to the Persian Gulf/Indian Ocean region after the first of the year. You know, right now there's just one carrier there and much of this year they haven't even been able to keep a single carrier on station there. Now Abizaid wants to send a second one and he wants to do it in no small part to send a signal to Iran, which has been making a lot of noises out in that region. No one's talking about war against Iran, but it is sending a big signal if they do it. And that also may be one of Bob Gates' first big decisions to make.
Tony.
HARRIS: Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for us.
Barbara, thank you.
STARR: Sure.
COLLINS: A search narrows and hope dims on Oregon's Mount Hood. Today crews searching for two missing climbers focusing only on the most dangerous part of the peak. And with bad weather moving in, they may have only hours left. Let's get the latest now from CNN's Chris Lawrence. He is joining us from Hood River.
Good morning to you, Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
You're absolutely right. Weather is going to play a big factor after today. But the search crews have been able to answer some of their questions that they had, such as why did the climbers split up?
The sheriff now believes that as -- at some point while they summited the mountain, Kelly James severely injured his arm and wasn't able to go on. The three men dug out a snow cave, huddled overnight, and then the next morning Brian Hall and Nikko Cooke went for help, leaving James holed up alone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STAFF SGT. JOSHUA JOHNSTON, U.S. AIR FORCE RESERVE/SEARCHER: We actually discovered Kelly's cave by some footprints that were leading down in one direction off of the summit of Mount Hood. And then there was a snow cave -- the original snow cave that we found the day prior. And what we were doing was just connecting the footprints that we found earlier to the snow cave where the gear was. And we kind of just connected those two and that's where Kelly's cave was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: One of the areas that the searchers are concentrating on is an area around Elliott Glacier. A very, very steep incline with about a 2,500 foot drop. There is some concern from authorities that perhaps there may have been an accident and the climbers could have fallen in. Obviously they're still holding out hope that they -- that the climbers could still be alive. But the sheriff did say that they are starting to reach the limits of survivability in terms of exposure and the altitude. That if they aren't holed up somewhere offering some protection, with each day that passes, it will be less and less likely that they are able to survive.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Oh, that's for sure. All right. Chris Lawrence, we know you'll stay on top of it. Thank you. HARRIS: Gun fights in Gaza. Street clashes threaten the truce and the lives of school children. Unbelievable video this morning. Our Ben Wedeman was right in the middle of the fighting today and he joins us live.
Ben, take these pictures that you were able to shoot for us and describe for us what it was like for you and your photographer in the middle of what turned out to be a gun battle.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, what turned out to be three gun battles today, Tony. Everywhere we went, it seemed that we were in the thick of it.
The first one, we went to the northern part of the city. There was an intersection where there was some Hamas gunmen stationed there. We started filming them. There were no problems. There were lots of kids on the street because there's an elementary school just a few hundred yards away. And what happened was that as we were filming, a car, a jeep full of Palestinian policemen who are loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, came by, fire started to be exchanged. It was -- they were firing, both sides, the Hamas militia men and the Fatah police, firing in every direction, kids running everywhere.
I got separated from my camera man, Joe Duran (ph), who went into one store. I jumped inside of another and huddled behind a desk with about five school kids. We were stuck inside this store for about 20 minutes as the firing went on. And every time I tried to poke my head out to see what was going on, these gunmen from Hamas shouted at me to go back inside.
Now just a block away from there, seven school children were, in fact, hit by gunfire. This entire incident went on for only about 35 minutes and that has been really the pattern of clashes throughout Gaza today. There will be run-in between the two factions. Madly shooting at one another in every direction. Usually innocent bystanders are the ones who are killed or wounded.
But it's been going like this all day long, basically. And just a little while ago I heard more gunfire from yet another clash.
Tony.
HARRIS: So, Ben, what has led -- please tell us what was led to this sharp rise in tensions. It has to be -- it feels like it should be more than just frustration over not coming to some kind of an agreement over a unity government.
WEDEMAN: Well, Tony, this is really a fundamental struggle that goes back many years between the old Arab state systems, the governments that are largely secular and the Islamic movement that is increasingly getting stronger and stronger throughout the Middle East. And what you have here in the West Bank and Gaza is that an Islamic movement, a radical Islamic movement has reached an unprecedented level of legitimacy. They were elected. The prime minister of the Palestinian authority is a member of Hamas and he -- now that Hamas has power, they have no intention of giving it up, whether it's through early elections or otherwise, and they are willing to fight and die to hold on to that power. So really it goes back a long way.
