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Officers Surrender to Police in Fatal NYC Shooting; Four Years Later, Life Dangerous in Iraq; Boy Scout, 12, Missing in North Carolina Mountains

Aired March 19, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CO-HOST: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Kyra Phillips, who will join us in just a moment from Iraq.

But first, he's endured freezing temperatures for two nights, a Boy Scout missing in the North Carolina mountains. CNN is live from the search and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And we begin with the war in Iraq. The insurgency has grown, public support has shrunk, and Iraqis and Americans have died by the thousands. After four years of fighting in Iraq, there is no end in sight.

And our Kyra Phillips was on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf when the invasion started. Now she's on the ground in Baghdad as the war enters its fifth year -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Don. We're here live in Baghdad. And it was four years ago today I was on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. It was called shock and awe. I'll never forget how Baghdad was illuminated within 90 minutes after those jets left the deck of that carrier.

Now four years later I'm here on the ground in Baghdad. I'm seeing where those bombs dropped. And I'm going to tell you how U.S. troops and the Iraqis are doing here on the ground now as we enter the fifth year of this war in Iraq.

That's coming up in just a few minutes.

LEMON: All right, Kyra. We look forward to that. Thank you so much.

KEILAR: Acting in good faith or acting recklessly? Three New York City police officers head to court in the November killing of Sean Bell just hours before his wedding.

CNN's Jason Carroll joins us from the borough of Queens where the victim lived.

Jason, what's the latest?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And hello to you, Brianna. The three officers turned themselves in this morning. They will be arraigned later this afternoon.

The grand jury deliberated -- deliberated for three days. They indicted three of the five officers on the following charges. Detective Michael Oliver -- he's the one who fired 31 shots, pausing once to reload -- was indicted on manslaughter on the first and second degree, as well as felony assault and reckless endangerment charges. And Detective Giscard Isnora faces the same charges. If they are sentenced, they face up to 25 years maximum sentence.

Also detective Mark Cooper, he was indicted on two counts ever reckless endangerment. If he is sentenced he faces up to one year.

Queens district attorney Richard Brown, just a short while ago, said that investigators had interviewed more than 100 witnesses. They presented more than 500 exhibits. He says this begins the -- is the first part of a very long legal process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BROWN, QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY: As I pointed out, the defendants are innocent until proven guilty, and this is only the beginning of this case. This case has got to be tried in an open courtroom. And all of the facts and all of the law will be available to all of you as you -- as you watch this trial proceed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: The Reverend Al Sharpton has been acting as Sean Bell's family spokesperson. And a short while ago, he held a press conference. He basically said that he was hoping all five of the officers that were involved in the shooting would have been indicted, and he also says that at this point this is not a time for celebration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: These were officers of the law operating under the cover of the law and had the ability beyond what a normal citizen would have. And they in our judgment, and clearly as certified by this grand jury, used that privilege to engage in criminal activity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Sharpton also said that any suggestion that there should be some sort of a change of venue would be insulting not only to him but to Bell's family, as well as the other two gentlemen that were injured in the shooting, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benfield.

Also, Brianna, just a short while ago Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, he released a statement saying that the three officers that were indicted have been suspended without pay.

Again, those officers will be arraigned later this afternoon at 2 p.m. -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Well, Jason, it sounds like defense attorneys are pretty confident that these officers won't be found guilty. Right?

CARROLL: I don't know if confident would be the right word. I think they are hopeful at this point.

Obviously, they are disappointed with the indictments that were handed up today. I think that they are waiting for that trial. And they think that during the trial they'll be able to present evidence that will show that these -- that this shooting, at least in their eyes, was justified -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Jason Carroll live for us from Queens, New York. Thanks, Jason.

LEMON: And the Boy Scout motto, be prepared. Police and volunteers looking for a missing 12-year-old scout, though he was prepared for the cold nights on a North Carolina mountain. Hopes are high that teams will finally spot Michael Auberry, two days after he disappeared from his camp site.

