Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
General Abizaid Announces Retirement; Rating Drivers Through Astrological Sign
Aired December 23, 2006 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: "Now in the News," word that a top Taliban leader, said to be close to Osama bin Laden, is dead. According to the U.S. military, he was killed in an air strike this week near the Afghan border with Pakistan. However, wire services are reporting that a Taliban spokesman says Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani was not killed.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates briefs President Bush and other top officials on his recent trip to Iraq. They are meeting this morning at Camp David. The president national security team moves on to Crawford, Texas, next week to discuss options in Iraq. We'll have a live report coming in less than 10 minutes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, things are clearing up a bit in Denver. A couple of runways are now open, which could mean thousands of people may be on their way finally. But airline officials do admit it could take several days to fix the travel mess that this blizzard has created. We have a live report that is straight ahead.
And check this out. No second chances for Miss Nevada, USA. Katie Rees is stripped of her sash after racy pictures surfaced of her in various poses and stages of undress. Yes. The Donald isn't coming to the rescue on this one. In the next hour, Rees will be talking about her dismissal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLE CHURCHILL, STRANDED AT AIRPORT: Now I don't have to worry about being at the dumb airport because I have my daddy and my stepmom and my little sister.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes. But that was after he was stranded and alone. This young flyer is finally reunited with his family, spent two days at the Denver Airport. We don't know exactly what he was doing, but what we can tell you, he was essentially lost and just wandering around. Oh, the stories he could tell.
HOLMES: I guess a lot of people the past couple of days have been wandering around the Denver Airport. But from the CNN Center, you are now in the NEWSROOM. It is Saturday, December 23rd, 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 8:00 a.m. in Denver.
Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes, good morning, everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for starting your day with us.
HOLMES: And of course you see the screen looks a little different today and that's for your benefit. The picture is pushed back this morning. That is so we can show you constant updates on what you need to know this holiday weekend.
NGUYEN: Yes. We have up-to-the-minute travel details. And unfortunately those delays as well. Plus, weather conditions all across the country. And we're going to keep you informed. This information will stay up on the screen throughout the day.
Well, hurry up and wait. That is the deal in Denver for airline passengers still stranded by that snowstorm. The weather, it is looking better today. That's the good news. A couple of runways are open, too. But that still doesn't mean everyone is going to get to go where they want to go before Christmas. Pattie Logan is live at the Denver International Airport this morning.
We've been talking to you all morning long. And we have luckily heard the sounds of planes taking off.
PATTIE LOGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Betty. Behind me are one of the runways here at Denver International Airport. They've got four open now. And that is actually full capacity for the airlines. They will be running a full schedule today. Yesterday, they were on a partial schedule with the four runways. Now they can get all of their flights out.
But that does not mean they can get all of the people out. You'll see a steady stream of traffic here behind me, a bus, lots of cars. Those folks, many of them, have had their tickets for weeks and for months ahead of time. They have rebooked a lot of the stranded passengers on any available seats on those flights. There are some people on stand-by that I have spoken with in the terminal who are hoping to get out today.
But it still could be several days, even Christmas or beyond before some of the people can get out of here, the ones that were here stranded a few days ago. And people are getting very creative. They just want to get to the region, the state, somewhere close to home. They're just trying to get out of here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even if I can get to Georgia or somewhere close I can rent a car and take the rest of the way by myself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOGAN: Security lines inside are very, very long. An hour wait. They're winding all through the terminal. Check-in lines extremely long. People are being asked to come out four hours ahead of their flight. So it's a very busy day here at Denver International Airport, but it is moving.
NGUYEN: Well, the good news is that it is moving. But on top of all of that, like you say, it is just jam-packed in there. In fact, Pattie, folks have been sleeping on cots. What is the atmosphere? Are people still staying optimistic?
LOGAN: Well, there are a lot of people in the corners in cots. We saw a lot of just blankets with lumps underneath it, people slumped over in the seats, that sort of thing. So there are people that have stayed here for three days now. A lot of people did move off into hotels but some people, frankly, just can't afford to go to a hotel or don't have another option. So those people are not very happy. They're pretty disappointed. But the people that are on stand-by or are booked on a flight -- re-booked on a flight today are very excited, very optimistic. So a little bit of both out here today.