But what really sparked this was the call on Saturday by the Palestinian president for these early elections. Hamas says, no way. We are not going to allow those to happen and we're willing to get into a gun battle over it.
HARRIS: Yes. And, Ben, just to follow up on that. The call from President Abbas for new elections, how long would it take to organize new elections? And given the rise, the spike in tensions, could you even hold new elections with tensions as high as they are right now?
WEDEMAN: Well, Tony, we've heard from Palestinian officials that it will take about 110 days to organize those elections. And that call for the elections is only three days ago. And already we've seen this violence just sky rocket. And, therefore, 110 days more of this I cannot imagine and I don't think anybody else in Gaza can imagine that elections can go ahead under these circumstances.
Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. CNN's Ben Wedeman for us in Gaza City.
Ben, thank you. Stay safe.
COLLINS: An early morning arrest. A second man captured in Ipswich, England. Part of the investigation into the murders of five prostitutes. All five left naked in rural areas around the southeast England town.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF STEWART GULL, SUFFOLK POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: He has been arrested on suspicion of murdering all five women -- Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls. The man is currently in custody at a police station in Suffolk where he will be questioned about the deaths later today. Police will not be naming the police station where the man is being held. The 37- year-old man who was arrested at his home in Trimley (ph) yesterday, Monday, the 18th of December, 2006, remains in custody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That first suspect, telling British media he is innocent, but admitting that he knew all five women and had given them all rides in his car.
HARRIS: A skin cancer scare for the first lady. Laura Bush had a malignant skin cancer tumor removed from her right shin in November. The area is healing. The tumor was a squamous cell carcinoma. The second most common form of skin cancer. That should not be confused with melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Protecting your skin is crucial. The skin is the largest organ in the human body. It protects against germs and loss of fluids. Your skin consists of three layers, the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutaneous. Is that correct there, Heidi?
All right. I feel like I'm making a hash of this. The best ways to protect your skin, according to the American Cancer Society, use sunscreen, stay in the shade and always cover up.
COLLINS: Another desperate search. Two top American climbers lost in the remote mountains of China. So what's being done to find them. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: The minis getting the max. Subcompacts endure bruising crash tests. Which scored the highest? Find out next.
COLLINS: A street car named Redemption. Another key milestone passed in post-Katrina New Orleans. See it here in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Tonight, "Out in the Open." Paula Zahn is live from Texas with an honest, frank discussion about race in America. What no one wants to say out in the open. Join Paula live from Texas for a full hour special. That is tonight, 8:00 Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Want to get the very latest on a situation on Bucky Phillips. You may remember him as Ralph Bucky Phillips. And Betty Nguyen is in the NEWSROOM now with the very latest.
A sentence came down here.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it did. He has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering a state trooper. Now you may remember the search for Bucky Phillips. It happened back in April, back on April 2nd, when he broke out of prison. He was doing some time for a parole violation.
Well, it wasn't until June 10th when police stopped him in a stolen car and he opened fire on a trooper there. Now that trooper obviously called for backup and then there was a search that ensued after that. Well, that kicked into high gear and there was a lot of searching going on between the New York and Pennsylvania border. And then we heard reports of Bucky stealing cars, breaking into camp sites and hiding with the help of friends and relatives.
Well it came to a point when on August 31st two troopers were staking out a camp site where -- actually it was more like a hilltop home where Bucky's ex-girlfriend lived and he, in fact, Bucky, ambushed those two troopers. One of them was shot and later died. One did survive after three months of being hospitalized. And today, Bucky Phillips has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of that state trooper.
Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Betty, thank you for that.
HARRIS: Small cars, they're more popular these days, especially at the gas pump, but are they any safer. The insurance institute put eight to the test. CNN's Brianna Keilar has the results.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Small cars can save you big money at the pump, but they could cost you dearly in a crash. Driver death rates in so-called mini cars are more than double that of mid-size and large cars.
ADRIAN LUND, INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY: If you're in a small, lightweight vehicle like these mini cars and you get hit from behind, almost everything that hits you is larger and heavier, which means, on average, your crashes are more severe than what the other people are seeing. So it's more important that you have good safety equipment to protect you.