Joining us live with the latest is CNN's Bob Franken.

Bob, I can only imagine what the family is going through.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the family, in fact, talked with us. They didn't want to be interviewed on camera, but we had a long conversation.

And they say, in the words of his father, that they're having their ups and downs, which is understandable. They cling to the hope that he will be found. Michael Auberry is somebody who had been trained as a Boy Scout and how to survive in cold weather.

He disappeared, as we know, on Saturday. He's had two nights in the cold. The temperatures at night have been in the 20s.

Police have mounted -- and officials have mounted a massive search. Everything from dogs to sophisticated heat-seeking airplanes that can spot images on the ground. They, of course, have also an extensive ground search and, according to the person who's been leading the operation, they're about to make it even more extensive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENT PENNINGTON, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: Right now we're still very optimistic. I mean, he had the cold weather clothing to survive the last two nights. He's been a Boy Scout for a couple of years now, and he's had some survival training. He would know enough -- and there were areas, rhododendron thickets, rock ledges, places where he could get out of the wind, out of the weather.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: So, they're hoping that he will be able to do that. One point about the young Boy Scout. He suffered from attention deficit disorder. One of the things they're worried about is he does not have his medication, Ritalin, with him.

Still, everyone insists on being optimistic and continuing to push this search that they say could go on with a successful ending, they hope, for several days -- Don.

LEMON: Yes. A successful ending would be good.

Now, Bob, at the beginning of your report, you mentioned the family. You said they've had their ups and downs. But the family, as well as the friends, they're pretty confident in the skills of this Boy Scout, right?

FRANKEN: Well, they are hopeful. They are hopeful, as I said. They can only hope for the best, and they are going to do that. They have a great network of people who are helping them, and they are just determined to be as optimistic as they can be. Obviously, they're very shaken by this.

LEMON: Yes. Optimism, hopeful, all good words to describe that.

Bob Franken, thank you. We'll check back.

KEILAR: Four years of war and more fighting ahead. Four years ago U.S. forces shook Baghdad with colossal explosions. Today the Iraqi capital is still shaking, but insurgents are doing the blasting. Four years ago CNN's Kyra Phillips was on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, and today she's on the ground in Baghdad.

Hi, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Hi, Brianna.

And when I heard the president's speech from four years ago today, for the first time in four years, it gave me chills because I remembered that moment. I remember when he said that the U.S. was at war with Iraq. I remember the attempted decapitation strike on Saddam. That didn't work.

So the next thing you knew, shock and awe was in motion, and jets were launching off the USS Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. was at war with Iraq.

I remember the U.S. military, all members of it, very patriotic. Now I'm here on the ground. It's anything but. It's purely chaotic. Just take a look at this piece. You'll get a little bit of perspective.

And I warn you, there are some graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mission objectives, we heard that. Hit the target. Kill mates (ph). PHILLIPS: Well, welcome to shock and awe from the USS Abraham Lincoln.

(voice-over) It was four years ago this week I watched fighter pilots suit up and fill the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. I knew at this moment that within 90 minutes, Baghdad would light up with blinding fire power. The mission would be called "shock and awe."

Operation Iraqi Freedom was now under way. Iraq was about to change forever, attempting to forge freedom but creating years of chaos.

The smoke has cleared, and this is Baghdad today. It looks peaceful from here, but on the streets it's anything but.

(on camera) Just to give you an idea of how dangerous it still is here in Baghdad four years after the war started, right now we're in a Shiite neighborhood. And you can see we have an Iraqi police escort in front of us with armed police officers.

And also behind us we've got two trucks behind us. And you can see there's members of the military and also the police that are constantly talking to us.

We have check points every 600 yards. And the curfew's in place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can see how difficult it is just to travel less than a mile.

(voice-over) Even Iraqis move quickly through the streets, with very little expression. There are no gatherings at cafes or catching a movie. They may have political freedom but not freedom from terror.

