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American Morning

Castro's Health In 'Grave' Condition; Missouri Kidnap Mystery; Winter Blast

Aired January 16, 2007 - 08:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New insight into the kidnapped life of Shawn Hornbeck. What could have kept him from running for help?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Deadly winter weather. Ice and snowstorms blamed for at least 41 deaths across the country. Hundreds of thousands without power this morning.

S. O'BRIEN: And developing news about Cuban leader Fidel Castro. There are reports that he might be on his deathbed, and those reports are sparking a political flare-up on this AMERICAN MORNING.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you. It is Tuesday, January 16th.

I'm Miles O'Brien in New York.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien, coming to you from Kirkwood, Missouri, this morning.

And Miles, I'm going to take you back here as the sun comes up a little bit. We're getting a better picture behind us of what's happening today.

The investigation, of course, continues. We know that the suspect, Michael Devlin, is now in custody. He's been charged with one count of kidnapping. They're expecting, though, that there will be more counts, more charges to follow.

And of course today we've seen some of the neighbors coming and going, some people going off to work early, we assume. Right down here, it's kind of, you know, a typical-looking small apartment complex.

One of the things that I think is most surprising is just how close everyone was living, and yet at the same time, you have neighbors who seem to have ignored some red flags. We're going to have more this morning as we get a tour from some of the police officers, who, truly, it was their excellent police work that helped crack this four-year-old case.

That's straight ahead, Miles. Back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Soledad. See you shortly.

Back to Missouri in just a moment. But first, a developing story for you. Word Fidel Castro may be on his deathbed. A Spanish newspaper is reporting the Cuban leader is in very grave condition with an intestinal infection.

CNN's Al Goodman is in Madrid, where the story broke -- Al.

AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Miles.

Well, it's the talk of the town this day in Madrid as "El Pais," the largest circulation newspaper in Spain, publishes on its front page that the Cuban leader Fidel Castro has undergone three surgeries for intestinal problems, but that there have been complications after each one, leading to the situation now, according to the newspaper, where he's in very serious condition.

They're citing medical sources at a Madrid hospital, the Gregorio Maranon hospital, and that's the same hospital that sent its chief surgeon last month to Cuba at the request of Cuban authorities to examine Fidel Castro. And I caught up with this chief surgeon, Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, just outside his office early this morning at the hospital as he was about to go off to his first appointment in his white robe.

He said, "Look, I'm not the source for the newspaper report." He says, "It's without foundation." He says any information that's credible about Fidel Castro would have to come from the Cuban leader's own medical team.

And this doctor tells CNN that he goes back to what he said last December 26th at a big news conference at the hospital in Madrid after he got back from Cuba. He said the Cuban leader was recovering from an intestinal surgery, he did not have cancer, as some reports have said, and that maybe he might even recover and go back to work.

Now, Miles, we're also being told that rumors to the effect that Fidel Castro has undergone these intestinal surgeries with the resulting complications, that rumors have been making the rounds among some circles in the doctors at the hospital for several weeks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Al Goodman in Madrid.

Thank you very much.

Let's go to Havana now. CNN is the only U.S. network to have a correspondent based in Cuba. Morgan Neill is that person. He joins us on the phone now from there.

Morgan, what do we know?

MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, no comment yet from Cuban officials on this report out of Spain. They see details of the president's condition as a state secret. So we've gotten very little information about his condition since the president first handed over power, what's now five and a half months ago, at the end of July, as he recovered from surgery. Since then, we haven't seen a public appearance from the president. In the last of several videos, President Castro appeared in October. That video came out. He had obvious difficulties in walking, appeared awkward, and was much thinner than he was before his illness. The president himself has said through state media that he lost some 41 pounds since he first, since the illness began.

Now, even after Dr. Garcia Sabrido's visit and the press conference he gave when he returned to Madrid, Cuban state media didn't mention his comments there, and Cuban officials have consistently said the president is on the mend. The last message that the president sent out through the official media came just before New Year's, when state media broadcast a message saying his illness was far from a lost battle but said he had always warned his recovery would be a prolonged process -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Morgan Neill in Havana.

Thank you.

Let's go to Soledad in Kirkwood, Missouri.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles. Thank you very much.

Of course, we are talking this morning about the investigation. We're talking about what's happening on the criminal front. But we're also talking about a community. It was described as a black cloud hanging over this community in the wake of the kidnapping of Shawn Hornbeck, and that has now changed.

Sean Callebs has that part of the story for us this morning.

Good morning.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Indeed, yesterday we spent a good part of the day down in Richwoods. It's about an hour and a half from here. I want to take you to the area and what it looked like four years ago right after Shawn was kidnapped.

People turned out en-masse. They were looking for him, there were flyers up everywhere. Now people rejoicing in the fact that those flyers of the missing person have been replaced by "Welcome Home" signs.

Last time Shawn was down in that area, he was 11 years old and a fifth grader. His friends have grown up a lot, but they are ready to welcome him back home.

But think about that emotional press conference the other day, when his stepfather and mother were there. Friends say the mother aged tremendously over the past four years. The question, how did they get through all that time?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CALLEBS: How did they know Shawn's out there, he's coming home safely?