NGUYEN: All right. Patty, we appreciate your time this morning.
HOLMES: And just like something out of the movies, a 9-year-old caught up in the commotion there in Denver, lost in the airport. His family hundreds of miles away. But we do have a happy ending to this tale. We get the rest of the story from Owen Lei of our affiliate KETV in Omaha, Nebraska.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OWEN LEI, KETV REPORTER (voice-over): For 9-year-old Cole Churchill, homecoming means many thing. For one...
TAMMY CHURCHILL, COLE'S STEPMOTHER: Taco time.
LEI: And taco time means much more when all you've had is McDonald's during what is basically a 60-hour layover at Denver International.
COLE CHURCHILL: It was very boring.
LEI: But Cole is home now with his father Chad, his stepmother Tammy, and his little sister Taylor (ph).
T. CHURCHILL: We're really happy to see him. No words can describe it when you hug him.
LEI: Actually, this family is celebrating two homecomings. Chad is an Air Force staff sergeant who just returned from Afghanistan. He's seeing his son for the first time in four-and-a-half months.
CHAD CHURCHILL, COLE'S FATHER: The three of them you see right here is what kept me going over there. So to have all of us together again is pretty big.
LEI: Even bigger because in Denver Cole disappeared. He'd been flying alone from Spokane, Washington, when the blizzard stranded him there. United Airlines said they told him to stay on his plane. Somehow he wandered off.
(on camera): United says at one point Cole got off a plane and he had put his jacket on over his unaccompanied minor badge. That's why they weren't able to find him for about two hours. (voice-over): They sent him home with hundreds of others on United's first flight out to Omaha.
T. CHURCHILL: I have both my boys. So it's priceless. Absolutely priceless.
LEI: For Cole Churchill, homecoming means many things, but mostly it means family.
COLE CHURCHILL: Now I don't have to worry about being in a dumb airport because I have a daddy and my stepmom and my little sister.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, that report again from Owen Lei of our affiliate KETV in Omaha. And Cole's time in Denver was mostly spent with about 20 other kids all stuck in the airports holding area for unaccompanied minors. That doesn't sound like much fun. But don't worry, there were some TVs and games and stuff. Also child care workers there looking out for them.
NGUYEN: Oh, well, that's good news. Because at first we weren't for sure what he was doing all that time just wandering around the airport. So luckily there was a place for him.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, some relief for travelers overseas. It seems the fog is lifting in London. And that choking fog forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights over the last two days. But things getting back to normal now, although travel in and out of Paris and Brussels will have to wait until tomorrow.
And fresh from the battle front, Defense Secretary Robert Gates up early this morning at Camp David, briefing the president and other senior advisers on the situation in Iraq. And our Elaine Quijano joins us now live outside the White House.
Good morning to you, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, T.J. Well, this morning's meeting between President Bush and his new defense secretary, Robert Gates, is really the first opportunity that the two men have had to sit down and talk since Robert Gates visited Iraq earlier this week. Of course, you'll recall that Secretary Gates was actually in Iraq for about three days. And he heard a variety of opinions from troops, from commanders about whether or not they feel it would be a good idea to send more U.S. forces into Iraq to help stabilize the situation there or whether it might hurt the situation.
One of the options of course that President Bush is considering as he looks to change his Iraq policy is the idea of a temporary short-term "surge" of U.S. forces into Baghdad particularly to help the situation there. Now, the president, who is spending the holiday weekend at Camp David, is being briefed by Secretary Gates this morning. And joining them in that briefing, the president and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and his national security adviser, Stephen Hadley.
Now, yesterday it was an emotional time for the president and first lady Laura Bush as they visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center, carrying out what has really become a powerful holiday tradition for them visiting wounded troops. Now he and the first lady met privately with about 38 service members. The president gave out 16 Purple Hearts.
And afterwards he called his visit a remarkable experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's also remarkable to meet these men and women who have volunteered to serve our country who received terrible wounds but whose spirits are strong, whose resolve is strong and their dedication to our country remains strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now as for deliberations over his Iraq policy, senior administration officials continue to insist that no final decisions have been made and the consultations are set to continue, T.J., next week on Thursday when the president is down at his ranch in Crawford , Texas. His national security team will be convening down there -- the National Security Council will be meeting down there. And we're told by senior aides it's not going to be a meeting in which major decisions are made but rather a chance for more consultations.