"Of course I'm scared," this street vendor tells me, "because I feel I'm not secure. I'm standing here, but I expect danger to happen to me at any moment."

Danger this wedding shop owner fears every day.

"I'm afraid of everything," she says. "From car bombs, from people, from anything. I feel scared even inside my store or inside my home."

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: We haven't been able to confirm it yet.

PHILLIPS: I remember the stories we reported as the war began. Our Baghdad correspondents, based at the landmark Palestine Hotel, searched for weapons of mass destruction. We wrote about democracy, justice, and a better life for the people of Iraq.

(on camera) This was actually our CNN NEWSROOM. There were computers, edit equipment, satellites. They filled up this room. As a matter of fact, this entire hotel was wall-to-wall journalists. Now there's only a few reporters left, and they all stay here at their own risk.

(voice-over) Muhammad Fouzi (ph) still works here. He never loses hope, but life just isn't the same.

"After the fall of Saddam Hussein," he explains, "the Iraqi people were happy and had smiles on their faces. They were comfortable in terms of the future. The hope and smiles have disappeared. God willing, things will get back to normal, and our children will have a better future."

No one knows for sure how many Iraqis have died since this war began. Figures range widely from 50,000 to 600,000. More than 3,200 U.S. troops have lost their lives.

Now the sounds of morning prayers, combined with gun fire, is just a reality. Faith and firefights, good battling evil, Iraqis and military troops enduring yet another war anniversary, with very little celebration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And we see those pictures there, Kyra, in your package, funerals, Iraqis wailing, at mourns (ph). Four years ago, you were on the Abraham Lincoln looking into the future. Is this at all what you would have expected?

PHILLIPS: As a matter of fact, when I walked through the streets and even went to some of those exact locations where those bombs dropped, Brianna, I was expecting to see a lot of rebuilding, a lot of those neighborhoods possibly to have been improved. But still, there is a lot of rubble. There is a lot of areas that have not been rebuilt.

And it wasn't just the destruction from those bombs but just what happened afterwards. I mean, members of the military have been telling me for years, "We never expected what the insurgency was going to do. We never expected the sectarian violence. We didn't think it was going to be like this."

And a lot of them told me off the record, "We didn't plan for this." This was not how it was supposed to happen, they tell me.

KEILAR: And you've been through a number of security checkpoints. Do you get a sense at all that the new security plan is working when you're there on the ground?

PHILLIPS: Oh, it's interesting. Yes, when you look at the numbers, it is working in some areas, and it works at times.

But take a look at some of this video that I took with my handy- cam, just working through one of the checkpoints. We were heading out to a story, and I was amazed that practically every 600 yards we came across one of these checkpoints. There are blast walls everywhere. You've got to weave yourself through. You've got the blast walls, not only in front but also on the left with all the barbed wire. You've got the armed guards.

And a lot of times, Brianna, you don't know if these checkpoints have good guys or bad guys manning them. Every time you roll up, you get nervous. And all I know and all that I am told is that you can't stay in one location for a very long time. If things don't seem right, you have to try and move your way right through it and hope for the best.

So, it's really hard to work a story. It's really hard to get out on the streets and talk with Iraqis. We do it, and we take that risk at times. But we have to be very, very careful and choose our stories wisely.

KEILAR: All right, Kyra, thanks for that. Stay safe out there. Our very own Kyra Phillips live from Baghdad. We're going to check back in with you in a bit.

LEMON: Brianna Keilar, one of the biggest casualties of the Iraq war is public support. It's dropped 40 percentage points since the end of 2003. That's one number from a new CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll.

Now let's break it down for you. Only 32 percent now favor the war in Iraq. That's down from 72 percent at the end of 2003.

Almost half now strongly oppose the war. You can see that number at the bottom left. Only 19 percent strongly opposed the war in March of 2003.

And there's a major partisan divide. Democrats' opposition is now almost unanimous: 91 percent. But even now, only 24 percent of Republicans oppose the war.