KIM EVANS, FAMILY FRIEND: That's a rough one. I don't know if they did always know he was. They just always hoped he was, and they said, we're not giving up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: They're not giving up.

CALLEBS: They're not giving up, indeed. One of the ways that the Akers really got through this, they immersed themselves in the issues of missing children.

They tried to reconnect so many families, and they say theirs is the miracle now to give all those other families so much hope out there. And it's great to see the genuine caring that these young kids have for Shawn. They want to do what they can to welcome him home, they want to play basketball, have parties, ride bikes. But more than anything, just give the family its time right now.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, but what a long road ahead. I mean, he was a fifth grader when he was kidnapped. His classmates are in the middle of their ninth grade year. That's a vast amount of time as a child to miss.

CALLEBS: Exactly. And by all accounts, he has not gone to school in the last four years. So folks are doing what they can down there, the superintendent of schools, the teachers. They say -- they talked about everything, whether it be home-schooling, tutoring, whatever they need to do to bring him up to speed to get him back with his friends.

S. O'BRIEN: It does seem like the community is really taking the next step, whatever it's going to be, together, which has got to be helpful.

CALLEBS: Yes. And they are -- they are wildly protective of their family. You know...

S. O'BRIEN: Good for them.

CALLEBS: ... they've welcomed us down there, but now they say, OK, media, go home. Let us have our space now.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, good for them.

All right. Sean Callebs.

Thanks, Sean. Appreciate it.

Let's talk a little bit more about what happens on the criminal front now.

As we mentioned, Michael Devlin, 41 years old, the suspect in this case, faces one count of kidnapping. But it's expected, in fact, that he will face more counts, that the number of charges will increase.

Chris Lawrence has that part of the story for us this morning. He is in Union, Missouri.

Chris, good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Yes, Michael Devlin is still probably about a day away from being arraigned here, but his defense attorneys are already looking further down the line.

These defense attorneys have met with Devlin in jail face to face, and they say he's scared. The attorneys are worried that with the amount of coverage this case has been getting, how he could get a fair trial in this part of the state. Now, Devlin is a big guy, middle-aged, heavy-set, and his attorneys are also somewhat worried about his health.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ETHAN CORLIJA, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL DEVLIN: Mr. Devlin had some pre-existing health conditions before he was ever charged with any criminal case. He has a -- he's a Type II diabetic. He also has a rare circulatory -- blood circulatory disease. He has had surgery before on his foot due to complications from the diabetic condition.

So that is on the forefront -- forefront of our mind also. We want to make sure that he receives the medication, the proper medical care and attention that he needs at this time while he's confined.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Prosecutors are alleging that Devlin and Shawn Hornbeck shared an apartment for some time. And some of the neighbors in that area want police to take a closer look at how many other children may have gone into that apartment. One woman said she saw a young girl visiting several times over the past few months, presumably to visit Shawn -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, there's so many questions that still remain in this case. And really, no one's figured out exactly what happened in the four years that Shawn Hornbeck was missing. Everyone's grateful that he's back, and certainly the investigation's moving on, but what exactly happened?

Chris Lawrence for us this morning with the investigative side of this case.

Thank you, Chris.

And let's throw it back to Miles in New York -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Soledad. Happening this morning elsewhere, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials telling her that Arab countries are ready to back the new U.S. plan to stabilize Iraq, but the Saudis say it's up to the Iraqis to make the plan work.

In Iraq this morning, 19 dead, at least 80 hurt by two bombs in central Baghdad. The first bomb exploded near an Iraqi police convoy. The second exploded nearby as rescue workers arrived.

Jury selection gets under way today in Washington as the trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby begins. The one-time chief of staff for former -- excuse me, former chief of staff for Vice President Cheney charged with lying to investigators, trying to find out who leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame to reporters in 2003. Plame's husband had raised questions about the intelligence used by the White House to justify the Iraq war.

The vice president is scheduled to testify at the trial.

Investigators now say stormy weather likely the cause in that Indonesian jetliner crash. It went down New Year's Day with 102 people aboard. Investigators are examining recovered parts of the plane. So far, no bodies have been found.

Chad's big-chill forecast is coming up next. Ice-coated roads being blamed for dozens of deaths. Fruit crops in danger out West. And now an ice storm warning for Houston. Yes, Houston, you have a problem.

And we're live in Missouri with the latest details on that kidnap mystery. We'll hear from a personal safety expert to find out how to keep your kids out of harm's way.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Developing stories on the radar this morning.

A Spanish newspaper reporting Cuban leader Fidel Castro is in failing health with an intestinal infection.

And in Missouri, an article in this morning's "St. Louis Post- Dispatch" shedding new light on the case of those two kidnapped boys. It says the suspect, Michael Devlin, used death threats to keep Shawn Hornbeck from running for help. He was held captive, allegedly, for more than four years.

