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Rape Charges Dropped Against Duke Students; Denver Airport to Reopen after Snow Storm; Bush Visits with Wounded Soldiers; NASA Weighs Landing Site for Discovery

Aired December 22, 2006 - 13:00   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 at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in for Don Lemon.

PHILLIPS: Breaking news this hour. Charges dropped. Three Duke lacrosse players will not be tried for rape. More details ahead.

HOLMES: Also, waiting for the all clear in Denver. Roads first, runways next. The snow has stopped now. Vacationers want to be getting going. Will they make it for Christmas dinner?

PHILLIPS: "Every time a bell ring, an angel gets its wings." A holiday favorite we grew up with. It's still a wonderful life for little Zuzu. She's all grown up now, and she joins us live with a timeless message of love and family.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We begin this hour with breaking news. A defense attorney tells CNN that prosecutors have dropped rape charges against three Duke University lacrosse players.

CNN's Jason Carroll joins us on the phone with more -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, lots more information coming in about this. Apparently, it was just after 11:30 that Durham district attorney Michael Nifong filed this response, basically indicating why the forcible rape charges had been dropped against the three Duke lacrosse players, Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty.

Here's what he wrote. In the opinion, he said, quote, "The victim in this case indicated that, while she initially believed that she had been vaginally penetrated by a male sex organ, she could not at this time testify with certainty that a penis was the body part that penetrated her vagina. Since penetration of the vagina by a penis is one of the elements of the offense that the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, and since there's no scientific or other evidence independent of the victim's testimony that would corroborate specifically penetration by a penis, the state is unable to meet its burden of proof with respect to this offense."

Apparently, this information coming out of a new interview that the district attorney, Michael Nifong, conducted with the alleged victim in this case, where she once again said that she could not say with certainty that she was raped.

However, the first degree sex offense charges and first degree kidnapping charges still stand.

Defense attorneys at this point are scrambling to take all of this information in, trying to absorb it all, trying to determine exactly what their next move will be.

Obviously, Kyra, you know, you've been following this case, as well. You know this is a case that has been troubling for Michael Nifong, the district attorney. Early on in the case, there was a blow to him when he found that there was no DNA match between this alleged victim and any of the three players. In fact, of any of the 46 Duke lacrosse players that were tested.

And this was a state DNA test that was done. There was a test done from a private lab. So that was a problem for the district attorney early on.

Also, in addition to that, you'll remember, Kyra, there was a problem with the time line that seemed to suggest that these players may not have been there at the time when this alleged sexual assault, this rape, took place. So many problems for the district attorney.

In talking to the defense sources that we've reached out to, they're not, at this point, jumping for joy. They're still trying to take all of this in, trying to determine what their next legal steps will be -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jason Carroll, thanks so much. We'll talk more about these charges that still remain of kidnapping and sexual offense. What exactly those mean. B.J. Bernstein, one of our legal experts, will weigh in on this, coming up.

HOLMES: Home for the holidays. The fondest hope of thousands of would-be travelers who spent the last two days unexpectedly in Denver. Snowplow operators, the big heroes today, they're working overtime, pushing and scraping tons of snow off the runways. The goal is to reopen the airport next hour.

Also clearing, Denver area interstates. And that has a lot of folks hitting the road, some heading out of town, other people trying to get to the stores. Still got some shopping to do.

Back at the airport, man, a backlog you wouldn't believe. And CNN's Rob Marciano is in the thick of it. He joins us now on the phone.

Rob, how are things looking?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., I've never seen anything -- anything like it. The security line doesn't look all that bad. The problem is getting your ticket, getting checked in, and getting physically on a plane. They continue to cancel flights today: over 2,500 cancellations in the last three days. And that doesn't include what's happened this morning.

The airport is scheduled to open in about an hour, noon local, 2 p.m. Eastern Time. They've already started canceling the flights, obviously, before noon, but also flights have been canceled after noon. Why? Because they're only opening two of the six runways. So there's just not the capacity.

And when you have over 20 inches of snow falling and 40 mile an hour winds at the time, it's impossible to clear all those runways.

At any point in the last three days, 500,000 people were supposed to come into or out of Denver International Airport, 100,000 people estimated, probably not even going to have a chance at getting home.

But they are optimistic, as two runways are expected to be open today. A third later on tonight. So it will at least be at half capacity during the day tomorrow.

We've heard stories all from about 1,000 people that have stayed here in the airport the past three nights. Others have been lucky enough to hang out with friends at their homes or the comfort of a hotel.