KEILAR: An exclusive look at a suicide attack in Afghanistan coming up in the NEWSROOM. How Afghan insurgents are adopting tactics used against Americans in Iraq.

LEMON: Shaken but surviving. An 88-year-old woman lives to tell the story of gunmen attacking her home. That is coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: And a soldier gets vaccinated for smallpox and then his young son is rushed to the hospital. Could one have led to the other? That story ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: It's 19 past the hour. And here are stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Sean Bell was killed in a barrage of bullets on his wedding day. Now three of the New York City policemen who shot him have surrendered to face charges. Two are charged with manslaughter.

We're also keeping an eye on the search for this Boy Scout. He's been missing since Saturday. Twelve-year-old Michael Auberry disappeared from a camping trip in the North Carolina mountains. Temperatures have plunged overnight.

And jury selection finally under way in Phil Spector's murder trial. The legendary music producer is accused of shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his suburban Los Angeles home four years ago.

LEMON: Four years after he started the war in Iraq, President Bush says the U.S. needs more time to win it. The president spoke to the nation this morning, saying a new plan to stabilize Iraq is still in its early stages.

CNN's Ed Henry is just out of the White House briefing.

Ed, and it was fairly brief, to say it's marking a milestone.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don. And in fact, we didn't think the president was going to Mark the anniversary at all. Up until the middle of this morning he had nothing on his calendar, nothing on his official schedule to Mark it. But then he changed it. He had some private meetings. But also made those public comments.

One of the most interesting things he said was that the fight will be difficult but, quote, "It can be won." He did not say the U.S. will win. And even Mr. Bush admitting now, four years later, that no matter how you define victory, it might not be attained.

And that's a four cry from four years ago, when the president a couple of months after the war had started, said that major combat operations had been over, were over, and that the U.S. and its allies had prevailed.

It's a reminder that a lot of the early predictions from this administration four years ago, the rosy scenarios, have not panned out. So the president very much now on the defensive.

In those brief comments today he sounded some familiar themes, insisting -- and pleading for patience and saying there's been progress on the ground, specifically over this latest increase of U.S. troops on the ground. He noted that he had spoken to General Petraeus earlier, and he urged Americans to give him more time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to stress that this operation is still in the early stages. It's still in the beginning stages.

Fewer than half of the troop reinforcements we are sending have arrived in Baghdad. The new strategy will need more time to take effect. And there will be good days, and there will be bad days ahead as -- as the security plan unfolds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We'll get back to Ed Henry later on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We want to take you now to North Carolina. The National Park Service is holding a press conference to talk about the 12-year-old boy who went missing this weekend.

TINA WHITE, NATIONAL PARK RANGER: Well, I know it seems real unbelievable to think that you would have a group, especially a group of kids, and they're well supervised and they're in a National Park Service area, to have something like this happen. It isn't that unusual.

We read reports from incidents that occur all over the National Park Service. Usually it is just a very simple case where you have a group that's all together. One individual will separate from the group, either going a little bit further ahead on the trail or checking out something off to the side of the trail, and suddenly that individual is missing.

So, it seems like it's unbelievable that something like this could happen, but it does happen quite frequently, where we have especially children that can wander away from their family or a group. And then we're in a case like this where we've been searching for a few days, trying to find that individual.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you found any other clues that might indicate a direction that he may have gone in or where he might be in the park?

WHITE: No. Unfortunately, we haven't found any other clues at this point.

Early on in the first day of the search, we were able to find a mess kit that scouts traditionally carry and some snack wrappers, so we know he did have a little bit of food that he ate early on.

So, whether or not he had other food or other supplies with him, we don't know. But we haven't been able to find articles of clothing or any trash or any debris or any signs.

We have seen some footprints along the trail that do match up a little bit to the type of hiking boots that he was wearing. But that has not been confirmed at this point to confirm for sure that those were his footprints that we found out in the area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What kind of wildlife do you have up in there?

WHITE: The wildlife that we have, actually that's probably the least of our concerns. We do have the traditional eastern forest type wildlife, which we would think of bears and bobcats.