The White House announcing this morning a major disaster in Missouri from that crippling ice storm. There's more freezing rain on the way for Texas, Houston area, and more freeze warnings for Arizona and California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN (voice over): The mega storm stretches from Mexico to Maine. Cold, dry air from Canada and warm, moist air from the Gulf creating a potent mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow. From coast to coast, trees, power lines and roads glazed with ice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I prefer snow any time, any day. Ice, they can keep it.

M. O'BRIEN: The big storm took more than 40 lives in six states, at least 17 of those in Oklahoma. About 500,000 homes from Oklahoma to New Hampshire are dark and cold this morning, and it could be days before the lights come back on.

MARTIN MURRAY, PUBLIC SERVICE CO., NEW HAMPSHIRE: All the crews that we have available are working, and we're going to try to get just as many customers as we can back, restored with power as quickly as we can.

M. O'BRIEN: In the West, big losses for California's billion- dollar citrus industry. Orange growers say three-quarters of this year's crop may have already been destroyed.

Even in the desert they are feeling it. In Las Vegas, some of the coldest temperatures in a decade.

Looking for a quick warm-up? The National Weather Service says don't bet on it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Well, you can bet Chad Myers at quarter past the hour has the forecast for you.

Hello, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's really white in some areas across the country with snow this morning. We're talking about lake- effect snow.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: We've been talking all morning about great police work, and this morning we want to introduce you to two officers who are truly the most responsible for cracking this case.

This morning we're joined by Gary Wagster and Chris Nelson. They're both officers.

And it's really your story and your thinking and your putting the pieces together, both of you gentlemen, that made this case crack. So tell me how it began.

You came here to serve a warrant on somebody else in this apartment complex. What happened?

OFFICER GARY WAGSTER, CITY OF KIRKWOOD POLICE: Yes, ma'am. We walked up to this apartment to serve a warrant...

S. O'BRIEN: On the top floor.

WAGSTER: Exactly. And we couldn't make contact, so we came down the stairs over to the left here. As we were coming down the stairs, we noticed a white in color truck sitting right about where this van's at.

S. O'BRIEN: So where that van is where that truck was.

What surprised you or what struck you about that truck?

WAGSTER: Well, just the fact that it was a Nissan pickup truck with the camper shell on it originally. And then me and Chris put our heads together, and with the information given by the 15-year-old individual, we -- you know, there was a lot of variables that matched that vehicle.

S. O'BRIEN: So you thought with that vehicle, that, of course, was a vehicle that was named as potentially having a role in the kidnapping of Ben Ownby.

WAGSTER: Exactly. We checked the vehicle for any kind of warrants and to make sure it wasn't wanted by any other department, and the registration checked out. At which time we did an area canvas. We did a canvas of the area. I went over to the balcony over here...

S. O'BRIEN: OK. So when you came this way -- and let's hike down this way a little bit. I know you ran into a bunch of kids here. What were they able to tell you?

WAGSTER: Well, there was a couple gentlemen up on the balcony, and they were the ones who actually told me that the truck belonged to Mr. Devlin.

S. O'BRIEN: And you knew Mr. Devlin, didn't you?

WAGSTER: Yes, from Imos Pizza. We had contacts with him in the past.

S. O'BRIEN: How did he strike you? I mean, some people said friendly, some people said not friendly.

What did you think?

WAGSTER: Just a very quiet, laid back, real polite guy.

We came back after the canvas, came back down to the van. I met Chris back here. We exchanged information about what we found about the canvas.

S. O'BRIEN: OK. Now, the truck, of course, is gone now, somebody's parked a van in the spot. But the truck was here.

WAGSTER: Exactly. Exactly. At which time, Mr. Devlin walked out here and walked to this dumpster.

S. O'BRIEN: Right here.

So he comes out with the garbage and you recognized him from the pizza place. What did you say?

OFFICER CHRIS NELSON, CITY OF KIRKWOOD POLICE: Well, Gary approached him, introduced himself and told him, "Hey, do you know who's pickup truck this is?" And he goes, "Yes, it's mine."

And from there we started asking him questions. You know, "Have you seen the news?" and other things. The exact questions we asked him, you know, we can't get real specific on them right now.

S. O'BRIEN: What were the ones that seemed to throw him? I know you can't give me the specifics, but were they questions sort of about the disappearance or were they questions like, "We want an entrance to your apartment?"

NELSON: Well, I mean, that's -- we can't get too, too specific, but I mean, common sense, we were here for a purpose. So, and we had an objective that we did want to do.

After we talked to him for a little bit and got real specific, he became just a different person.

S. O'BRIEN: What do you mean?

NELSON: His whole demeanor changed. He started clinching his fists. His posture changed. He wouldn't make eye contact with us anymore.

S. O'BRIEN: And what did you think?

NELSON: Immediately, it sent red flags off to myself and Gary. I mean, it was a different person that was standing there talking to us.

S. O'BRIEN: OK. So all those red flags meant that you -- he wouldn't let you into the apartment, but you decided to go ahead and call the FBI, which was handling this case now.

WAGSTER: Exactly. Chris called the FBI. The FBI came out with a member of the Missouri Highway Patrol, at which time we kind of took a step back and turned the investigation over to them and they proceeded from there.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, the family has been so grateful and everyone has said it's really -- I mean, I looked at this parking lot this morning. There are five white pickup trucks here. I mean, a white pickup truck is not that unusual.