And the mood is, from what I've been talking to people, they're past being frustrated. They're past being mad. They're almost giddy. You get to that point where you start to laugh at your situation. Folks just shaking their head and hoping, trying to get home for the holiday season.

An hour and counting, T.J., before they will start to open the runways here. And it doesn't come a minute soon enough, that's for sure.

HOLMES: And just real quickly, Rob, I guess word is spreading that a runway or two is going to be open. So do you see a mad scramble now, a lot of anticipation, excitement, even, flowing through the airport, that people know, all right, something's about to get off the ground?

MARCIANO: Well, certainly, the people that are in the security lines are excited because they have a ticket. Their bags have been checked, and their flight is scheduled to leave.

The folks who are frustrated are the ones who came to the airport expecting to get on their 12:20 flight, their 1 p.m. flight, their 3 p.m. flight, and finding that their flight, because of the lack of runway space, has been canceled.

So those people are frustrated. And they're standing in lines that are up to two hours long just to talk to a ticket agent. You know, to hopefully get on a flight. Probably not today, maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not even Christmas.

HOLMES: Goodness gracious.

MARCIANO: ... sunny day, above freezing. Some of the snow will melt. Some of it will plain old evaporate. So not only the road crews, but the crews that are going to be continuing to plow the other -- probably won't be open this time tomorrow, will have an upper hand on the weather.

HOLMES: All right, Rob. We certainly wish those folks good luck. Rob Marciano for us in Denver. Thank you so much.

And Denver not the only weather plagued airport on this hugely busy travel day. Our Reynolds Wolf standing by in the weather center for us. Tell us how things are going elsewhere.

Reynolds, hello to you, sir.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Yes. We can't wait to come back to you a little later, Reynolds, with all that good news.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'll be waiting, tough guy. I'll be here.

PHILLIPS: Well, new Defense Secretary Robert Gates is flying back to Washington after three days of meetings in Iraq. Gates plans to take what he learned directly to President Bush first thing tomorrow.

To fill us in from the White House, CNN's Elaine Quijano -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you.

President Bush is on his way to Camp David for a holiday weekend where he'll spend the Christmas holiday. Of course, the president earlier today wrapped up a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, visiting troops there.

But the president tomorrow will be sitting down with his top advisers, including his new defense secretary, Robert Gates, as well as other senior advisers, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and his national security adviser, Stephen Hadley. They will sit down tomorrow morning to discuss what, in fact, Secretary Gates has seen during his visit to Iraq this past week.

But the president first of all, today, focusing on the troops, wrapping up just a short time ago an emotional visit, he and his first lady, at that -- at Walter Reed. Let's take a listen to what they had to say a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Honored to be here to thank the folks working here at the service project. What you're seeing is some young kids wrapping gifts for children whose families are here in Washington, D.C., as a result of an injury that they've received, the parent received, in combat. We've also just come from Walter Reed. I've got to tell you, it's a remarkable experience to go through the hospital. It's remarkable because of the unbelievable compassion and care of the people who work at Walter Reed. And it's also remarkable to me, these men and women who have volunteered to serve our country that received terrible wounds but whose spirits are -- are strong, resolve is strong, and their dedication to our country remains strong.

I -- I want all the fellow citizens to understand that we're lucky to have men and women who have volunteered to serve our country like those who wear our uniform. We're lucky to have their family support strongly. We owe them all we can give them. Not only when they're in harm's way, but when they come home, to help them adjust if they had wounds, to help them adjust after their time in service.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude for our incredible men and women. And I -- every time I come to Walter Reed, I am moved by the courage and bravery of the people I meet.

And so on behalf of our grateful nation, I want to thank our military families, thank the folks here who are wrapping gifts for the military families and ask for God's blessings on our citizens. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: And President Bush there discussing a visit to Walter Reed earlier today in which he and the first lady visited with 38 members of the Army, Marines and Air Force.

We're told that the president gave out 16 Purple Hearts to 14 soldiers, and important to note these members of the military were people who were injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now, the president, meantime, has further consultations scheduled next week after the Christmas holiday when he heads down to his ranch at Crawford, Texas, a few days after Christmas.

The president will sit down with his national security team as deliberations, of course, continue over what to do next about his Iraq policy. White House deputy press secretary, Dana Perino, says not to expect this to be a decisional kind of meeting but, rather, further consultation.

Of course, we are expecting, Kyra, that in the new year, early in the new year, the president will make some sort of announcement in a speech to the nation about what changes he'd like to make to Iraq policy -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, we understand they have set a date for the State of the Union. Is that right?

