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American Morning
Home Safe; Young Couple Stole Neighbors' Identity; 17 Related Weather Deaths Reported In The Northeast; Closer Look At A Proposal Now From The Government To Help Out Homeowners In Trouble
Aired December 04, 2007 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
Home safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GILLIAN GIBBONS, RELEASED FROM SUDANESE PRISON: I'm looking forward to see my family and friends and having a good rest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The teacher tossed in jail over a teddy bear named Muhammad speaks out this morning for the first time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIBBONS: I don't think anyone could have imagined that it could have snowballed like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Bonnie and Clyde? Or the kids next door?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were living the life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Police say this hot young couple built their neighbors and stole their identity.
Plus the $2 million question. Would you take the money and run if a big check landed in your lap? How one man's honesty ultimately paid off on this AMERICAN MORNING. Yes, we're going to be talking to him in a couple of minutes. And it's our quick vote question of the day. Would you do the same thing, return that $2 million check?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Somebody would yes. I mean, I think, they're going to find out about it so do it immediately as opposed to wait.
CHETRY: You're right. Well, welcome. It's Tuesday, December 4th, I'm Kiran Chetry. ROBERTS: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Breaking news overnight. She is home.
A teacher who is tossed into a prison in Sudan for letting her kids name a teddy bear Muhammad. She's back in Britain this morning. The Sudanese government had sentence Gillian Gibbons to 15 days in jail for insulting Islam. The only thing that saved her, a presidential pardon. There were angry mobs of thousands in the streets calling for her execution. All over a decision that a group of 7-year-olds made about what to name a stuffed animal. But, today, she is still thinking about those students.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GILLIAN GIBBONS, RELEASED FROM SUDANESE PRISON: Going to Sudan, in fact, I know of a lovely school that needs a new two teacher.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Our Emily Chang is live at the world update desk in London with more on this. Emily, to see her, she looks like she is in great spirits, but how is she really feeling during the time she was spending in jail?
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, she did say she was terrified but that people treated her remarkably well every step of the way and certainly that goes to show those great spirits you saw her in when she got to the airport. She touched down early this morning at London's Heathrow Airport. She was greeted by her son and her daughter. And of course, the press, she looked relieved and a little bit overwhelmed. First, she spoke briefly by phone with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and then she gave that short statement. Here's what she had to say about her time behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIBBONS: The first prison I was at was just like downtown prison, sort of like a lock-up. I mean, Sudan -- I was treated the same as any other Sudanese prisoner. You're just given the bare minimum of comforts really. And then I was moved to another prison. And then the ministry of the interior sent me a bed, which is possibly the best present I've ever had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANG: But at the end of it all, she had only good things to say about the school and Sudan. She again emphasized she never meant to offend anyone. As for what is next, she says she plans to spend Christmas with her family and then start looking for a job. Now, we do have a crew on the ground in front of her home in Liverpool. They say the street has been cordoned off. There are police standing by, so certainly an exciting homecoming for somebody who says she is just an ordinary primary school teacher -- John?
ROBERTS: And perhaps she won't be seeking so much adventure with her next means of employment as well. Emily Chang for us in London this morning. Emily, thanks.
Now let's go over to Kiran.
CHETRY: And were heading to the Pacific Northwest where deadly storms slam the region. Hurricane force winds and up to ten inches of rain fell in some parts of Oregon, as well as Washington. In the Seattle area, landslides, sink holes in deep pools of water stranding drivers in flooded streets. Emergency workers using boat to rescue them. 300 National Guard soldiers have been called up to help with relief efforts. A state of emergency declared in both Oregon and Washington State and there were flood warnings up for coastal rivers in Oregon. Two deaths are being linked to the storm.
Well, at least, 17 related weather deaths reported in the northeast. That region slammed with a slippery mix of rain, sleet and snow, especially in the New England area, where some places there got as much as 20 inches. Six inches fell in Vermont, New Hampshire and in parts of Central New York State. It was also bad news for travelers. Hundreds of flights into New York City were delayed because of the wind and the ice.
For more now on the extreme weather, we go to our Rob Marciano who is standing by at our weather update desk this morning. Hi, Rob.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Five minutes now after the hour. Just about two hours time, President Bush will hold a news conference at the White House. Among the topics likely to be discussed, the latest findings of the National Intelligence Estimate. Concluding that Iran ended its nuclear program in the fall of 2003. That report is a stark contrast to an NIE report from just two years ago saying Iran was determined to push ahead with its weapons program. And of course, we've heard all of this saber rattling ever since.