Actually, what you see more along the Blue Ridge Parkway would be wild turkeys and groundhogs, more smaller wildlife that's not of concern. So -- so, we don't feel that wildlife would be something that would be a threat to this young man who's out in the woods.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Amber Alert, is that for any reason or just an abundance of caution?

WHITE: I think it's just cautionary measure to take. And we always, whenever we search for someone who's missing out in the woods, we also want to take into consideration that maybe they made their way to a roadway and they were picked up by someone. Maybe if there's, you know, any sort of foul play involved.

I think it's just a precautionary measure that we want to take to make sure that we're covering every base while we search for this young man.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How different is today's search versus yesterday's search? What are you doing different today?

WHITE: I think we have more people out on the ground. We're focusing on the dog teams. We're focusing on using those scent teams to be able to go out and look for him.

We've also had an offer, in addition to a helicopter, for a fixed wing aircraft to come in and do some additional searches by air.

So, I think we're just sort of pumping it up a little bit more today with a little bit more searching going on and then covering areas that might not have been covered before.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We also have an FBI helicopter coming in with infrared. Is that going to be used tonight, do you think?

WHITE: I'm not sure when exactly that's going to be used.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With overnight temperature dipping into the 20s, how might -- you know, we're going into day three now. How much will tonight, if he's not found by tonight, how much will that play a factor?

WHITE: I think the temperatures definitely play a factor. It's been very cold here at night. But this young man is very well dressed for this situation.

A lot of times we'll have people who will be out on a day hike, like they were planning on doing, and being out just away from your camp site. You don't traditionally dress as well as this young man was prepared for this situation.

So, that's a huge thing that's in his favor, is the fleece jacket like what I'm wearing. He had a fleece jacket on. But also a jacket on top of that. Reportedly, he had gloves and a hat, which can make a big difference, too.

And then that training of just knowing, as a scout, that leaves can be a great cover, you know, that you can use that to sort of bury yourself in and stay warm.

We definitely want to get him home and into a safe, warm household just as soon as we possibly can. But I think that this young man has been very well prepared. And we're very fortunate that we haven't had rain, which could make temperatures -- if this young man would become wet, that would definitely make him feel and be much colder than he is right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What can you tell us about the community involvement? We've seen a lot of people here from a lot of different counties.

WHITE: We've had a lot of people that want to volunteer and help us out in this search. Volunteerism, though, also, takes coordination on our part, in making sure that our volunteers who are out there helping are safe, too.

We do have some that are professional volunteers, meaning with fire departments and search and rescue crews. But we've also had a lot of scout groups. That camaraderie among the Boy Scouts is definitely showing as the scout groups come in to volunteer their time.

And of course, we want to be very careful with young children who are volunteering to come in and help us on this search.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about the boy's ADD condition that the parents mentioned? How does that play in and factor of him maybe not sitting still long enough to find him and, two, what maybe caused him to wander off in the first place?

WHITE: I think that that's -- the parents releasing any information about medical condition, that's going to be very helpful. Just the parents themselves are extremely helpful in this search, because they know their son better than the rescuers who have never met their son.

So they're going to be able to help us quite a bit by making predictions about how their son reacts normally in different situations, so that we can best judge what direction to go.

And they've been able to give quite a bit of input to help us on making predictions in trying to estimate where we should be searching for their son.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you worried about that condition, take steps to (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

WHITE: We would go through that with the parents and the law enforcement officers on scene. We'll be working directly with the parents to get their advice and help on dealing with any sort of medical conditions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) You said they had a lot of input. What have they physically -- they told you? (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

WHITE: I think more so what they've been helpful with is if we hypothesize on maybe a direction of travel. The parents could say he wouldn't have done that.

So it's sort of that kind of help, where they're able just to give us some feedback on some different ideas we have, on not only his training but just his knowledge on would he go near a light that he might see at night that could potentially be a house, or would he not? Would he be determined on trying to find his way back to the original campsite?