KEILAR: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety measures vehicle safety on a four-part scale, from good to poor. Overall, the Hyundai Accent and the Kia Rio fared the worst with an acceptable rating for front crash tests but the worst possible rating for side and rear impacts.
The popular Mini Cooper gets average scores overall. A top rating for front crashes and acceptable for side impacts, and a lower, marginal score for rear crashes.
The Scion XB earned a good score for front impacts, but a poor for side crashes. The barrier used in the test penetrated far enough into the Scion to hit the dummy driver's head. The Scion also earned a marginal for the rear crash test.
The Nissan Versa earned the best score of all. It was the only car to get top ratings in all three crash tests, but there's a catch. Technically, it's not a mini car. It's a small car that's marketed with the minis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Brianna Keilar joins us live now.
Brianna, hey, look, if you're set on getting one of these mini cars, what should you look for in terms of safety options? It sounds like you should get every air bag available.
KEILAR: Now that's exactly right, Tony. And there is the side air bags are particularly important. Insurance Institute tests have shown this to be the case in all car sizes. But you can see how this is particularly true with these mini cars.
This here a Mini Cooper, one of the more popular ones. It's part of this car class of cars that are 2,500 pounds or less. Now when you compare this to some of the larger vehicles out there on the road, for instance, this Chevy Suburban, which is about 3.5 tons, it is roughly three times the weight of this small car. It really isn't taking a genius here to tell you who's going to win out in an accident.
But, Tony, there is one caveat. When you're talking about mini cars and these side air bags, actually the poorest performer in these tests, the Hyundai Accent, the Kia Rio, they had the worst possible ratings on these side impact tests. They actually had standard side air bags. But even so, the dummy in these -- this side crash tests sustained injuries that in a real person could be likened to either pelvic fracture, broken ribs, even damage to internal organs.
HARRIS: Not good. OK. So, Brianna, if you want a combination plate here, if you want the car that gives you the best in terms of fuel economy and safety, what's the choice?
KEILAR: Well, the Insurance Institute says you certainly don't have to give up safety to get fuel economy. Maybe you want a cute little car like the Mini Cooper. It certainly is aesthetically pleasing. But if you want something that's going to save you at the pump, you want something that's also going to be safe, go for something a little bigger. They cite cars like the Toyota Corolla, also the Honda Civic. Slightly less better fuel economy than these cars, but still pretty good. And they're bigger, so they're significantly safer.
HARRIS: Need a little heft. Need a little heft in your vehicle. All right, Brianna Keilar for us in Washington, D.C.
Brianna, thank you.
COLLINS: Want to get a check of the weather now. Chad Myers is standing by in the Weather Center. And we've got quite a bit of snow coming to the Rocky Mountains?
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Still to come, searching Mount Hood. Crews race the clock and a gathering storm. The latest on this developing story in the NEWSROOM.
And pursuing profits while professing for Christ. More U.S. companies are matching the bottom line with a higher calling. That story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's get you right to the NEWSROOM now. Betty Nguyen is following a developing story for us.
Betty, what do you have?
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have a small plane crash to tell you about near Austin, Texas. Video really shows you how close this plane came to a nearby school when it went down. We're going to try to put it up for you, coming from -- actually we have live pictures right now from affiliate KTBC.
This is actually in Pflugerville, Texas. You can see all the emergency crews lining up on that street. And if you look at the top center portion of your screen, you can see the side of a stadium. That is Conley (ph) High School. And this small propeller plane crashed right near that high school, killing at least one person and injuring another. It could have been so much worse had it actually hit the school. But, unfortunately, though, with this crash, as we mentioned, one person was killed.
Many emergency crews still on the site. We don't know where this plane was headed or why it went down. But one person has been transported to a local hospital.
But, again, Tony, Pflugerville, Texas, right near Conley High School, a small plane has gone down, killing at least one person.
HARRIS: OK, Betty. I know you'll keep following that for us. All right.