The idea that you come see one and put two and two together is quite remarkable. Do you feel like, you know, you're heroes, proud of what you did? Or is it just kind of another day on the job?

NELSON: Well, it didn't really hit me until my daughter -- I have an 11-year-old daughter. She came up after she had been watching the news and goes, "Daddy, you're a hero."

And after that, it kind of floored me. We stepped back a little bit, because we do -- Gary and I work like that every day, and this time it turned out really, good.

S. O'BRIEN: That's such great news. And you are a hero, too, even if your 11-year-old daughter didn't tell you.

WAGSTER: I don't know about all that. We work with a bunch of great people here at Kirkwood, and we'd like to think that if anybody else is called down they would have done the same thing, if they were standing here and not us. So...

S. O'BRIEN: It was terrific, terrific police work, and it's really what brought it all together and solved the case that's been going on for years and years, and has really been a dark cloud, as people said, over this community.

So thank you both for talking with us.

WAGSTER: Thank you.

NELSON: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: We really appreciate it, Officer Wagster, and Officer Nelson as well.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you, gentlemen. Appreciate it.

Let's get right back to Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Soledad. Thanks very much.

Coming up, a race against time. Dolphins stranded and trapped in shallow waters with bitterly cold weather moving in. We'll get a live update on the race to save them.

And the glitz, the glam, the Golden Globe winners. If you missed the awards show last night, worry not. We'll catch you up.

AMERICAN MORNING coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Well, we've been doing a little bit of sleuthing, following the online clues that kidnapped victim Shawn Hornbeck may -- we underscore "may" -- have planted. Whether he might have tried to reach out to his family on a Web site they set up after his disappearance, for example, and there are some other clues out there.

CNN's Jacki Schechner bringing us up to date on that -- Jacki.

JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Yes, Miles. There were some online profiles created on Web sites like Yahoo! profiles and MindViz, that a couple of them have been removed -- the ones from Yahoo! We just want to keep you up to date on where we are on this.

We spoke to Yahoo! about the profiles that have been taken down, and we don't know if these were actually created by Shawn Hornbeck under the name "Shawn Devlin," whether they were created by Michael Devlin using Shawn's information, but Yahoo! says that they have the right to remove profiles if they violate their terms of service, but they wouldn't speak specifically about these profiles or what terms of service they may have possibly violated.

Of course, there's also this profile you've seen on MindViz, which is a social networking site, not as popular as some of the other ones you might have heard of, about 380,000 users. And we spoke to the owner of this social networking site who has decided to keep the profile up for now. He didn't even know it was there, frankly.

And he says there are about 15 pages of comments we've been able to see, people offering Shawn luck, and also some people saying, "Please just take this down. Enough is enough already." He also traced back some Internet addresses for us and said to us those all did seem to come from the St. Louis, Missouri, area.

As for the postings on the Shawn Hornbeck Web site, the ones that seem to come from Shawn Devlin that asked, "How long are you going to be searching for your son?" Again, that's really only something we're going to know it we talk to Michael Devlin or we talk to Shawn Devlin (sic) and find out who posted those questions.

M. O'BRIEN: Of course, you know, the Internet is like a house of mirrors.

SCHECHNER: Oh, absolutely.

M. O'BRIEN: You don't know who's for real and who's what. Everybody takes a nickname. How can we separate that out from what might be real?

SCHECHNER: It's really tricky. I mean, "Devlin" is a popular name. If you're got a kid who's using the last name "Devlin," they may create a nickname like "Devil Devlin," which is something we've seen come out throughout this story. And you just have to be very careful.

You don't want to speculate, you don't want to falsely accuse somebody. For example, on one of the gaming Web sites we found someone named "Devil Devlin" who claimed to be female. So just want to make sure you're not pointing out profiles of people who actually aren't at all involved in this situation.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Jacki Schechner. Thank you very much.

Bigger isn't always better. Circuit City might be downsizing its stores. Maybe they'll call it, what, Circuit Hamlet (ph)? Ali Velshi, it's 25 minutes past the hour.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, you know, a few years ago I used to not really be clear, when you'd going into Circuit City or Best Buy, what the real differences were between the two. And then Best Buy sort of took off, redesigned a lot of its stores, dealt with some lighting issues, and dealt with their staff differently in a way that allowed them to address customers' needs. They ended up acquiring the Geek Squad, and Best Buy sort of took off and became the nation's largest retailer of electronics.

Circuit City's number two, and they've unveiled some changes to the way they're going to do things. As you said, they're going to downsize their stores.

The average store is 30,000 to 35,000 square feet. They're now going to start unveiling stores that are about 20,000 square feet. And rather than opening 10 to 12 stores a year, they're looking at opening about -- more than 100 -- 100 to 200 -- or 200 to 300 in the next couple of years.

These stores are going to be a little bit different. They're going to be a little more interactive.