QUIJANO: January 23. It's now been confirmed. White House deputy press secretary, Dana Perino, telling reporters that earlier today. We have heard that as perhaps a possible date. But now we got the official confirmation this morning from Dana Perino -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: All right, Elaine Quijano, thanks so much.

If you want to help wounded American soldiers, you can log on to CNN.com. You can join forces with the TLC show, "Overhauling", to give one of our battlefield Humvees a makeover. When we auction it off on January 20, the proceeds will go to the Fisher House, a nonprofit residence that helps families of hurt soldiers while they get the help that they need.

HOLMES: We now want to head to the NEWSROOM and check in with Betty Nguyen, who has more details on that developing story on the Duke lacrosse rape investigation -- Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And what a story it is. We are learning today, and we're going to get some more analysis of this in a little bit. But right now we know that the Durham County district attorney, Mike Nifong, has filed paperwork dropping rape charges in the Duke investigation.

Want to read you a little bit about what exactly was filed today. In these notes, he wrote, "The victim in this case indicated that, while she initially believed that she had sexual intercourse, she cannot at this time testify with certainty that she did, indeed, have sexual intercourse."

As you know, the victim here is accusing three lacrosse players on the Duke University team there of sexually assaulting her.

And Nifong, the district attorney, goes on to say, "Since that is one of the elements," the fact that she has to prove that that indeed happened, "the sexual intercourse, was one of the elements of this offense that the statements prove beyond a reasonable doubt, and since there's no scientific or other evidence independent of the victim's testimony, the state is unable to meet its burden of proof with respect to this offense."

So the crux of this case, the rape charges against these three Duke lacrosse players, apparently being dropped in paperwork filed today by the Durham County district attorney, Mike Nifong.

And I will tell you, we are trying to get as much information about this. What does it mean for the rest of this case? Does it pretty much mean that the case is going to fall by the wayside? We're going to be speaking with an attorney, T.J., coming up shortly to get some more analysis on what this means for the future of these players, as well as for the victim.

HOLMES: All right, Betty, certainly a lot of developments in this case. We will be watching it today. Thank you so much, Betty.

Meanwhile, seven possible time slots, throw possible landing strips. When and where will NASA bring Discovery home? We're watching this one like a hawk, of course. Stay tuned in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Fogged in and fed up in London. We're live at Heathrow Airport, where the prognosis for thousands of trapped travelers -- coming out, if I can say that three times really fast. We'll have more of that, just ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Now back to the developing news we've been telling you throughout the morning and afternoon. Prosecutors have dismissed rape charges against three Duke University lacrosse players.

Joining us now, B.J. Bernstein. She's a criminal defense attorney specializing in sex crimes and a former assistant district attorney.

I guess overall, let's talk about what dropping the rape charges means for this case. I mean, they didn't have enough evidence?

B.J. BERNSTEIN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Apparently, according to Mike Nifong, the woman wasn't sure whether she was penetrated. And for the charge of rape, you must prove penetration beyond a reasonable doubt. So that's why he says he is now dismissing the rape charge.

So of course that's great relief to these three defendants. But at the same time, it's a little scary, because he didn't drop the whole case. He's still going forward on kidnapping and a sexual offense.

PHILLIPS: OK so -- all right, two questions. First of all, how can she not be sure of the penetration? Does this mean because maybe drugs and alcohol could be involved, she doesn't really remember, or there could be discrepancies in what she said?

BERNSTEIN: Well, if you're the prosecution, you're probably going to say drugs and alcohol. If you remember the early reports and the early police reports talked about how this woman had passed out and how she was difficult -- speech and when she finally was talking. So the prosecutor will probably be saying that.

The defense is going to be saying that these are inconsistencies because she's made this story up. And you have here Nifong in a really bad position, because we've known from the last news accounts when we were here talking about it that he hadn't met with the victim, alleged victim this entire time period.

So apparently now he's spoken with her, perhaps because of those motions last week. And now he's forced to dismiss the rape charge.

PHILLIPS: All right. The rape charge dismissed. But these charges remain, charges of kidnapping and sexual offense. Let's start with kidnapping. What exactly could that mean? Pushing somebody to someplace without -- without their consent?

BERNSTEIN: Exactly right. Most people think of kidnapping in the more dramatic, Patty Hearse, kind of way...

PHILLIPS: Right. BERNSTEIN: ... where you're taken away from your house and gone for weeks. But the truth is any sort of movement against your will by someone else, even if you have to move five feet, can be considered kidnapping under the law.

So basically perhaps he's trying to say that her allegation of being taken into the bathroom and being held and assaulted during the bathroom is what the kidnapping is.