As you know, though, T.J., we are expecting to hear an announcement on possible changes to the president's Iraq policy perhaps early next year -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Elaine Quijano for us from the White House. Thank you so much, Elaine.
NGUYEN: And President Bush says that he may send more soldiers into Iraq, but is the U.S. military just maxed out? We're going to ask our general (INAUDIBLE) in about 20 minutes.
Plus, this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he dies, I want to talk to him before he dies. Put him on the phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bruce?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baby, I love you. Now listen, OK, Jesus is going to take care of you, OK? You'll be saved. You just need to calm down and just focus on that, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: She may have saved her son's life. A woman working as a 911 dispatcher gets the emergency call of her life.
NGUYEN: And if you're heading home for the holiday weekend, we do have travel updates all morning long.
HOLMES: And talking about travel there, Betty, how is your car karma?
NGUYEN: Oh, not so good.
HOLMES: Yes. Your astrological sign may determine what kind of driver you are. Betty, I'm worried about you.
NGUYEN: Stay off the roadways is your advice to me. And I get it.
HOLMES: We're going to explain this coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: A little bit of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas."
HOLMES: Don't be shy, sing it, Betty. Don't be shy.
NGUYEN: That's OK. I won't spoil the holiday cheer. A lot of our viewers say it's their favorite Christmas song. So what's yours, huh? Or is there a holiday hit that you just cannot stand and you don't want to hear it ever again?
HOLMES: Please let us know. And we're probably going to play it here just to get on your nerves. You can e-mail us at weekends@cnn.com.
NGUYEN: That's what we do. We'll read some of your responses later on the air a little later in this newscast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH CHESIRE, DAVID EVANS ATTORNEY: Mr. Nifong filed a dismissal of the rape charges against these three young men, leaving in place the first degree forcible sex offense charges and the kidnapping charges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Translation, the most serious charge has now be dropped in the Duke lacrosse case. But the three former players still face kidnapping and sexual offense charges. Court papers filed by the district attorney say there was a lack of evidence to try them for rape, and that is because the accuser in the case says she isn't sure what object was used in the alleged sexual assault.
Take a look at this, a veteran tiger handler at the San Francisco Zoo is in the hospital this morning after being attacked by one of the animals. Meanwhile, the 350-pound Siberian tiger that attacked her, well, that tiger to be back on display today. It all happened during the daily feeding yesterday with about 50 people standing by in what is called the Lion House exhibit.
Holiday travelers, beware. A high-tech scam has claimed at least 300 victims in Volusia County, Florida. It's believed the device called "The Skimmer" was placed over the card reader at an automated gas pump. Now here's what it does, it records the card information and PIN numbers from debit cards. The Secret Service is on the case.
HOLMES: Now here is one we've been talking about all morning. You may be talking about it later as well. A woman at work as a 911 operator. She's still taking emergency calls as they come in. But this one particular call hit especially close to home.
Mandy Gaither (with CNN affiliate WCSC has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Charleston County Emergency Services, Operator 29. Location of your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dianne.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Caitlin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bruce just got shot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you serious? Where?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm serious. Bruce just got shot in the side.
MANDY GAITHER, WCSC REPORTER (voice-over): On any other day a 911 call about a shooting is nothing unusual for dispatchers in Charleston County. But on December 6th, Dianne Lamb's (ph) job turned personal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your mom is the operator. Your mom is the operator.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't hang up.
GAITHER: Her son, Bruce, seen here, had been shot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Charleston County EMS, I need you to send an ambulance to my house at 130 (NAME DELETED) Street.
GAITHER: After getting medics on the way, she let himself be a mother for just a moment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he dies, I want to talk to him before he dies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bruce, talk to momma.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put him on the phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bruce?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baby, I love you. Now, listen. OK. Jesus is going to take care of you, OK? You'll be safe. You just need to calm down and just focus on that, OK?
GAITHER: Somehow, Dianne was able to stay calm and tell her son's friends how to control the bleeding.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Press down on that wound, OK? OK, Honey, take a breath. Take a breath, OK? You can do this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All three of us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can do this, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's puking, momma. He's puking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Roll him on his side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roll him on his side.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Roll him on his side and clean it out.