Best Buy -- Circuit City is going to be pushing its Firedog Service (ph), which is kind of like Best Buy's geek squad, although Firedog (ph) is not owned by Circuit City. It will encourage people to come in and use interactive kiosks to find out whether they should, let's say, hang their new flat panel on a wall or put it on a stand.

So that's something they're going to try and encourage. There are already about 50 of these Firedog (ph) kiosks in existing Circuit City stores.

All this, of course, is a move to get a little bit more of that market share as the prices of electronics come down and the margins that these retailers earn gets smaller and smaller. They need more customers coming in, and they need more customers coming back.

So you'll see those changes very soon. By June they'll start unveiling these new, smaller Circuit City or Circuit Hamlet (ph) stores -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Ali.

Coming up, we're live in Missouri with the latest details on the Missouri kidnap mystery. We'll show you ways to keep your children safe.

And look for a golden glow in Hollywood this morning. A complete wrap-up of the Golden Globe winners, the speeches, and the hints about the Oscars.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: The life of a kidnapped teenager. New insight into the four-year abduction of Shawn Hornbeck and tips for keeping your kids safe from a predator.

M. O'BRIEN: Urgent rescue. A race under way to save the lives of several helpless dolphins stranded in some shallow waters in the Northeast.

S. O'BRIEN: And the girls with the golden touch. "Dreamgirls" scores big at the Golden Globes. Other winners, though are raising new intrigue about the Oscars -- all on this AMERICAN MORNING.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you, Tuesday, January 16th. I'm Miles O'Brien in New York.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien in Kirkwood, Missouri this morning. Miles, now that the light has come up a bit, we can kind of get a better picture, So if you guys will come along with me, I'll show you what I'm talking about.

We had the police officers describe for us what they saw. And you can see really just look how tiny this courtyard is. One of the questions that many people are asking today is how come the neighbors didn't notice that there was a teenager here who didn't ever seem to go to school, who was inside the home, some folks coming out now, going off to work, and how could someone be living really in plain sight, essentially, having daily contact with people, but no one seemed to be able to connect the dots until two police officers came here.

This, of course, is the home of Michael Devlin, the suspect now in the case, 41 years old. He is now charged with one count of kidnapping. It's expected, though, that the number of counts against him will rise.

Back here in the parking lot, which is where the police officers happened upon a truck, a truck that matched the description of another kidnapping, a kidnapping that happened just days before of a little boy, 13 years old. When those police officers were here, up there, serving a different, totally unrelated warrant.

So it was just a matter at the end of the day of pure luck and timing, and police officers who had their eyes opened who really managed to put together the case, piece the dots together and bring two boys to safety.

We're going to continue to talk about this story all morning. Also give some really good, practical advice about what you can tell your kids and what you can do to keep your own kids safe, whether you're living in a suburban setting like this or a rural setting, the location where these two boys were kidnapped from, or even an urban setting like where you and I live, Miles, in New York City. Back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Want to keep them safe. That's for sure. We'll be tuning in for that. Soledad, thank you.

Happening this morning elsewhere -- Cuban leader Fidel Castro apparently in very grave condition. A Spanish newspaper reporting Castro is battling an infection in his intestines. However, a Spanish doctor who examined Castro last month is disputing that report. He says Castro is recovering and doing well.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Saudi Arabia today getting a luke-warm response to President Bush's new Iraq strategy. The Saudis expressing doubt that the Iraqi government is up to the task of securing and maintaining security there.

And in Iraq this morning, 19 dead, at least 80 hurt by two bombs in central Baghdad. The first bomb exploded near an Iraqi police convoy. The second exploded nearby, timed as rescuers arrived.

Senator Barack Obama apparently ready to toss his hat into the presidential ring. A source close to the Illinois Democrat says he's preparing to file papers to form a presidential exploratory committee. A Chicago TV station says Obama may make a campaign visit to Iowa this weekend -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, miles, thank you very much. You know, any time there's a story like this -- and I'm sure Miles, you think the same thing I do -- you automatically think of your own children and what you should do in the similar circumstances. What should we be doing to keep them safe.

Francine Russell is a safety expert with some good tips for kids. Nice to talk to you.

When I was on my way here, my daughter said what story are you going to cover? And I didn't know how much to tell her. She's 6 years old and I don't want to scare her, talking about kidnapping and someone holding a child. And yet I feel like she's the perfect age to understand a little bit about how to be safe. So what's the right age?

FRANCINE RUSSELL, PERSONAL SAFETY EXPERT: I think you can start really young with kids, and pretty much present the information to them very matter of factually, the way you would any other safety information, like how to, to what to do in case of a fire ...

S. O'BRIEN: Drop and roll.

RUSSELL: A tornado. Exactly. You just sort of say, if this happens, here is what you do. Because kids, even at 6, they're hearing the stories on the news, they get scared. And I think what scares them more is that they don't have an answer to that situation.

S. O'BRIEN: So if a stranger approaches you, what should she do, scream and run?

RUSSELL: Well, first thing is, I think it's good for parents to know that stranger abductions are really not common. Children are much more at risk from people that they know than from strangers. But one of the first things with strangers is trust their instincts. If they have a bad feeling about this person and something seems wrong, they need to trust it and do something about it.