Now the sexual offense, he's not saying penetration, but a sexual offense could be anything from a touching or an attempt to rape or something like that, and that would be the secondary part.

PHILLIPS: So where does this go from here?

BERNSTEIN: I'm afraid there's still going to be more litigation. I think that a lot of prosecutors, when one major component of the case falls away, they consider dismissing the whole thing. Instead, Nifong's only dismissed one part. So the next stage will be those motions that were scheduled in February.

PHILLIPS: You followed this from the very beginning. Was this rushed, this whole case, do you think? Do you think it should -- maybe the D.A. should have taken a little more time to gather evidence and check out these stories? There's been so much back and forth and so many discrepancies from the very beginning.

BERNSTEIN: Exactly. And it was rushed because, you know, normally in a normal case the police make an arrest and then you're later indicted. And if you'll remember, the beginning of this case, what did the D.A. do? Indict first. So you already have a very quick investigation without a lot of talking to them and then moving forward, and this is the type of result you get.

PHILLIPS: So when an indictment happens first -- I mean, you've watched things like this unravel throughout the years, many different cases. The chances of being successful in the end, is it less?

BERNSTEIN: Well, not always.

PHILLIPS: OK.

BERNSTEIN: Because sometimes there's a good reason to indict quickly, because the case is so clear.

PHILLIPS: And that's what everybody thought.

BERNSTEIN: Exactly.

PHILLIPS: As soon as that indictment came forward, it was like, wow, he must have something pretty powerful.

BERNSTEIN: And even -- I'll be honest, I did. I took a pause. I didn't jump out like some pundit saying, oh, it had to be innocent or it had to be guilty. I kind of waited until the facts come out. And of course, as they're coming out, they get worse and worse for the prosecution. And that, coupled with Nifong's outrageous statements at the beginning, before he really knew, accusing people of these kind of offense early on and talking about it, that also puts it in question.

PHILLIPS: Final question, let's say these three young men are completely cleared. The rape charges are dropped. But what if they are completely cleared for these charges of kidnapping and sexual offense? Do -- can they take any kind of action against this stripper or these strippers?

BERNSTEIN: Well, you know, you can always file a lawsuit. I always say it takes, you know, $50 and a lawyer to file a lawsuit.

But realistically, the question becomes what are you going to get back? We already know that these are not exactly people of financial wealth. They're not, you know -- getting your reputation back is always going to be difficult. This has ruined these kids' lives, even if they're innocent, for a very long time. But certainly, if it's over in their favor and they're free, they can at least try to move on.

PHILLIPS: B.J. Bernstein, appreciate you coming off your vacation to be with us throughout the day. Appreciate it.

BERNSTEIN: Unexpected, but good to see you.

PHILLIPS: That's all right. It's good to have you here all day. Thanks.

HOLMES: That extra day in space could force NASA to choose the least worst option for landing Space Shuttle Discovery.

To explain exactly what's going on, CNN's John Zarrella, at what would be the best option, the Kennedy Space Station, but we don't know, John, if it's a viable option.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, T.J. You're asking me what's going on. I don't know. I don't know where they're going to be coming home to today.

You know, the astronauts on board Discovery today woke up to Perry Como singing them "Home for the Holidays". So we know they're coming home. We're just not sure where they're going to land. NASA really wants to get the shuttle on the ground today.

The -- in fact there are astronauts at all three landing sites right now, flying in shuttle training air craft, providing mission control and the meteorologists for NASA with real-time data on what the weather is like.

Now here at the Kennedy Space Center, the weather is cloudy. They expect perhaps some rain showers in the area this afternoon. That could be a problem for a proposed 3:56 Eastern Time landing here.

Out at Edwards Air Force Base, cross winds are a problem, winds that might exceed 15 miles an hour.

So the chances are that the best landing site today is White Sands, New Mexico. Now, it's not a problem for the astronauts coming into White Sands. In fact, they can literally see it from space. It is a very, very large facility out there. The runway is a pressed hard gypsum runway. It is very clear visibility out there, almost -- very little if any, cloud cover out there, as they come in on approach to White Sands. So from a safety issue, that is not a problem at all.

The only issue is they haven't landed there since 1982. XTS 3, one of the early shuttle missions, Columbia (ph) on a training mission, landed there. It was the only time they went there. And the problem, again is not landing, but the problem is that once they get on the ground there, there just isn't that much infrastructure to support the shuttle once it's on the ground. Turnaround time is much longer out there to get it back here to the Kennedy Space Center. So they would prefer not to go there.