GAITHER: After a terrifying 12-minute call, Dianne talked to her son one more time before he was rushed to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bruce?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you, baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen to me. Talk to Jesus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mom...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talk to Jesus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ask him to save you and do it...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... and just believe it, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you hear me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mom, I love you.
GAITHER: Eight inches of Bruce's small intestine were removed, along with his appendix. While the bullet is still lodged close to his vertebrae, Dianne believes it was a miracle she got the call that saved her son's life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And she was just so calm throughout it all, which is really quite -- but anyway, she's a professional. That's what she does. But for it to be your own son.
HOLMES: Yes, she had to be a mom too for a minute.
NGUYEN: Exactly. Well, hey another rescue attempt to tell you about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED CALLAHAN, FRIEND OF LOST CLIMBERS: The holy grail we're looking for is a driver to call in and say I dropped them off at such and such a place on such and such a day. Failing that, then we might go out into the peaks again, we'll maybe try some areas -- we might do a more thorough sweep with more people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Missing American climbers, this time in China. We'll have an update on the search efforts, that is next.
HOLMES: And then a little later, President Bush wants to beef up the size of the U.S. military. So where will those troops come from? And is a draft a possibility? We'll ask our general what he thinks.
But first...
NGUYEN: Yes, you'd be happy too and celebrating just as they are. Because some lucky people take home the top prize. And get this, the world's richest lottery. We'll tell you all about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: "Going Global" now. We'll start in Iran where they're gearing up for a showdown with the United Nations. The Security Council plans to vote today on a resolution aimed at punishing Tehran for its nuclear enrichment program.
Meanwhile, in Malaysia, heavy rains have displaced nearly 90,000 people. At least seven are dead. Forecasters expect the weather to get better after Sunday.
And El Gordo delivers Christmas joy to thousands across Spain. The world's richest lottery sent out a fat holiday bundle to the holders of up to 1,800 winning tickets. Each winner collects just over $395,000. The total sum of this grand old lottery, some $2.8 billion.
NGUYEN: Not bad at all. Well, difficult times though for Americans who climbed the world's tallest mountains. While hopes have faded on Oregon's Mt. Hood, a search is intensifying for two American climbers in China. This is a CNN exclusive from one of the world's most remote mountain regions near Tibet.
CNN's John Vause reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): After more than a week of gathering clues and trying to piece together the final footsteps of Christine Boskoff and Charlie Fowler, rescue teams have now decided to focus in on two peaks in the Genyan (ph) area here in southwest China. This really is like looking for two needles in a haystack, spread over hundreds of square miles in altitudes of between 12,000 and 15,000 feet in below-freezing temperatures and with just a handful of people to do it.
CALLAHAN: The holy grail we're looking for is a driver to call in and say I dropped them off at such and such a place on such and such a day. Failing that, then we might go out into the peaks again, we'll maybe try some areas -- we might do a more thorough sweep with more people. Might try some other areas. But if we don't get more information, there is just not enough people to flood these areas to just keep walking around and looking for them.
VAUSE: Both Boskoff and Fowler are experienced and famous mountain climbers. They were last heard from November 9th via e-mail before attempting a climb. Now, when they failed to return to the United States on December 4th as planned, their friends and colleagues became concerned. Eventually, they mounted this search on their own.
But all of this has been made so much more complicated because neither climber left behind any indication of where they were heading. No e-mail, no note, no phone call. There was also the concern they may have been attacked and robbed by bandits or possibly worse. And with each passing day it seems, hope fades a little that they will be found alive.
John Vause, CNN in Sichuan Province, southwest China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, things are getting better in Denver, but still thousands are still stuck there. Will they make it home for the holidays? We'll have your travel forecast straight ahead.
NGUYEN: And when it comes to driving, what is your sign? And I don't mean road signs. We are talking astrological signs. You see, the theory behind car karma is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: From Vermont, we are getting word from the Associated Press that former U.S. Senator Robert Stafford has died. Stafford served 11 years in the House and 17 in the Senate before retiring in 1988. He was 93.
Well, there is also word that a top Taliban leader said to be close to Osama bin Laden is also dead. According to the U.S. military he was killed in an air strike this week near the Afghan border with Pakistan. However, wire services are reporting that a Taliban spokesman says Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani was not killed.