Also, be clear, make sure your children are clear on who a stranger is. We found in working with kids that they usually answer the questions really well. A stranger could be a man, a woman, a child, but when we say can a stranger be nice? They say oh no.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, I had that problem, I told my daughter all about strangers and we're walking down the street in New York City on our way to school and she's saying a stranger, a stranger. Yes, they were all strangers, none of them were trying to abduct her and I thought, ugh, everything I was trying to do, I just messed up.

RUSSELL: I think that was right because she's right. Everybody she sees around her that she doesn't know, even if they are nice and friendly to her, is a stranger. Now, she's with you, so that you can also make the distinction with kids, if I'm not with you, then you'll have to do things a little differently.

S. O'BRIEN: But what about cases like this, the Shawn Hornbeck case or the Shasta Groene case or the Elizabeth Smart case, where the child is miraculously alive after so much time, and yet doesn't run for their life for a whole bunch of reasons.

We've heard some psychologists saying they're terrified, they're threatened, et cetera, et cetera. What do you tell your kids, if anything ever happens, run if you get a chance? go to somebody to help you.

If a person that's a stranger may not be a stranger if they could save your life? It seems so complicated.

RUSSELL: Actually, it's pretty simple. Somebody they don't know is a stranger whether they are nice or not. Stay out of the reach of stranger -- keep at least two arms length distance, which means if a stranger approaches you, you've got to move, stay out of their reach.

Be loud, make a lot of noise at the time that somebody is trying to potentially abduct you. Usually, assailants want things to be quiet. They don't want to draw attention.

S. O'BRIEN: And if you need help.

RUSSELL: And if you need help, run.

S. O'BRIEN: Look how small this apartment complex is. This teenager could have run to any of these apartments ...

RUSSELL: But here's the thing, too, I think you've got to take advantage of the moment when somebody tries to abduct you. And that's the time to put up the fight and to run and do something. Because once they get you and the longer you stay with the person and the whole psychological issue comes to play, and I think there's been threats, and it's important for parents to tell kids, if somebody threatens mom and dad, mom and dad can take care of themselves, you still run, you still scream, you still get away from them, and never get in a vehicle with somebody, never. That's just not an option.

S. O'BRIEN: All excellent advice. It's really scary, these boys all kidnapped, that 11-year-old, 12, 13-year-old stage when you start giving children opportunities to go alone and walk alone and letting them have a little freedom because they're growing up. It's such a terrifying thing for parents, I have to say.

RUSSELL: And I think that's why you have to train your kids, because they will be alone when somebody tries to do this. You won't be there to help them. So they've got to know what to do on their own.

S. O'BRIEN: Safety expert Francine Russell, thank you with some great advice. Francine I really appreciate it.

Miles, let's get back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you Soledad. A desperate race is on this morning to save more than a dozen dolphins stranded in shallow waters off of Long Island. Several dolphins have died mysteriously washing ashore there and in parts of Massachusetts over the past few weeks.

Marine biologist Charles Bowman is working with some 80 volunteers on this rescue in Long Island. He joins us from Easthampton. Charles, good to have you with us on the program.

If you could just tell us where you are and where the dolphins are from where you're standing right now. And if you could just explain how they are stranded.

CHARLES BOWMAN, MARINE BIOLOGIST: Well, what has happened here is we've had common dolphins, about 15 have come in last Wednesday from offshore. We believe chasing a school of atlantic herring. And they've gotten themselves up in a very small creek area with a very narrow inlet that they're not able to get back out into the open water.

So they've been here since Wednesday and we've been very concerned about them. We've tried to herd them out the day before yesterday to get them back to open water. Did not have any success, and we're going to be trying that again today.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. If we could pan the camera over and show the dolphins, I'd appreciate that. How close are they to where you're standing right now?

BOWMAN: Well, they're in a basin, a small basin area behind us, and like I say, they have been using the entire basin area. There is about, I'd say about 15 of them here now. They are, you know, both on the water, under the water, and they come up occasionally. So you know, you have to just be patient to see them.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. So in other words, they're in that basin behind you. They're not beached, per se. So they have a little bit of time as a result of that, right?

BOWMAN: That is correct. No, they're not beached, they are swimming, but you know, in this small, little creek, there is limited food sources and we really need to get them back out to open water so that they are able to survive.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. So do you have any guess why they went astray here and also in other parts of New England?

BOWMAN: Well, just from our supposition here is that they because of the warm winter, we've had a lot of bait fish, mostly atlantic herring, in the Long Island Sound and Gardener's Bay, which is unusual for January.

They probably chased those bait fish up into the creek and followed them through and now are unable to get back out.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. So they are stuck in there now. You've got a team of 80 volunteers who are working pretty much around the clock. What are the tactics, what are the strategies you can do to try to, if you can, coax a pot of dolphins out of this basin?

BOWMAN: Well, what we're doing, and we're doing this in cooperation with a large team, as you mentioned -- that team involves the state conservation department, the town of Easthampton marine bureau, New England aquarium personnel, our own foundation, biologists, and what we're going to be trying to do is use small boats, noise from the motors, noise from pingers and other noise we can make on the boats, to actually herd them towards the inlet.