Now, if they do go for a de-orbit burn at 2:49 Eastern Time to come back here to Kennedy Space Center, the vehicle will, of course, come through the atmosphere, very, very hot thermal conditions. It will have to perform a series of "S" turns as it comes down through the atmosphere to burn off the energy, burn off some of the speed.

And eventually, it will actually come up across Belize and across Mexico as it makes its way over the Gulf of Mexico into a landing here at the Kennedy Space Center. Again, 3:56 Eastern Time.

But it's going to be a real-time call as to where they're going to go this afternoon. It all depends on the weather. And how many times have we said that, T.J., on landings and launches here at the Kennedy Space Center -- T.J.

HOLMES: You say it's kind of cloudy there. It looks kind of windy, blowing you around a little bit. But some people might think, well, why not just wait a day or two? Surely the weather's going to clear. Why, explain to folks, does NASA really want to get this shuttle home today?

ZARRELLA: Yes. Well, what happened was, they extended the mission a day in order to perform a fourth spacewalk on Monday to retract the bulky solar array on the space station.

I can hear the shuttle training aircraft. He's going off right behind me now. And I probably won't be able to hear you much longer, but I'll finish the answer. That's the STA with Steve Lindsay flying it, providing weather data to NASA.

But they've only got two days left, today and tomorrow, to get on ground because they used up one of their contingency landing days to do that fourth spacewalk. So they don't want to wait until tomorrow when they have no other options. So they really do want to come home today if they can -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. John Zarrella for us, at Kennedy Space Center, what would be the best option. We shall see. Thank you so much, John.

PHILLIPS: Her flower petals helped pull Dad back from the brink. The woman who played Zuzu Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life" joins us ahead in the NEWSROOM with more on a Christmas classic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Now a developing story, more U.S. warships to the Persian Gulf. Military sources tell me another naval battle group will be headed to the Middle East earlier than planned to join the USS Eisenhower.

The new carrier is expected to be the USS John Stennis and Defense Secretary Bob Gates is expected to sign off next week.

Retired Air Force Major General and CNN military analyst Don Shepperd joins me now from Tucson, Arizona. Shep, let's just talk about, first of all, the capability of two battle groups in the Gulf. This allows for tremendous air power if, indeed, they wanted to go into Iraq, in a stronger effort.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, indeed. You've got two carriers with 60 to 80 airplanes, fighters, on each one that can be employed in Iraq. But Kyra, I seriously doubt that air power from these battle groups is going to be employed in any big push within Iraq.

There aren't any targets to attack in Iraq. There isn't a collection of insurgents there that you can go bomb in a collected area. They're in the cities. They're in every city. And then when you go in, they vanish, they go to another city, and then they come back.

So it's a very difficult thing to employ air power against. However, this should be a strong message to both Syria and Iran that if they continue to be mischievous in the area or other things happen in the area, that we have plenty of power in the region to do what we need to do.

PHILLIPS: And now Shep, you've already got the Eisenhower in the area and they're providing close air support for troops on the ground, helping troop, protecting troops, sharing intelligence, helping to take out that insurgency little by little.

So then you bring in two carrier groups. A number of these countries might be sitting back going hmm, what's about to happen? Will something happen in Iran, something happen in Syria, or something happen in Iraq?

SHEPPERD: Yes, again, these are forces that can be on call. But it is a strong message. One thing that potential adversaries should be mindful of is when the U.S. deploys forces, they seldom do not use those forces.

I told several people, when we move forces to the Middle East, Saddam was hoping we would not attack. I said, we're going to attack when we move large forces. One thing moving -- looming over the whole area is the pall of the Iranian nuclear program.

There is a danger, of course, over things happening with the Iranian nuclear program -- there's a danger that Israel would attack, and if Israel would attack, the actions of Iran probably would be to mine the Persian Gulf in the straits of (INAUDIBLE). So two carrier battle groups in the area provide a lot of punch if you had to engage in further military action.

PHILLIPS: And it's very possible those jets when both carriers are out there will be up flying around in certain airspace, try to -- I don't know if -- I don't want to say tease is the right word, but basically kind of giving it to Iran and Syria, saying, we're up here, we're in airspace, we're looking at what you're doing, and don't think we don't know what you're up to with regard to supplying the insurgency in Iraq.

SHEPPERD: Yes, tease is not the right word but basically intelligence is. What you do with those two battle groups is you basically map the enemy order of electronic battle. You fly along the borders. You watch the radars that come up, you watch the S.A.M. sites that come up, you match that with satellite photos the ground and determine the enemy order of battle in case you ever have to attack in the area.