And this, this morning. A race against time and the elements on Oregon's Mount Hood. Helicopter crews retrieving the body of climber Kelly James. Searchers struggle to find his missing companions. Urgency growing with the approach of more bad weather tomorrow. Earlier on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING we spoke to one searcher about today's plans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STAFF SGT. JOSHUA JOHNSTON, U.S. AIR FORCE RESERVE/SEARCHER: There's a team of PMR -- Portland Mountain Rescue -- a crew that will be out today. And Craig Grats (ph), which is the volunteer search and rescue crew from Hood River here, they're going to be out on the ground today. The 304th pararescue men, my team, we're going to try to recoup and recover and be on standby today if any air lift is need. But, yes, they're going to be searching in the lower levels, possibly where the -- where the footprints led to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So as rescue efforts continue on Mount Hood, here are some facts about where this complex operation is taking place.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mount Hood dramatically soars to an elevation of 11,235 feet. A British navy officer and his expedition were the first Europeans to see the mountain in 1792. They named it after British Admiral Lord Samuel Hood.
Mount Hood is the second most climbed mountain in the world, after Japan's Mount Fuji. The most popular time to climb is from May to mid-July, but climbing is permitted year-round. The first assent was in 1845. Since then, more than 130 people have died trying.
One of the nation's worst climbing disasters occurred on Mount Hood in 1986. Seven teenagers and two adult leaders froze to death while trapped in a storm. In 1976, three high school friends were rescued after surviving nearly two weeks in a snow cave on Mount Hood. A dramatic rescue attempt occurred four years ago when a helicopter crashed on Mount Hood while trying to retrieve the bodies of three climbers. The crew amazingly survived.
Mount Hood also has had its share of unusual, successful climbs. The first wedding was held on the summit in 1915. Four hundred and eleven people became the largest single group to climb to the top of Mount Hood in 1936. And the famed climbing dog Ranger is said to have climbed Mount Hood more than 50 times.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins and Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Take a minute to go ahead and look at the big board for you. Dow Jones Industrial average is down about 22 points or so, resting at 12,418. We will get our business report coming up in just a few minutes.
HARRIS: Carrying your faith with your briefcase. More U.S. companies are looking to save souls while turning profits. CNN's David Mattingly reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bart Azzarelli built his successful Tampa construction company specializing in storm, sewer and water lines. And he did it, he says, with some very important help.
BART AZZARELLI, CEO, DALLAS1 CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: We're thankful for the privilege of being in an organization that believes that proclaiming Christ is paramount above all things.
MATTINGLY: More than a business, Azzarelli turned his company into a Christian ministry. There's weekly Bible study before dawn, monthly barbecue lunches with burgers and professions of faith.
AZZARELLI: I thank you for an opportunity to be a servant for you.
MATTINGLY: And along with the profits, Azzarelli's bottom line includes the number of souls saved.
AZZARELLI: Somewhere around 400, 400 people who have come through here and made the profession of faith and accepting Jesus Christ as their lord and savior.
MATTINGLY: Azzarelli is among a new wave of executives who can't leave their faith at home. He feels compelled by God to bring Bible teachings into his workplace and share them with anyone who will listen.
AZZARELLI: I believe that everything in the Bible is true. And Jesus said, "I'm the only way to the father." That's why I hang on those principles and believe them.
MATTINGLY (on camera): Does that imply that people who don't believe this are wrong?
AZZARELLI: Yes.
MATTINGLY: But as the boss, Azzarelli walks a fine line. Where does spreading the gospel end and discrimination begin?
Azzarelli gets legal and spiritual guidance from a monthly business round-table group called C-12. Like-minded Christian executives here frequently discuss how to avoid creating a Christian workplace that violates federal law, one where non-Christians feel pressured to participate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It becomes a conflict when an employee objects or asks to be excused from something, and they're not excused and their objections are ignored.
AZZARELLI: I pray that you give Richard a peace concerning that on going negotiation, Lord.
MATTINGLY: It's not unusual at these meetings to hear prayers for new business ventures, and members say their management style, based on the Bible, pays dividends.
AZZARELLI: People that are working for a company that is led by a Christian, wants to do things according to biblical principle, those people feel loved and, therefore, the company will grow quicker.
MATTINGLY (on camera): You're a businessman, a successful businessman, and you're talking to me about love.
AZZARELLI: Oh, yes.
MATTINGLY: That normally doesn't translate on the bottom line.
AZZARELLI: Well, but it does.
MATTINGLY: It does?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It does.
When you treat people with respect and people know that you love them, they will do so much more. And that's really, I think, what Bart is saying.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Azzarelli says about 40 percent of his work force is non-Christian and that he has never had a complaint.
AZZARELLI: We treat everyone equal. It doesn't matter to us if they're a Christian or not Christian as far as how we treat them. It does matter to us as far as their eternal salvation. But that's a choice that each one makes.