So basically they're just giving some input on where they feel he might be traveling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tina, have you had a chance to ask the scout people from the troop? In scouting there's always supposed to be two- deep leadership. Why during this hike this kid was left behind with only one adult leader?

WHITE: No. I'm familiar with Girl Scouts, and it's probably similar as with Boy Scouts. But I don't know. I don't -- we haven't talked -- I haven't talked to the scout group themselves, so I don't know as far as the requirements on that.

I know that in my experience with camping, if I had a group and I was taking a group on the hike, and I only had one other leader, that potentially I could see this happening very easily.

I decide maybe to go on and take the group on a hike, and maybe my co-leader would decide so-and-so's not feeling well or they don't want to go. Can I just hang out here at camp with them. I personally, as a scout leader, would see that as a very reasonable decision to make.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not enough bodies?

WHITE: But maybe they didn't have enough bodies to cover everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many leaders were there?

WHITE: There were at least three adults on this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many kids?

WHITE: It was eight to ten total in the group.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Realistically, how long does somebody last in the cold (ph)?

WHITE: Realistically, it would depend on that somebody. If you had wandered away from your campsite and you didn't have a coat on, maybe it was warmer during the day, you weren't as prepared, maybe you didn't even take any snacks or water, then that's going to limit your chances.

But again, I think this young man was pretty well prepared as far as what he was wearing. He obviously did take some food with him, by the snack wrappers that they found.

But it really depends on the physical makeup of the person. We've had people who have been out for a week or longer and have survived just fine, even in colder conditions. We've had some who reports across the National Park Service where someone may be out a day or two and that was enough. So it really depends on the person, how well prepared they are, and what steps they take while they are out in the woods.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The forecast for tonight, is there rain? WHITE: I haven't had a chance to watch the news yet. I don't know the forecast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rain would be bad.

WHITE: Rain would not be good, no. We would hope that we can find this young man before there is any rainfall in the area because rain and wet clothing, my reports are that he is wearing blue jeans, cotton is not a good material to be wearing and have it get wet.

That's just going to make you even colder than wearing maybe the type of clothing that this young man's wearing which would be like fleece or the armorall type protective clothing underneath. Those are some of the things that I've been told he's been wearing and that's very good gear to be wearing out and even wet conditions but we prefer that the rain hold off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many people would you say have covered the area?

WHITE: Good question. This time of year is a quieter time along the Blue Ridge Parkway. That's why probably this group was at a primitive campsite. Because most of our facilities on the parkway are not even open yet. We don't have our summer staff in, so we're short on staffing this time of year. But yes, for this time of year you wouldn't have that many people out hiking at all. Unlike a June day where you might have people all over the trails.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you planning for tonight, especially once it gets dark?

WHITE: The search plan is we're going to continue to have people out there after dark. We do want to take extra precautions to instill their safety. Our searchers.

So, the searchers will concentrate more this evening once we get into the dark, by staying on roads and established trails and things themselves. So, they will still be out there. They will just be on more established hiking areas during that time so that we won't lose any of our rescuers out there as they are searching for this young man.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many people will be out there tonight?

WHITE: I'm not sure how many but I would say there's a lot of, I'm not sure about the dogs at night, if they have to pull them back in. But we do have a night shift that we're organizing right now.

LEMON: Alright. This is Tina White from the National Park Service. She is a national park ranger holding a press conference talking about 12-year-old Michael Auberry who went missing this Saturday after having lunch with several of his scouts. They were on a weekend camping trip with the Boy Scout troop. They are confident according to Miss White, that this child will be found. They are talking about his exemplary skills as a scout, talking about how they are working with the family. They have also called in volunteers, a fixed wing aircraft and also a helicopter out looking for him.

The good news they say so far it has not rained, the weather is cooperating. They are concerned a bit about the cold but appear to be confident that they will find him and that he does have the skills in order to at least preserve his life for a small time out in the woods. We certainly hope that's so.