HOLMES: Holding out hope in Denver. Four runways open at the airport there now, so air traffic is back up and running. But the crush of stranded and new passengers so great that it still may be days before everybody gets to where they really wanted to go and our Reynolds Wolf will be along in just a minute with the latest on the weather conditions.
Meanwhile, Discovery made it home. The space shuttle finally touched down in Florida last night thanks to a break in the weather. The first attempt at ending the 13-day mission was scrubbed because of bad weather. Mission highlights of course, four space walks and the delivery of a new astronaut to the international space station.
NGUYEN: Well, U2 front man Bono will be named an honorary knight of the British empire. Yes, it is for his musical contributions and humanitarian work. The ceremony will be in Dublin after the New Year and no, he will not be Sir Bono. That's a different honor.
Well, from the top brass to the front lines, major changes on the horizon for the U.S. military and the war on Iraq. CNN military analyst Brigadier General James "Spider" Marks is here this morning to help us run down this military checklist and a checklist it is, general.
First thing first, General Abizaid saying that he is retiring. I know in this meeting today with the new defense secretary and President Bush which is happening at this hour, unless it is already wrapped up by now, although they have a lot on their plate, they could still be well into it. What are they going to do with Abizaid? That's got to be at the top of the list.
BRIG. GEN. JAMES MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, John Abizaid is just an absolutely marvelous soldier and a great leader. He's been a brilliant commander and the nation is very, very grateful for his service. John Abizaid is retiring because he's at that point when commanders and generals like that need to retire, should retire. There are other things in his life that he can get about. And but bear in mind, he's been at this mission for a little over four years. This is a long time, very long in the tooth in terms of the exposure to the challenges, getting his arms around that, not having a moment of peace in terms of any form of relaxation if you will, having a sense of normalcy in his own personal life. So John Abizaid has earned this opportunity to retire.
NGUYEN: Well, this is Gates' first week on the job, as you know, General. He has spent some time in Iraq getting a lot of feedback. So what's going to be on that list of priorities as he sits down with the president today?
MARKS: Well, the secretary did absolutely the right thing. None of us should be surprised that the very first place he stopped was Iraq and the very first folks he spoke to were not only the senior leaders in Iraq, but also the soldiers and those non-commissioned officers and junior officers that are on the ground, the ones that are carrying out that very tough mission every day of trying to get it right.
So he got a good sense of what they're looking for and what the joint chiefs and what the commanders on the ground are looking for. So he's coming back with a little bit of a mixed message, but it shouldn't be too surprising. You know, the young soldiers told the secretary, we need more.
NGUYEN: Right.
MARKS: Clearly soldiers, Betty, are always looking for more. They want more chow. They want more ammunition. They want more time to do the missions that they have to do. They want more mail. So that's not surprising and that's what you want to hear from these great young Americans. Commanders that are leading them have the responsibility of making the recommendations that really make sense in terms of the conditions on the ground.
So there might be a requirement for more, but you put more where you need more. So that doesn't necessarily mean you've got to increase the numbers in country. You may want to reposition some forces in country to achieve those conditions.
NGUYEN: Well, speaking of more, the president wants a bigger military. But the question that comes into play how and when?
MARKS: Betty, I would tell you all along the military has been dropped to a level that you're now not just cutting into bone, you're cutting into marrow. You've got to increase the top line of the military. The pace of operations, the requirements that are inevitable when you prosecute a long war like this are going to require a much deeper well, much more resources in terms of the army in particular and the Marine Corps because these are the folks that have to prosecute these missions on the ground.
So, frankly, if it's a long war, you start today. You don't need a draft. Let me tell you. There are untapped resources in this nation that we haven't gotten to that will contribute, that will sign up. So I don't think a draft is necessary. But you start today and you begin a rhythmic and kind of a routine increase and as the chief of staff of the army indicated in recent testimony, that might be 7,000 a year.
For how many years, I would say the army probably needs -- and this is not based on any great operational research or systems analysis -- probably about 80,000. That gives you about two extra divisions and the troop to task and the troop to tail requirements to sustain all of that. The Marines...