MATTINGLY (on camera): Azzarelli's beliefs shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who works here. Every job applicant is told up front this is a Christian company. It's the first thing every visitor sees right at the front door. The company's mission statement: "the purpose of our business is to glorify God."
(voice-over) Azzarelli says that more and more, Christian workers are applying for his positions so they can feel free to practice their faith on the job.
National statistics offer comfort to bosses like Azzarelli, who can't put their faith on hold 9 to 5. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says only 3 percent of workplace discrimination complaints involve religion, with very few ever resulting in lawsuits.
David Mattingly, CNN, Tampa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: "Time's" person of the year. It's an honor we can all share in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're person of the year.
CROWD: Hi!
MOOS: You're person of the year
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a good looking guy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, this is so cute. I look pretty here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Instant fame, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: I love that.
Also, a typical American movie theater after the show. Let's see. Popcorn, milk duds all over the floor. So is the cash -- 24,000 reasons to do a good deed in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: And when beauty queens go bad. Miss USA could lose her tiara today, for partying a little too hard. Donald Trump's news conference coming up live in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: OK. So we like this story a lot, especially during the holiday season, right. It's a good deed, where a teen found a treasure among trash, but he knew to do the right thing.
Reporter Karen Hepp (ph) has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KAREN HEPP (ph), CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nineteen-year- old Christopher Montgomery was just doing his job. He picking up trash after a showing of Happy Feet at the AMC theater in Rockville Center. But right there, among all those crumpled popcorn bags and soda cups, there were wads of untraceable money, $24,000, just sitting there under a theater seat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The temptation to hang onto it, you know. I think it would have probably given some back.
HEPP: A temptation the very honest teenager did not give in to. Christopher turned that pouch of cash right over to his manager and is apparently refusing a reward.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's got a lot of character, a nice kid.
HEPP: What about the woman who lost the money? It turns out she's a business owner, who stopped to see the movie with her daughter on the way to the bank on Friday, and the money fell right out of her purse during the movie. Many are very surprised at this teenager's good deed and holiday spirit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; I think it's great that the kid returned the money, especially in Christmas season. It was probably someone's money for gifts. I think it's great that he returned it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talk about a holiday spirit, hmm?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: How about that. Christopher Montgomery. That's the good deed guy.
COLLINS: Yes.
HARRIS: Didn't want to talk about his good deed, great turn, and he said, thanks but no thanks to a cash reward. Now, hang on a second.
COLLINS: Brooke Anderson.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MARKET REPORT)
COLLINS: Want to show you this real quickly, too, as we take a look at some video coming into us here at CNN. We have been telling you that coming up in about 15 minutes or so we are expecting a press conference regarding this young lady, Miss USA, Tara Conner.
There has been a little bit of flack, if you will, about some possible inappropriate behavior. So we are understanding that the Donald, Donald Trump, who is the owner of the pageant, to be making some sort of announcement today. There has been some discussion about whether or not she will hang onto her title. HARRIS: Possibly dethroned. That could happen.
COLLINS: Yes, we'll find out. We will have it for you as soon as it happens.
HARRIS: 11:00 a.m. hour this morning.
COLLINS: Yes.
HARRIS: OK, news conference. All right. Great.
They are the cartoons we love, from Fred Flintstone to Scooby- Doo, Joseph Barbera brought them all to life just for us, but now this icon is gone.
CNN's Sibila Vargas has more on a pretty remarkable life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The theme songs were catchy.
(MUSIC)
VARGAS: So were the characters.
YOGI BEAR: Don't worry, Boo, for the sake of warm tooties, some things just have to be done.
VARGAS: The sarcastic Yogi Bear.
FRED FLINSTONE: Ooh, is he going to get a fist full of fingers.
VARGAS: The bombastic Fred Flintstone.
SHAGGY: Like, what is it, Scoob?
VARGAS: Scooby Doo, the cowardly dog who behaved more like a frady cat.
Generations of American kids grew up on those cartoons. Well into adulthood, many of us can still sing the songs and mimic Scooby's "rero." And while we might know Papa Smurf, most of us never knew what the cartoons' papas looked like.
Hanna and Barbera. What Joe Barbera, who died Monday at age 95, brought to the partnership was writing and drawing skills. Bill Hanna did the directing. Barbera and Hanna, who died in 2001, scored their first big success with "Tom and Jerry" more than 60 years ago.