We're going to check back with our own Bob Franken. You may have seen him, there. He is on the scene asking questions, specifically he asked about an Amber Alert. We're going to find out more information about that when Bob joins us a little bit later on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up a soldier gets vaccinated for smallpox and then his young son is rushed to the hospital. Could one have led to the other? That story ahead in the newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The search is on in the treacherous North Carolina terrain for a missing Boy Scout. A press conference held just moments ago, attending press conference is our very own Bob Franken. Bob, I heard you ask about an Amber Alert and also that she talked about the other tools they are using to find this Boy Scout.

BOB FRANKEN, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as we've been reporting, the tools have included an intensive search of the park. What is perplexing to them is that they have not been able to find any trace of Michael Auberry who disappeared on Saturday from his Boy Scout troop, so, the federal officials, as announced by National Park Service's Tina White, say they are going to take that step out of abundance of caution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TINA WHITE, NATIONAL PARK RANGER: Yes, we actually have issued an Amber Alert for this young man in case for some reason he is not on the area in which we're searching. We also have state and county sheriff departments out looking for this individual, too, in case that is the case and he might be out of the search area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Now, the people with the National Park Service are saying they have no indications that there has been any foul play. What they are hoping to do is to at least eliminate the possibility that young was walking through the forest and somehow came upon a road and was picked up.

Meanwhile, the intensive search goes on to try and find him. There have been a smattering of clues ever since he disappeared on Saturday including his mess kit cover and also a footprint which they think is his. His parents are saying they still are holding out hope and with the magnitude of this search you can see that officials are still holding out hope they are going to find him alive.

LEMON: Our Bob Franken in McGrady (ph), North Carolina. Bob, thank you so much. We'll be following this story throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: We're going into the fifth year of the war. The insurgency has grown, public support has shrunk and Iraqis and Americans have died by the thousands. After four years of fighting in Iraq there is no end in sight, certainly what it looks like. Our Kyra Phillips was on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf when the invasion started. Now she is on the ground in Baghdad as the war enters its fifth year. And, Kyra, I understand you've been talking to the littlest among them, the children there in Iraq.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know I'm a sucker for kids, Don. And I know you are, too. And I think that's one of the things that really has hit me the most are all of the kids, especially the kids that are displaced and also the kids that had to leave this country and they have been pulled away from their family.

But not only have we been able to capture things on video and obviously I have been able to do live shots and tell you about the situation here. But the pictures also, everyone here that takes photos, still photos, our photographer, our producers and our Bureau Chief Cal Perry, I want you to see some of the pictures he has been able to capture as we've gone out into the field.

I want to show you this first one, it's of a soldier and some of the kids here in Iraq. And he's winning them over with candy. And the most popular thing among the kids are Beanie Babies and candy.

LEMON: I see that. Is that a Beanie Baby he's holding?

PHILLIPS: Yes, it is.

LEMON: It looks like a Beanie Baby and some candy. But you know, these pictures are great but I want to get back to that baby you were holding. Oh, my goodness. Honestly I know you, you want to bring them home, don't you?

PHILLIPS: Well, that's the Albatul (ph) Refugee Camp. And we are actually going to talk about that in the next hour. I go and spend time with a family of five kids. But, yes, the kids just flock to you when you show up there and the mothers want you to hold the babies and they just want to embrace you. And just the most simple gestures they appreciate.

I was reading the American words on their clothes. One little boy had a sweatshirt that said, "girly bar." And I was trying to explain to him in Arabic what that meant. And then he didn't necessarily want to wear that sweatshirt but these clothes are donated so that added a little comic relief to a pretty depressing situation. Another little girl had a sweater on that said, "happy day." And they were so excited to hear the English words and the translation and just to have me write their name in English on a piece of paper and hand it to them.

They were so appreciative.

LEMON: And Kyra, I know there is a little bit of a time delay but let's talk about some of these pictures. In one, you have an Iraqi boy with his arms over his head. What's going on?