NGUYEN: Thank you, General. We appreciate your time this morning. We could go on and on but we are flat out of time. General "Spider" Marks, as always, we appreciate it.
MARKS: Thanks, Betty.
NGUYEN: It's been a very big year on the war front in Iraq and Afghanistan. So to help look back and make sense of what happened and why, you want to tune into CNN at 5:00 Eastern this evening because John Roberts is hosting "This Year at War."
Just a word of explanation for you this morning, shall we? As we take a look at this live picture from Denver, Colorado, nice to see the sun out. That's going to be a big help today as they try to get those planes off the ground. But on the side of your screen and on the bottom, you're going to notice that the picture is pushed back. That is so we can show you constant updates on what you need to know this holiday weekend.
HOLMES: Up to the minute details on your travel delays, weather conditions across the country. And we'll keep this information up for you on the screen throughout the day. You can see some weather information there. But if you want some really accurate stuff.
NGUYEN: The real deal.
HOLMES: If you want it right on and the real deal, you got Reynolds Wolf as well here with you today.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Winter wonderland or the weather outside is just downright frightful, two songs, very different views of course. Veronica de la Cruz at CNN.com shows us a few wintry views sent in by viewers like you to CNN I-report.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN.COM: It's that time of year to go over the river and through the woods to grandma's house. But what if your real destination is covered in snow? At CNN.com we asked you to share your stories and your photos of all the wintry weather, starting with this in Denver.
Denver gets decked. Take a look at this video taken by Gordon Feliciano of this children Kylie and Jacob playing in the snow. Their dog seems to like it too. Gordon also sent this storm footage of heavy snow and howling wind that blanketed most of Colorado with two feet of snow.
Chris Kenyan (ph) says the herd of alpacas at her Montrose, Colorado ranch actually enjoys all the snow. And check out this snow dog. Dog Chloe is enjoying her first romp in snow near Denver, Colorado. We would like to see what winter looks like in your area. Send us you pictures and video. Just log onto CNN.com/exchange. For the dotcom desk, I'm Veronica de la Cruz.
HOLMES: And please, don't miss our CNN special I-report for CNN, the year as you saw it. From wicked weather to wild fires, it's the news as you saw it online and on air. That is tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
NGUYEN: Don't miss it.
So who is more likely to end up in a car crash? A Leo? A Libra? Why your astrological sign may reveal what kind of driver you really are. That's next. Also...
HOLMES: Still rocking out after half a century. Probably one of the biggest rock stars you have never heard of. You'll meet him in the water cooler.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Rocking out on the show. I'll tell you. Well, if you're on the highway this holiday, you'll have lots of company. AAA says nearly 65 million people will be on the move in the U.S. this holiday. And the vast majority of you, some 50 million, will be driving. So take your time. Be forgiving of the idiots out there because we all have seen them. And don't let a moment of road rage ruin your Christmas.
HOLMES: If you really want to avoid trouble on the roads, probably want to steer clear of Libras, don't know if they got it stamped on their heads if they're Libras. Yes, a study has found that Libras the worst drivers with Aquarius and Aries hot on their bumper.
You can find out how your zodiac sign determines your driving skill in the book "Car Karma and the Inner Driver." It was put together by insurancehotline.com in Toronto and author Lee Romanov, whose astrological sign is Cancer, is president of the Auto Insurance quote company. Good morning and tell me, so what kind of driver are you? You're cancer. What kind of driver does that make you?
LEE ROMANOV, PRES, INSURANCEHOTLINE.COM: I'm sorry. Are you talking to me there?
HOLMES: Yes, ma'am. Hey.
ROMANOV: Hello. Yes, well Cancer the road is our family. We're home bodies. We're very good drivers. We're actually the third best.
HOLMES: Well, I hope you pay better attention on the road than you were paying to me.
ROMANOV: I think so.
HOLMES: I'm just teasing you Lee. Let's talk here then about why in the world in the first place would you even try to look for a connection between driving records and astrological signs. Why?
ROMANOV: Insurancehighway.com does rating guides all the time and directing drivers to the lowest rates. And I'm always doing rates for drivers, their ages, comparisons against the car they drive, their tickets and accidents. And I thought, jeez, let's take a group of drivers, 100,000 drivers and compare it against their astrological signs. And whoa, the numbers bounced off the charts to the drivers whose signs had the worst tickets and accidents in their records to the drivers that had the best. It was amazing.