You can also probe their airspace, you can violate their borders. All of these are diplomatic messages rather than military message, Kyra. But, it's a dangerous situation when you've got militaries face-to-face over there. And this is an important message meant for somebody in the area.

There's probably a lot of diplomacy going on behind the scenes with both Iran and Syria, saying, hey, we're serious about making Iraq come out right and this is part of it.

PHILLIPS: Probe the airspace, I think that's a much better word. That's what I was looking for, Shep. So is it possible -- because there has been a lot of talk about not necessarily going to war with Iran, but taking out nuclear sites.

SHEPPERD: Kyra, that's always a possibility. We have the capability of doing that any time we wish to do it. But, let me tell you a couple things. I cannot imagine the United States engaging in another war in the Middle East until we get out the one that we're in.

The people have clearly spoken. They want us out of Iraq, they want that brought to a close. Attacking another Muslim nation is something that would be viewed very seriously diplomatically around the world. So I cannot see us doing that.

Also, the Iranian targets, you could hit the Bushir (ph) reactor. You could hit the plutonium reactor in Iraq. They have many research sites that are buried underground. Intelligence is being developed on all of those. But it's a very difficult target. it would be a very serious thing for anybody to attack Iran, either Israel or us, but if Israel attacks them, we'd be involved in the middle of it and be blamed for it, Kyra. PHILLIPS: General Don Shepperd, appreciate it.

Well, as we mentioned, the USS Eisenhower spearheads the only U.S. battle group in the Gulf right now. It's been there since September. I spoke with its commanding officer, Captain Dan Cloyd, just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN CLOYD, CAPT. USS EISENHOWER: We're flying, most recently flying missions, the airwing flying missions up into Iraq and in support of the multi-national forces up there. Providing close air support, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, command and control. And it's similar to the missions we were performing over Afghanistan up until early December and supporting, again, both the American forces and coalition forces in support of both the Afghani and now the Iraqi people.

PHILLIPS: How is it that you know where those pockets of insurgents are?

CLOYD: Well, certainly, we're working very closely with the forces on the ground who have obviously exceptional insight into what is happening, you know, with where the insurgents might be operating.

Certainly there are a multitude of all-source intelligence resources and capabilities that we draw on to identify where we might want to put our effects to get the best effect, if you will, and to preserve and save the most lives.

PHILLIPS: The U.S. military wanting to send another message. That is to Iran and Syria, letting them know that you're out there, that you have forces out there, that you are aware of the support that both countries are giving the insurgency in Iraq. How will that send a message in your eyes to Iran and Syria by having two battle groups out there in the Persian Gulf?

CLOYD: Well, it would be speculative of me to comment on that. I guess I would say that whatever presence, whatever forces would be here, certainly, just right now, here is the Eisenhower strike group.

Our mere presence in the region builds confidence in our regional partners, in our coalition partners. It reinforces the fact that we're committed to maritime security, that we're committed to free trade and commerce, that we're committed to reducing terrorist activity in the human trafficking, in the movement of illegal arms or weapons in the region.

So certainly no matter what forces or array of forces would be here, the missions will be essentially the same and I think the Eisenhower strike group is doing that very well now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And we'll be following the movement and operations of the USS Eisenhower and also the USS John Stennis within the next couple of weeks.

HOLMES: We want to head back to the NEWSROOM now, and our Betty Nguyen whose following all the latest on that developing story, the Duke rape investigation -- Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: yes, a lot of developments to tell you about. The main one T.J., is the district attorney, Mike Nifong, has dropped the rape charges against these three Duke lacrosse players.

As you remember, a dancer, a stripper, was invited to a team party and she accused three members of the Duke lacrosse team of raping her. And so today we have learned that the district attorney -- this was the crux of his case -- has filed paperwork, saying that in this case the victim cannot at this time testify with certainly that she had sexual intercourse. So that is a key portion of this.

Therefore, the rape charges have been dropped. But this thing is not over, T.J. The players, Dave Evans, Colin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann also face kidnapping and sexual offense charges. So they still have a bit of this case to go.

No word as to what is happening with the rest of this case from the district attorney. But the fact he has dropped the rape charges is evident that that portion of it will no longer be something that they'll be going forward on.

As for the rest of it, we're waiting to hear. But, indeed, a major development in the Duke investigation there, dealing with these three lacrosse players who still face charges -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Betty Nguyen, keeping an eye on it for us from the NEWSROOM. Thank you so much Betty.