TOM: I'm Tom.
JERRY: I'm Jerry.
TOM/JERRY: You talked.
VARGAS: Short film starring the cat and mouse combo earned Hanna-Barbera seven academy awards.
JERRY: Look at me. I'm dancing.
VARGAS: Jerry was even inserted into the 1945 Gene Kelly film, "Anchors Away."
They created the first primetime animated show, "The Flintstones," in the early 60s. A sly, prehistoric parody of the "Honeymooners." The shows borrowed from popular culture and they became part of popular culture.
Huckleberry Hound, the Jetsons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't look now, but we are being followed.
VARGAS: Johnny Quest, Space Ghosts, Josie and the Pussycats.
SMURFETTE: These smurfs, Daddy, sure are sweet.
VARGAS: The Smurfs. Few people may be able to put a face to the name Joe Barbera, but they can put a name and a catch phrase to all of the characters he helped create.
SHAGGY: Scooby Doo, where are you?
VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brooke Anderson in New York City at the Trump Tower where Miss USA Tara Conner just arrived to learn her fate. I asked her if the allegations against her are true. I'll tell you how she responded when CNN NEWSROOM returns.
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COLLINS: You haven't seen me with my tiara, have you?
HARRIS: Every day, Heidi.
COLLINS: Big-time trouble under the tiara, we'll soon find out if Miss USA is going to get to keep her crown.
HARRIS: Well, here's the deal. Reports linking Kentucky's Tara Conner to behavior unbecoming of a beauty queen. That's at issue here. Pageant guru Donald Trump announces Conner's fate, just minutes from now.
Here she is arriving. But first our entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson joins us from New York. And Brooke, OK, put it on the record here. What is this young woman -- what kind of behavior are we talking about here? ANDERSON: Pretty ugly behavior, actually, Tony. The allegations against her aren't pretty. They're allegations of drinking, underage drinking at that. She just turned 21 yesterday. There are also allegations of drug use, specifically cocaine use, sexual escapades, also reports that she wasn't showing up for some appearances, some engagements.
So, the allegations are pretty serious. Like you say, we are awaiting the press conference with Donald Trump, which should happen in just a few minutes to detail her fate, whether she's fired or whether she will remain Miss USA.
Now, Tara Conner did arrive here at Trump Tower about ten minutes after 10:00 to have a meeting with the Donald prior to the press conference. She was very cool, calm, collected, dressed very professionally.
I was able to get close enough to ask her if the allegations against her were true. Basically, she was silent, looked straight ahead, so I asked her again. She remained silent, ignored everyone. There were a horde of photographers and reporters waiting to greet her, of course.
She remained silent, walked inside, very business like, and I'm told that she will attend the press conference, depending on the outcome of her meeting with Donald Trump. So, Tony, Heidi, I think it's safe to assume if she keeps the tiara atop her head, she may be at the press conference. If not, she might not be there.
COLLINS: Hey, Brooke, you know, I had an opportunity to interview Miss America quite awhile ago, and it is very well spelled out -- it's a really tight organization as far as what you can do, what you cannot do.
There are contracts involved. She's been doing this for quite some time. We saw pictures of her as a little, little girl with a crown on top of her head. Did she not know what she was getting into?
ANDERSON: No, I think everyone knows what they're getting into, especially at the national level. The Miss America and the Miss USA systems are drastically different, but one thing -- one commonality between the two is that you're interviewing for a job, and at that level, they all sign contracts, and I spoke to a couple of former Miss USA finalists yesterday who told me that it's crystal clear what the duties are during that year, during their reign.
Now, it's not so clear what you shouldn't do. The misconduct, so that's a bit of a gray area, it's subjective but everybody tells me she knows she was supposed to be a role model, set a good example and this alleged behavior is unacceptable
COLLINS: (INAUDIBLE). We'll find out about that a little bit later.
HARRIS: Stock rising?
COLLINS: She's the runner-up.
ANDERSON: She might be the next Miss USA.
COLLINS: You let us know if you see her walking in there, OK. Brooke, we will check back with you a little bit later. Thank you.
HARRIS: OK, so, here we are, the so-called good time beauty queen, could hear the Donald say, you're fired. We are, I believe, moments away from Trump's news conference coming up at the top of the hour, in the NEWSROOM.
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