CNN's Barbara Starr is following developments from the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, does this mean that the threat from Iran is over or merely delayed?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, if you listen to all the rhetoric over the last several months and then listen to yesterday, you would say the threat from Iran is all over. But for U.S. military commanders here at the pentagon, not so fast. You know, since Secretary Gates arrived to the Pentagon, he has been trying to tamp down that rhetoric about any possible military strike against Iran for good reason.
The U.S. did not have a clear idea where Iran's nuclear program really was located and we know more today, that they had little information about what was really at the locations that they did know about. So, they were never anxious here to engage in a military strike anyhow. Much of the focus of the U.S. military has been on Iran's revolutionary guard corps. That paramilitary, very radical wing of Iran's military.
Just last week, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, in his words, it was a big deal that the revolutionary guard corps had taken over Iran's naval operations in the Persian Gulf. Something they are watching very closely. The IRGC also heavily sanctioned for its involvement in terrorist activities with Hamas and Hezbollah. So, at the end of the day, what do you have? You have, again, a low tech, relatively low tech terrorist threat that is highly disbursed. Something that the Pentagon well knows its tanks, its fighter jets really are not equipped to deal with another terrorist threat that's going to exist over the long-term -- John?
ROBERTS: And of course, the other big question out there today is how did the intelligence agencies get it so wrong again after they screwed up so badly with Iraq?
STARR: I'm sorry. I was just going to say there has been some fascinating clues emerging. It turns out that they looked at some of the video that the Iranians themselves had put out and really analyzed it and determined from some of that video as well as some sources, human intelligence sources, spies, if you will, that maybe it wasn't what they originally thought, John.
ROBERTS: Oh, boy. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara, thanks. We're certain to hear more about this today. Again, the president's news conference begins 10:00 eastern. CNN will be carrying it for your live -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Also new this morning. No criminal charges will be filed in the MySpace teen suicide case. Prosecutor in Missouri says that he will not seek charges against the adults accused of bullying a 13-year-old girl online because no laws were broken. The parents of Megan Meier said that their daughter killed herself last year after receiving mean messages on MySpace from someone she thought was a boy named Josh. They turn out to be from an adult neighbor and the neighbor's 18-year-old worker.
Megan's mother told Anderson Cooper, she is disappointed by the prosecutor's decision but won't let it keep her from seeking justice for others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TINA MEIER, DAUGHTER COMMITTED SUICIDE: I absolutely hold the mother responsible and the father. The father knew what was going on, also. I don't feel this is a defeat. To me, it is one step further that we're going to go. We have to work with lawmakers. And the Internet has moved so quickly and the laws have not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Meier family says it wants the law changed so if something like this ever happens again, it will be considered a crime.
The nation's six busiest airlines reportedly cutting back schedules despite the incredible demand for seats because fuel is getting too costly. According to the "USA Today," American, United, Delta, Continental, Northwest and US Airways, have all booked 5 percent fewer seats for January compared to last year and that includes eliminating some routes or just switching to smaller planes -- John?
ROBERTS: It's time to check in now with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning. A young Philadelphia couple accused of a massive identity theft scam. Police are calling Jocelyn Kirsch and boyfriend, Edward Anderton, the new Bonnie and Clyde of ID fraud. Saying they financed their funds by stealing their neighbor's identities. Alina Cho just got up the telephone with police. She is at the National Update Desk with more. What did you learn?
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of details, John. And the amazing part about this story is that the police say they funded their lavish spending sprees by preying on their very own neighbors. Now, Philadelphia police told me that 22-year-old, Jocelyn Kirsch and her boyfriend, 25-year-old Edward Anderton jetted off to places like Paris, London, Hawaii, Costa Rica, even Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean. She allegedly spent $1,700 on hair extensions and they paid for everything, police say, by breaking into their neighbor' apartments and stealing their identities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY SWEENEY, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: They were living the life for one of the better term. And they were living the life at the expense and victimization of other people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now, Kirsch and Anderton are out on bail now. Police say, they caught them after one neighbor was told she had a package waiting for her at the local UPS store. Well, guess what? She didn't order anything. Authorities apparently watch the store and arrested the couple on Friday when they walked in to pick up the package. Now, police said they also found more than $17,000 in cash and ID making machine and 45 keys. Now, unclear how they got the keys and unclear how many victims there are but police says, there could be dozen.