Hopefully, we're going to have a high enough tide. We have a little bit of weather today with some strong winds. And we're hopeful that they'll go out through the inlet. However, this type of operation is very difficult, at best. We're dealing with wild animals.

The common dolphins have an aversion to shallow water, so whenever they get to this very small inlet that's only about 20 feet wide and very shallow, in the past they have elected to come back into the basin, or into the deeper water for safety. Their natural instincts tell them to avoid shallow water. So we're up against that instinct.

M. O'BRIEN: So in other words, the problem is, if you'll excuse the term in this case, a bottleneck before they get to deep water, which is sort of leading them to believe that's not a good place to go.

BOWMAN: That bottleneck is actually a perfect description, you know, and that bottleneck is also very shallow water. It's not just narrow. And like I say, their natural instinct would tell them to avoid that area. We're trying to get them to go through it, which is a difficult operation.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. We wish you well. Charles Bowman who is coordinating the efforts. By the way, he is with the Riverhead Foundation for marine research and preservation, coordinating the efforts of 80 volunteers. Would you encourage people to come down if they're nearby to help out?

BOWMAN: Well, we've had a large, you know, public outpouring of support over the weekend and yesterday. We've had literally thousands of people here. We do have hydrophones in the water, which we allow them to listen to the dolphins.

But what we'd like to point out is that when anybody encounters a marine mammal, you know, on the beach, to really call the right personnel, not to try and interact, don't push them back in the water. That's the worst thing you can do.

Even here, people were trying to, you know, put kayaks in the water and swim with them, and that's really something that just would stress the animal. So we suggest they just call their correct personnel in their area and let them do the assistance.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Charles Bowman, thanks again. Appreciate it. We'll be back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Some breaking news just in from Iraq. At least 15 are dead, 45 injured after a massive car bombing near a university in northeastern Baghdad.

CNN's Michael Holmes is in Baghdad. He has the latest for us -- Michael.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, we're expecting that death toll to go up. This was a car bomb. It was parked outside the Mustansuria (ph) University in northeastern Baghdad about 4:00 local time.

As you said, at least ten people have been killed. 45 wounded. That's according to interior ministry sources. This university, I should point out, was built in 1233, an ancient university. This car bomb parked outside the university, and apparently timed to go off as students and faculty, staff were leaving the university.

Now one of our sources, and in fact, the CNN producer who is on the scene says that bodies have been put into police cars and that there is a scene of absolute carnage there, and that's why we're expecting the death toll to go up. A ministry source telling us this was a massive bomb. In fact, it's about 6 kilometers from where I am, and it rattled our windows here at the bureau.

And it's about, it's also interesting to point out, it's about a mile outside of the heart of Sadr City, the base, if you like, of the Mehdi Army, where Muqtada al-Sadr is based. And we've been told that there have been seen on the streets there, not just police sealing off the area, but also large numbers of Mehdi militia there as well, on the streets keeping cars out of the area and helping at the scene, which is an interesting development too, Miles. M. O'BRIEN: Michael Holmes in Baghdad for us, thank you. We'll keep you posted as details come in on that bombing.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: This morning on saving your life, a story about a coach who refuses to let a crippling disease keep him on the bench.

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta back with more on that. Hello, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. An amazing story. We're talking about something known as Guillain- Barre Syndrome. It's pretty rare. You may not have heard about it. About 1 in every 100,000 people actually affected by it.

What happens is, for some reason, part of your body is recognized as foreign and your body starts to literally attack itself. That's exactly what happened to the coach of the Tennessee Tech basketball team, Mike Sutton. Here's how he dealt with it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): Mike Sutton was an energetic basketball coach with Tennessee Tech when his health took a stunning turn for the worse.

MIKE SUTTON, TENNESSEE TECH BASKETBALL COACH: My hands and feet ached and I was really tired, and collapsed in the parking lot, fell down on my suitcase.

GUPTA: With no warning, Sutton was struck with Guillain-Barre Syndrome or GBS. GBS causes the body's immune system to mistakenly attack and destroy the insulation protecting the nerves in your body. So in just a matter of days, Mike was paralyzed. He could barely move a muscle.

SUTTON: The thumb and index finger I could move just ever so slightly.

GUPTA: He needed a tracheotomy to breathe. He couldn't talk. He could just blink.

SUTTON: You have no way to communicate, and that's probably the most frustrating thing, is you have no way to tell people if there's pain.

GUPTA: That was almost two years ago. Today, coach Sutton is making a slow, and what many consider, an unbelievable comeback.

SUTTON: Talk your way through, it talk your way through it. Talk, Francis, talk Francis.

GUPTA: Sutton is helped a specially designed wheelchair, a walker, and support from his staff, as well as lots of hard work.

SUTTON: Last year, my hands were limp like this. I couldn't hold my hands up at all.

GUPTA: Three times a week, for two hours a session, he undergoes physical and occupational therapy, trying to train new nerves to do the job of the old ones destroyed by the disease.