Meanwhile, from snowed under to fogged in: holiday travelers are cooling their heels in London, too. And that's causing delays all over the globe. CNN's Alfonso Van Marsh joins us now at a pretty chilly Heathrow Airport. Hello to you, Alphonso.

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is definitely chilly. The end of a fourth day running of hundreds of flights canceled, thousands of people absolutely stranded. And airport officials will be the first to let you know not to let this empty tent behind me fool you. There have been thousands of people, absolutely waiting to get on these flights, to get in and out of the country. We spent a lot time with a few of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAN MARSH (voice-over): Andy Descombes is from Belgium. He's at London's Heathrow Airport trying to get a flight to visit his father in the Maricious Islands off the coast of South Africa for Christmas, but heavy fog is spoiling his plans.

ANDY DESCOMBES, STRANDED AT HEATHROW: I'm not happy. I'm not happy. I'm waiting two days and that's long enough for me. VAN MARSH: Santa is handing out free candy, but that doesn't seem to be much consolation for Andy and the thousands of others stuck at one of the world's busiest airports on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Until the weather clears, air traffic controllers are slashing the number of flights taking off and landing. They want more room between planes for pilots to maneuver the foggy runways without colliding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Blankets, anybody like a blanket?

VAN MARSH: The result, all domestic British flights have been canceled. Local travelers told to take trains and buses instead, leaving the remaining passengers out in the cold waiting to re-book, reroute or refund.

Airport officials say some 350 flights will be canceled Friday.

(on camera): Despite the long lines and cold temperatures, airport authorities saying they're doing whatever they can to keep people comfortable. For example, behind me, they brought in some video games for the little ones, free of charge, just to kind of keep them busy.

They've also been giving out blankets and putting down heaters to try to keep people warm. They've even set up a little station with crackers, cookies, sandwiches, hot coffee and tea, doing whatever they can to make an unbearable situation slightly more tolerable.

(voice-over): Some travelers seem to be taking the chaos in stride. American Tom Bilyue and his British wife are trying to get to the U.S. West Coast.

TOM BILYUE, STRANDED AT HEATHROW: We've been waiting for about an hour-and-a-half at this point. It's pretty chilly. We're excited to get to our family, my family anyway, in Seattle.

VAN MARSH: Long-haul flights to Asia and the States, for example, get priority. Mostly delayed, but not canceled.

Andy Descombes eventually made his flight to Maricious. When we left Tom and Lisa, they were headed home too. But for a large number of travelers heading across Europe, they may be live a holiday song they know so well, I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAN MARSH: Now, it seems that the crowds have seemed to have gone down for now. But you can be an rest assured those crowds will be back tomorrow, queuing to get in line.

Some good news for some of our viewers, anybody expecting relatives or friends or family to come to the United States from London Heathrow, or passing through London Heathrow, airport authorities say that those flights get more priority and they don't expect any cancellations, perhaps just one or two delays -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. And Alfonso, I think I might have understated it earlier when I said it was chilly. You look downright cold. It looks like it's freezing. So stay warm if you can, my man.

Alfonso Van Marsh at Heathrow for us. Thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: She was 6 years old when she became part of a treasured holiday film. She had no way of knowing how the lessons in "It's a Wonderful Life" would become so vital to her own. Karolyn Grimes joins us next in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's take a look at these pictures just coming into the CNN NEWSROOM from our affiliate in Denver, Colorado. What you are looking at right there is a pretty big mess. We have got a train derailment to tell you about.

You can see the cars are knocked on their side there. This is near Six Flags in Elich Garden if you're familiar with the lower downtown area of Denver.

But boy, look at the mess that has occurred because of this derailment.

Don't know the circumstances as to what caused it. But we do know that there are no injuries. That is the good news. But quite a lot on their hands as they clean that up amid the snow and all that's happening across the country today.

But a look now at the train derailment in Denver, Colorado. We've got much more coming up right here in THE NEWSROOM. So stick around for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: "It's A Wonderful Life" was actually pretty dreadful at the box office when it came out 60 years ago this month. But over time, Frank Capra's movie about duty, despair and redemption has become as much a Christmas tradition as mistletoe or eggnog. The main stars Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore are a part of Christmas past. But one of the most fondly remembered cast members is still with us. Do you remember Zu Zu?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's your mother?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She went looking for you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With Uncle Billy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ZuZu. ZuZu, my little ginger snap, how do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fine! Not a smidge of temperature.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Karolyn Grimes played ZuZu Bailey. She joins us from Seattle, Washington.

And I watched you as you watched the clip and you still light up.

KAROLYN GRIMES, "ZUZU BAILEY": Very definitely.