The investigation of course is ongoing. Now, in just the past year, the so called Bonnie and Clyde allegedly spent more than $100,000 and, John, authorities say the two come from well to do families. He graduated from the University Of Pennsylvania. She is a student at Drexel University. Now, they're in a heap of trouble. Each facing 15 charges or more, including ID theft, forgery, and conspiracy and, John, if federal charges come into play, they could be facing up to two years in prison.
ROBERTS: Wow. Just an amazing story. You know, they didn't try to scam one or two people for a lot of money, they spread it out over so many victims, maybe that's how they kept the scam going for so long, if it indeed, it was them who perpetrated this scam. Alina for us this morning. Alina, thanks very much.
A closer look at a proposal now from the government to help out homeowners in trouble. Our Ali Velshi at the Business Update Desk with that. Give us the details. ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. We are hearing word that we are going to get an announcement this week from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulison about a deal to sort of freeze some people's mortgage interest rates to keep them in their homes. Now, let me tell you who this is not going to effect. Because, words gets out that there's this mortgage rate freeze coming. It's not everybody with an adjustable rate mortgage. It's in fact going to exclude certain people including those who are already behind in their payments, those who are able to refinance into a fixed rate and those who can afford a readjustment in their rate.
So, also, going to exclude people who are not subprime but have adjustable rate mortgages and face increases. So, it's going to be a relatively small slice of the in danger homeowner population who will qualify when this deal -- when and if this deal is announced this week. A little later on, Gerri Willis is going to be here with some advice on what you do if you do fall into the category of people who need help on their mortgages. But for now, we are expecting this announcement sometime today -- John?
ROBERTS: Ali, any idea, how small a percentage that little slice is?
VELSHI: We're trying to do the math on it. I don't want to say before I get back to you on it. But, we'll figure that out. It is a small percentage. How, for that small percentage of people, any help is necessary. I will do the math and get back to you on that, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Interesting to know that. Ali Velshi, thanks very much. Don't forget, as Ali said, look forward to Gerri Willis with more on this coming up this hour -- Kiran?
CHETRY: You now, we've all been following the story of little Youssif, the Iraqi boy badly burn. CNN viewers also help bring him to the US for life-changing surgery. We'll a bit of a setback. His parents were especially worried after his last surgery on Thursday. He started heavily bleeding and surgeons ended up having a reopen stitches to find out why. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been following Youssif's story and joins us now. And there you see some more of that surgery. But it really is amazing to note how normal his skin looks on the cheeks after that reconstructive surgery.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, that was the operation that so many people are following and waiting for and Arwa Damon, who has been with the family for a long time, brought us some of those images there. But you know, it sort of remarkable, what happened, as you may know, Kiran, is that he has had a series of operations over the past few months. This operation that was done last Thursday basically was to take a lot of that stretched skin, skin that had been stretched as a result of these expanders underneath the skin and literally stretch it over his scarred areas of his face.
You know, he had a lot of that scar removed. The operation was performed on Thursday. A little bit of a timeline here. Over the next 24 hours, he had several encounters with bleeding. In fact, he had to be taken back to the operating room on three separate occasions to basically stop bleeding that was underneath those skin flaps that you saw there. He had about 60 to a hundred stitches, so you can imagine, it's a big operation to reopen all of those stitches, find the source of the bleeding, stop it and then close again. But it sounds like it was successful.
Thursday was when the operation was. He was in the operating room two more times after that. By Friday, he was drinking fluids. By Saturday, he was eating. It looks like he is going to have a good recovery. Dr. Peter Grossman, who is a surgeon, said at no point was Youssif's life in danger as a result of all this but the flap, that important flap, that cosmetic flap may have been in danger but it looks like he is going to get by with this.
CHETRY: You know, the other interesting thing, this is to sum of it all. That other people take for granted, but he said, he was dead. I can see all of my teeth. I can stick my tongue out all the way. These little victories for this little boy is just amazing.
GUPTA: He can open his mouth. He couldn't open his mouth, you know, to stick a fork in for a long time so big victories for him.
CHETRY: Now, you know, as we said, our viewers have really been captivated by this story and his amazing journey. You are doing a special, along with Arwa, about little Youssif and how far he has come.
GUPTA: Yes, it is remarkable story. Obviously, I was so fascinated by the state-of-the-art burn surgery. I was with him just a few weeks ago looking at his progress but, you know, the story is remarkable. He was obviously doused with gasoline as many people know and set on fire in Iraq. But thanks to Arwa's work and along with her producer, he was able to come to the United States, get the state-of- the-art burn operation, but largely because of the viewers.