SUTTON: These are things that, you know, work on to develop the finger dexterity.

GUPTA: He's having to relearn everything, from grasping a fork to eat to exercising leg muscles to walk. He says he couldn't have done this without his immediate and extended families who cheered him on.

JONATHAN JONES, TENNESSEE TECH BASKETBALL PLAYER: Strong guy. He's always been our leader. He's always going to be our leader, and I know that disease isn't going to stop him at all.

SUTTON: Even though something unfortunate happened to me, I'm still blessed, you know, with my family and my lovely wife and I have a great group of kids on the basketball team, a wonderful staff and I work at a wonderful university.

One, two, three.

CROWD: TCU!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Yes, a pretty remarkable guy. He was in the hospital for eight months as well, even coached sometimes from the bedside. There is a chance that he could make a full recovery still -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: What an inspiration for his players and really for all of us.

Sanjay, thank you very much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad?

GUPTA: All right, miles, Thanks.

"CNN NEWSROOM" is just a couple minutes away. I believe it's Heidi Collins who is at the desk for us this morning.

Hey, Heidi, good morning. What's coming up?

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, Soledad. That's right, we have these stories are coming up in the "NEWSROOM" today. Ice storm. Texas hit hard today, from Austin to Houston. Freezing rain in the hill country and southeastern coast. It's going to stick around for a while, too, folks.

And this -- Cuba's Fidel Castro. One newspaper says the ailing president now in serious condition from an intestinal infection. His doctor says it is not true.

Firefighters caught napping. Their firehouse goes up in flames. The blaze started in an area of the station that did not have smoke detectors. Tell you more about that story, alongside Tony Harris in the NEWSROOM. Top of the hour here on CNN -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow, that's a crazy story. All right, Heidi, thank you.

COLLINS: You got it.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, we're going to take a look at the Golden Globes, the winners, the losers, and what are the prospects for the Oscars. Sibila Vargas joins us live straight head.

Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: It is the morning after Hollywood's big night. The Golden Globes last night. The winners are trying to figure out where they should put that trophy and the losers are crying in their soup, so to speak.

Sibila Vargas has the wrap-up for us.

Much better to be a winner than a loser in these things.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is. And the love was definitely spread last night at Hollywood's biggest party. The stars came out in full force, and some of the most talked about contenders did not disappoint.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS (voice-over): At the Golden Globes, a film that spanned the globe earned one of the night's most coveted honors. Babel, which was shot in four countries and in five languages, won best picture drama, an award presented by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Babel's Mexican director, Alejando Gonzalez Inarritu had a quip for Schwarzenegger as he accepted the award.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I swear I have my papers in order, governor. I swear.

VARGAS: The night's other top honor, best picture, musical or comedy, went as expected to "Dreamgirls." The film won two other awards, supporting actor for Eddie Murphy and supporting actress for newcomer Jennifer Hudson.

JENNIFER HUDSON, ACTRESS: You do not know how much this does for my confidence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORREST WHITAKER, ACTOR: Why didn't you say so?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: It was also a night when royalty was crowned. For his work in "The Last King of Scotland," Forrest Whitaker won best actor drama, and Helen Mirren won best actress drama for playing Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen."

Earlier in the evening Mirren won in the TV movie category for playing her royal highness in "Elizabeth I."

HELEN MIRREN, ACTRESS: Elizabeth I took everything that I had, and it was a very, very challenging role.

VARGAS: Comedy acting honors went to Meryl Streep for "The Devil Wears Prada," and to "Borat's" Sasha Baron Cohen.

The best foreign language film category normally doesn't generate intense interests, but this year was a little different, with Mel Gibson and Clint Eastwood in the running.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Letters From Iwo Jima."

VARGAS: It was Eastwood who won out for his Japanese-language drama "Letters From Iwo Jima."

In the TV categories, it was a beautiful night for "Ugly Betty." the freshman series won best comedy, and star America Ferrera won best actress in a TV comedy.

AMERICA FERRERA, GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER: To be part of something that is not only entertaining, but meaningful is what's most important.

VARGAS: Best TV drama went to the medical show "Grey's Anatomy."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And even though his film did not get the top prize, "The Departed's" director Martin Scorsese was still a winner. He took home the coveted director award.

Now onto the next big awards show, the mack daddy of them all, the Academy Awards.

Back to you, Soledad.

I hope you're keeping warm.

S. O'BRIEN: I love the way you do that -- yesterday's over, let's move onto the Oscars. Sibila Vargas for us this morning.

VARGAS: Yes, that's it.

S. O'BRIEN: Another day, another dress, that's what I say. Thank you, Sibila. Appreciate it.

Let's look a quick look at what "NEWSROOM" is working on for you this morning.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: See these stories in the "CNN NEWSROOM" -- Missouri abduction. Why Shawn Hornbeck stayed with his kidnapper for four years, even though he had chances to escape. We talk to a child psychologist.

The vice president's former chief of staff on trial today: Lewis Scooter Libby facing charges related to the CIA leak case.

California citrus: The cost of a cold snap could top $750 million. You are in the "NEWSROOM," 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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