PHILLIPS: Well, take me back. What do you remember about making that movie? I know you were so young. You were 4, right?

GRIMES: No, I was 6.

PHILLIPS: Oh, you were 6.

GRIMES: Yes.

PHILLIPS: OK, a little bit better of a memory. What do you remember from making the movie?

GRIMES: Oh, the fabulous snow. I was born and raised in Hollywood, and for me to see snow, even though it was fake, I thought it was the most wonderful stuff in the world.

PHILLIPS: Oh, and what else? What about the people, the other cast members, having to dress up, do your lines?

GRIMES: Well, it was a land of make-believe and play pretend because I got to go through wardrobe, and I got my hair done, I got makeup. I mean, it was a little heaven for a little girl, you know that.

But Jimmy Stewart was so wonderful to work with because I was always in his arms or on his back and it was just so comfortable to be with him because he was so kind and gentle. And if I messed up a line, he said, that's OK, you'll get it right next time, Karolyn. And I always did.

PHILLIPS: And did you maintain your friendship?

GRIMES: Yes, we did. We reconnected in later years, and we were together several times after I became an adult.

PHILLIPS: And now talk to me about getting into showbiz in that age. How did it happen? Did your parents influence you? Was someone else in your life encouraging you to do it?

GRIMES: Well, I think I had a stage mother actually. It was during World War II, and my mother was afraid my father was going to be drafted. She didn't think she could live on the Army pay and she didn't want to go to work, so she put me to work.

PHILLIPS: So you supported the family at the age of 6.

GRIMES: That's kind of how it was. But the irony is, the day the war ended was the day my father was to leave and he never had to go so I got a nice little career. She started me at the age of 4, and you need this mother to push you and that's kind of what happened.

PHILLIPS: Now, Karolyn, I don't know if you've ever really looked at the pictures. You probably have. But we put together this split screen of you and of Donna Reed. You two, it's uncanny. It's like the casting director knew exactly what he or she was doing because you look exactly alike.

GRIMES: I know this. It is so strange. When I first saw the picture of her in her later years, I was amazed. It was like I was looking at myself. Now that is what I call perfect casting. And Frank Capra handpicked each and every one of us, even the extras. And there were 2,000 extras in that film.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Now just to take a little bit of a turn, here you were starring in this movie, "It's A Wonderful Life," a beautiful message about love and family and togetherness and beating the odds. You ended up having a really trying time as you got older. You lost your parents at the age of 15. What happened?

GRIMES: Yes. Well, my mother got sick and she died when I was 14 and then a year later my father was killed in an automobile accident. So the court in Hollywood sent me back to a little town in Missouri called Osceola.

And with the help of the people in that town, I learned about real, real people that are genuine, and from there on, I decided to become a medical technologist. And I worked in the medical field for many years, and I had two little girls.

And then I lost my husband. Deer hunting, he was killed. And eventually I married another man and he had three kids, I had two, and then we had two together, so I spent many years raising children.

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. Did you ever -- did you ever sit back and think, wow, so many people identify with "It's A Wonderful Life" and now I'm sort of living it in my real life. I mean, do you identify with this movie that you actually starred in, just looking at your real life?

GRIMES: Well, I have been through many adversities. That was just the tip of the iceberg, but I learn so much from each thing I go through. And the movie, "It's A Wonderful Life," gives you the inspiration and you get hope because you realize what's really important in your life. And you dwell on those things, like your family, your faith, your friends. And for me, I believe in the possibility of miracles.

PHILLIPS: Speaking of that, what a perfect segue. The most memorable moment of the movie, at the very end, when you ring the bell. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To my big brother George, the richest man in town.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a Christmas present from a very dear friend of mine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, daddy. Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. That's right. Atta boy, Clarence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right, Karolyn, AKA ZuZu. Do you still ring that bell and do you still believe in those angels?

GRIMES: I really do, and doesn't it bring a tear to your eyes? All of us can connect with the fact that we've lost a loved one and they do have their wings.

PHILLIPS: Karolyn Grimes. I know you travel around the country, you talk, you talk about the movie, you talk about your life. You're an incredible inspiration. I can't thank you enough for joining us today.

GRIMES: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Karolyn. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: They're blowing it, they're hauling, they're pushing it. Snowplows working overtime, trying to get thousands of stranded travelers out of Denver. Their chances, straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: Also, more on our top story. Rape charges dropped, but other charges stand for the three members of the Duke University lacrosse team. An update straight ahead.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Sean Callebs in Huntington, West Virginia. How a small town is reacting to a big screen production about a tragedy that still haunts this area.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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