I mean, the cnn.com users, 13,000 different donations, $300,000. We want to show how that all transpired over a series of several months. I think it's going to be a remarkable thing. I've been following it closely as a doctor and a journalist. I think it will be very interesting.
CHETRY: All right, we will be watching Sanjay, for sure. Thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Coming up now to 16 minutes past the hour. While Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama trade barbs in Iowa, could they be opening the door for someone else to walk away with the caucus? We'll ask CNN's Candy Crowley. She is live in Iowa that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN.
It is the first day to impact the race for '08 and it is largely up for grabs. New polls out of Iowa show the Republican and Democratic candidates in a neck and neck race. An Associated Press Pugh Research Center poll shows Senator Hillary Clinton in the lead with 31 percent, while a Des Moines Register poll has Senator Barack Obama in front with 28 percent of likely Democratic caucus goers. Followed by Senator Clinton 25 percent and John Edwards in 23 percent. The candidates debate today in Iowa on national public radio.
CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins us from Des Moines and Candy, it is really heating up between Hillary and Obama. Let's take a listen to just the latest counter attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Put America in the hands of someone with little national or international experience. Who started running for president as soon as he arrived in the United States senate.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All these accusations that are starting to come out seem to correspond to shifts in political fortune.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Is Obama right about that Candy? Is this a move of panic on Hillary Clinton's part? And do the attacks help or hurt her?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they wouldn't go so far to say panic. I think it is a matter of both the polls which, obviously, we thought would tighten, they clearly are and the time frame, we've got a month. So, it's now or never. All of them are out there. Can it hurt her? Listen, absolutely. There was one exchange over the weekend which had to do with Barack Obama saying, listen; I'm not one of those people who has been lusting after the presidency all my whole life. Where upon the Clinton campaign put out this press release saying, well, of course he has.
You know, he is not telling the truth about this. He wanted to be president when he was state senator in Illinois and, by the way, he wrote a paper when he was in kindergarten saying he wanted to be president in third grade. And you know, its being widely panned at this point, the Barack Obama people called it the kindergarten attack. So there are some things that go over the line, especially for a woman who talked about mud slinging and how bad it was to do in this campaign.
ROBERTS: And John Edwards came out and said when he was in the third grade, he wanted to either be a cow boy or superman.
CROWLEY: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: What about Edwards though? Could he potentially benefit from this? You know "Time" magazine's Mark Halpern was on last week with the Christmas wish list, then he said, what Edwards needs is a really good fight between Hillary and Obama. Has he got it and could he somehow convert that into a win in Iowa?
CROWLEY: Absolutely. I mean, you know, as you noted, it's a three-way tie now. And certainly in the Edwards campaign, they're not shy about reminding you of 2004 when Dick Gephardt and Howard Dean went at it and what happened? John Terry and John Edwards walked right through and placed first and second. So, Iowa voters being notoriously kind of averse to negative campaigning particularly in this last month.
There certainly that possibility. And you can watch Edwards literally counter program. You know, he's been the toughest critic of Hillary Clinton and now he is Mr. Mellow. He is out there talking about the vision thing. So, he is letting them go at it and deliberately staying out.
ROBERTS: And you know, things tightening up on the Republican side of the coin as well. So, we'll see how that one plays out. A little less than four weeks to go now before the first voting there in the caucuses. Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley live for us this morning from Iowa. As always, Candy, good to talk to you. Thanks.
CROWLEY: Thanks, John.
CHETRY: We have some breaking news as we want to show you some pictures now of a crash. This is coming into us from our affiliate PBI. A plane crash. This is at the New Castle County Airport in New Castle County, Delaware. We're getting word that this fiery crash killed at least one person. Medics at the scene say that at least one person was burned to death. There are no identities on the victims yet. There is also no word whether there was anybody else on that plane at the time of the crash.
Just to give you a little bit about the location. This is New Castle County, about five miles south of Wilmington, Delaware. We know Delta does operate out of there as well as some of the other smaller regional connections. They have three major runways, ten taxiways and a several aircraft parking ramp. So a decent sized airport not a major one, that services part of the northeast corridor. But again a plane crash there. And you can see the aftermath. Looks like it was burned pretty badly. And authorities on the scene say that one person was killed in that crash.
CHETRY: Still ahead, the government throwing a life line to some homeowners in jeopardy of foreclosure but are enough homeowners covered? There's a lot of steps you have to take to qualify. So, who does it really help? We're going to talk about it ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, relief may be on the way now for homeowners facing foreclosure. The Treasury Department says it's close to agreeing on a proposal that would freeze mortgage rates for certain people, people who can prove that they can't pay anymore.