PHILLIPS: Oh, this is an incredible picture. That's actually in Fallujah and the soldiers were going through to clear the area of insurgents. And this little boy walked out with his hands on his head because he is so used to being asked to surrender.

And then this next photo is actually in our neighborhood, you see all of the barbed wire that's all around our compound. These kids were supposed to be in school but they skipped out to get ice cream because a vendor was coming through for ice cream.

And this other one is of two little girls in central Baghdad. A lot of the kids are not able to go to school because of the security situation. So you see them on the streets and they are playing.

And then this one is in Mosul. The soldiers were looking for weapons in this area and this little girl was sent over to find out what was going on, she was sort of the representative from the little village. She comes over with this attitude like hey, what are you doing here? Tell me what's going on. The soldiers were explaining, well young lady, we're looking for weapons.

Then this final photo, this is in the triangle of death. And these homes were being raided. And this one little kid, you notice how relaxed he is and Cal Perry, our Baghdad bureau chief asked this little boy, why are you so relaxed? He said well, my home has been raided three times in the last two months. So they are powerful pictures that Cal took over the past couple months.

LEMON: Oh, Kyra. Just amazing pictures. And we thank Cal for those pictures. We thank you for your work. We're going to talk to you about those babies you were holding a little bit later on in our newscast. Can't wait to see that report. Kyra Phillips, thank you.

KEILAR: Coming up, a soldier gets vaccinated against smallpox and then his young son ends up in the hospital. Are these two things related? That story ahead here in the NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: A 2-year-old is in critical condition in Chicago, battling a reaction to a smallpox vaccination. The thing is he wasn't the one vaccinated. His father just deployed to Iraq and our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to explain. How could this happen?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is unfortunately a side effect that rarely does happen. It's extremely unusual. This little boy is now fighting for his life. He's in the intensive care unit at the University of Chicago Children's Hospital on a ventilator. Eighty percent of his body is covered with a rash. He may lose the top 20 percent of, the top layer of his skin.

So what happened apparently here is that his father was vaccinated, and somehow this little boy came in contact with the vaccine. We don't know if the boy touched the vaccine site, where his father was inoculated, or if the father maybe changed his bandage and didn't wash his hands and then touched the child. That part is not at all clear. But it's clear that someone went wrong. When members of the military of vaccinated they are told keep this vaccine site covered with a bandage and wear clothing over it. This is not a flu shot. This is not a chicken pox shot, or mumps or measles. This is something very different. There's lots of live virus right there. You can see they make holes to get that virus to grow after they put that drug on top of it. And there's lots of live virus on the skin. This is, however, very unusual. When you look at the Department of Defense, they have inoculated a little over one million people between 2002 and 2006 and only 56 family members have been infected and none like this child. The other 56 family members who got infected it was much less severe. It wasn't anything like this.

LEMON: OK, so his father was vaccinated. He was not vaccinated but he is reacting to ...

COHEN: Because he came in contact with it.

LEMON: So the question is, you said a million people have been vaccinated. Is this a threat to the general public?

COHEN: This really isn't a threat to the general public. And I'll tell you why. This boy did give this illness to his mother because obviously he's very in close contact with his mother. He and his mother are now in an isolation room at that hospital and health care workers are taking extreme measures to make sure they don't take it out into the public. This is really only a concern if you are touching the child or his mother. And their isolation is probably an understatement for what they are doing now.

LEMON: Goodness. Poor little thing. Thank you, Elizabeth Cohen.

COHEN: Thanks.

KEILAR: Ahead, shaken but surviving. An 88-year-old woman lives to tell the story of gunmen attacking her home. That's coming up in the NEWSROOM.

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KEILAR: She's shaken but she's a survivor. An 88-year-old woman lives to tell the story of gunmen attacking her home. That's straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Plus, the terrain is rugged, the hopes are high. Search teams are still trying to find a 12-year-old Boy Scout in the North Carolina mountains. An update straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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