HOLMES: Do you really think -- and when you go back and look at the astrological signs and what's supposed to be that person's traits, does that match up with why or why they may be or may not be a good driver? Does it mesh?
ROMANOV: Shockingly, it does and the variance is so great. You know, it's unbelievable. For instance, one of the worst drivers, you said Libra. They've got the sign of the scales. They're always looking for balance, harmony, consensus. At 5:00 rush hour, there is none of that.
HOLMES: All right. You started with the Libra. So go through them for me. We'll go through the worst. Libras are the absolute worst. Go through some of the other worst for me.
ROMANOV: OK, so you've got Aquarius. That's the second worst. They're ruled by the planet of speed and rebellion.
HOLMES: That's now good in driving.
ROMANOV: The third worst, Aries, the ram, do I need to say any more?
HOLMES: I guess not.
ROMANOV: And they've got that child like me first kind of thing going on, which doesn't work when you're driving.
HOLMES: And quickly, let's get to the best now. Who are the best drivers on the road?
ROMANOV: OK, third best, Cancer, second best, you've got the, oh, gosh, you've got the Gemini. They're actually multi-taskers. So they can everything, driving, have a coffee, donut, eating a donut.
NGUYEN: Putting on mascara.
ROMANOV: Exactly, mascara. The best astrological sign is Leo. They're generous. They're giving. They share the highway and they've got this huge ego that will not let them do anything.
NGUYEN: Do you hear that? They have a huge ego. HOLMES: I happen to be a Leo. Everything you said was correct except for the ego part.
NGUYEN: Oh yeah, right.
HOLMES: You had it right on.
ROMANOV: It doesn't allow them to be anything but a star driver.
HOLMES: All right. Just quickly, we have to let you go, but I have to ask you this last one, do you think this is something insurance companies should actually use? Would you recommend that they look at people's astrological signs and hold that against them or hold them in good favor for it?
ROMANOV: The astrological signs definitely seem to have a weighing but maybe they shouldn't be paying so much attention to where the person lives, the type of car they drive, their age or their astrological sign and just focus on, does that driver have tickets or accidents and rate according to that.
HOLMES: All right. This is some fascinating stuff. I'm a fantastic driver so I think you're dead on with this stuff. My co- anchor here is a Virgo and she's got issues (ph).
ROMANOV: She pays attention to everything.
NGUYEN: See?
ROMANOV: Someone that will...
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Well, Lee Romanov, thank you so much for spending some time and hope everybody is careful out there on the road no matter their sign. Thank you so much.
ROMANOV: You're welcome.
NGUYEN: And speaking of paying attention, we do have some news just in to CNN. We are getting word from the White House that Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned U.S. President George Bush this morning to discuss of all things, Iran.
Yes, according to the White House, the leaders agreed on the need to move forward with a resolution in the U.N. Security Council and stressed the importance of maintaining a unified position on Iran's nuclear program. As you know, the U.N. Security Council is voting today.
This comes, as mentioned, that they are meeting and they might vote on this resolution on imposing sanctions, but they are definitely meeting and a vote is expected. The question is, are they going to, indeed, impose sanctions on Iran's nuclear war? Well, our Elaine Quijano is coming up next hour with more details. That is from the White House. That is just about 12 minutes away. So sit tight for that.
And we are not through with you just yet, oh, no.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I kind of felt that Jesus would be off limits to any kind of pranks or mischief.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes. Somebody stole baby Jesus. Now we have the story of a stolen Christ child and a long road home. That's coming up in the water cooler.
NGUYEN: And listen to this.
Remember Jingle Cats? It's awful. It's worse than scratching your fingernails on a chalkboard. It is one of the holiday songs that our viewers really can't stand for obvious reasons. But do you have a favorite? E-mail us, weekends@cnn.com. We'll read some of your responses on the air.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Time for the water cooler, your chance to get caught up on some of the day's other news shall we say?
HOLMES: This is the other stuff that doesn't quite qualify for our now in the news segment but some stuff we couldn't pass up, including this, an extremely rare video, maybe a first. That orange thing, can't make it out maybe, but trust me, you don't want to hang it over the fireplace. It's a live, giant squid that was caught off Japan.
NGUYEN: It's female, measured 24 feet which is on the small size believe it or not, because they actually get more than twice this size.
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: You know this guy?
NGUYEN: Rock on.
HOLMES: You want to go get his Christmas CD. He looks like maybe an aging monk to you, but Shin Jung Hyun is a bona fide rock star. The South Korean musician -- he's now 68 years old, started playing 50 years ago.
NGUYEN: In the early 1960s, Shin founded what could be called the Korean Beatles, a group that they actually called Add 4. Today he's minus three, and this is video of Shin's farewell concert. Don't know much about the outfit there, but it was performed recently in Seoul.
HOLMES: We have a happy ending here, because a year ago, thieves swiped a small plastic figurine of the baby Jesus from a nativity scene in Buffalo, New York. The family thought they'd never see it again, but...
NGUYEN: Well, it turns out he was on an eight-month road trip around New York State. Now he's back in the manger with a photo album of his journey and a letter from the abductors. The family says, all is forgiven.
HOLMES: I never thought about baby Jesus kicking it before.
NGUYEN: On a road trip. Well, maybe we can't decide whether to say merry Christmas, happy holidays, but Americans are pretty clear about other holiday rituals. Our new CNN poll finds 59 percent of Americans deck the halls with lights and other outdoor decorations and an overwhelming majority, 74 percent say they send Christmas cards.
HOLMES: I am not among them.
And of course all morning long, also we've been asking for your thoughts on the e-mail question, what is your favorite Christmas song or is there one you just can't stand out there?
NGUYEN: And we've got some favorites, so let's get to those, "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, that's a classic and of course the Charlie Brown Christmas theme. But here's some of the ones that we just can't stand.
HOLMES: We played this one right before the break, "Jingle Cats," the cats meowing song. Is it there? No we don't have it. All right
NGUYEN: You'll know when you hear it.
HOLMES: Also the other one is "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." That's pretty much the consensus. Everybody hates that song.
NGUYEN: I never liked that one. Yeah. Let's cut that. Moving on.
A battle over Miss USA's soul, not really. But the whole Miss USA mess has led to an entertaining exchange between Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell.
HOLMES: You have to admit here, it's been kind of fun to watch, sorry and Jeannie Moos certainly found it entertaining.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 'Tis the season of peace, love and joy. So naturally our thoughts turned to those venomous exchanges between Rosie and the Donald, and we got to wondering what sort of Christmas cards would those two exchange?
(MUSIC)
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER: Rosie O'Donnell is disgusting, I mean, both inside and out.
ROSIE O'DONNELL, TALK SHOW HOST: There is, hair looping, going everyone deserves a second chance.
(MUSIC)
TRUMP: You take a look at her, she's a slob.
O'DONNELL: I just think he's a bag of wind.
(MUSIC)
TRUMP: Well, Rosie's a loser. She's always been a loser.
O'DONNELL: He's the moral authority. Left the first wife, had an affair, left the second wife, had an affair.
(MUSIC)
MOOS (voice-over): Did they say Rosie?
TRUMP: She's basically a disaster.
O'DONNELL: This man is like, sort of, one those, you know, snake oil salesman in "Little House on the Prairie."
(MUSIC)
TRUMP: She ought to be careful, because I'll send one of my friends to pick up her girlfriend.
O'DONNELL: Look who's here today. Kelly. I was afraid to leave her home in case somebody with a comb-over came and stole her from me.
(MUSIC)
TRUMP: Can you imagine what Kelly has to put up with, living with this person (ph).
(MUSIC)
TRUMP: She can't be thrilled kissing Rosie O'Donnell. Can you imagine that? What's worse than that?
(MUSIC)
O'DONNELL: Frankly, here's her comment to him.
TRUMP: I'd like to take some money out of her fat-ass pockets.
(MUSIC)
TRUMP: You know, taking money out of her big, fat ass would be probably something that's very easy.
(MUSIC) MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Now if that's not the holiday spirit, I don't know what is. Can't get enough of all the worst and best holiday songs? We have played plenty of them as we mentioned earlier.
HOLMES: We're actually going to talk with the host of the annoying music show Jim Nayder. That is coming up next hour. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