ROBERTS: CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis is going to be joining us every day, starting today, to bring you the latest information about the mortgage crisis. So, what came out of this meeting yesterday. Well, it was interesting. The treasury secretary Paulison, outlined the plan to help out folks who are struggling with their mortgages right now. He told them all of the details of how the government wants to put their hands out, help people who are struggling. Here are the outlines of those plans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY PAULISON, TREASURY SECRETARY: First, we are increasing efforts to reach able homeowners who are struggling with their mortgages. Second, we are working to increase the availability of affordable mortgage solutions for these borrowers. Third, we are leading the industry to develop a systematic means of efficiently moving able homeowners into sustainable mortgages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK, so what does all that mean? Well, the government wants to reach out to people before they get in trouble with their subprime mortgages, calling them on the telephone, 120 days before those mortgages reset. They are also going to send out letters to folks that they can't hit by telephone.
CHETRY: That's interesting that they weren't doing that before. I mean, because that's what got a lot of people in the mess in the first place. Now, there has been a lot of talk about freezing these rates in the subprime mortgages. What is the latest on that?
WILLIS: Well, it was really interesting yesterday. I kept waiting to hear the words freeze the rates, freeze the rates. I never heard it. Remember, this is the plan that is still being debated and still being worked out. Ironed out. We didn't hear it yesterday. We are going to be talking with Paulison later in the week and we'll be asking that very question, what about freezing the rates? Aren't you guys going to make sure that that happens? Remember this is an industry plan too. The industry has to sign onto this but they may not be willing to.
ROBERTS: And who picks up the tab? Are the taxpayers on the hook for it?
WILLIS: Well, that's an interesting question too. Because Paulison said, they we're not bailing these folks out but at the end of the day, the government's budget this year actually has money in it for counselors to help these folks out. State and local governments are supposed to pick up part of the tab. The biggest tab will go to lenders though. Here's what you need to know. It's more expensive for them to actually deal with the foreclosures because it costs $50,000 for each foreclosure. And of course, if you're in trouble right now, here are the phone numbers you want to call for help.
CHETRY: All right, there you go. 888-995-HOPE. And then, you can also check out the fha.gov Web site as well if you need help. Gerri, thanks. We look forward to seeing you everyday.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
CHETRY: Also, a quick reminder. CNN is taking a close look at the mortgage meltdown on air and online. You can head to cnn.com/am for a link to some of Jerry's important tips for protecting your money.
ROBERTS: Coming up. Evidence in the brain, while some people see their bodies in such unhealthy ways. We'll tell you all about that.
And cyber bullying in the national spotlight again, after a highly publicized case in Missouri that led to the suicide of a 13- year-old girl. How people are turning to the Internet and fighting back. Our Veronica de la Cruz takes a look. We got some good tips for you ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's Tuesday, the 4th of December. I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
We have breaking news that happened overnight. A teacher who did time for letting her kids name a teddy bear Mohammed is back in Britain this morning. Gillian Gibbons arrived home after Sudan's president gave her a pardon from her 15-day prison sentence for insulting Islam. Earlier this morning, she talked about something that seemed to be so innocent became an international incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GILLIAN GIBBONS, RELEASED FROM SUDANESE PRISON: Well, I was very sad to think that I might have caused offense to people. Very, very upset about it. I'm just an ordinary middle-aged primary school teacher, and I went out there to have a bit of an adventure and got a bit more of an adventure than I bargained for. I don't think anyone could have imagined that it could have snowballed like this.
On my second day in prison, somebody told me that they'd seen me in the paper in Sudan. And then I had a meeting with the British consul, who told me that, they said that we need to phone your next of kin. And I said, well, don't worry about it. They'll only worry. And then they told me that it was in the British press. I mean, I missed most of it. I really, the thing about being in prison is you're so isolated.
You don't really hear what's going on. The first prison I was at was just like downtown prison, sort of like a lock-up. I mean, I was treated the same as any other Sudanese prisoner in that you're just given the bare minimum of comforts really. And then I was moved to another prison. And then the Ministry of the Interior sent me a bed, which is possibly the best present I've ever had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, now Gibbons says she is planning to spend Christmas with her family and to look for a new job.
ROBERTS: Surprising intelligence out now that Iran is not building nuclear weapons. A new national intelligence report says Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and would not be capable of building a bomb before 2010. Reaction from Iran this morning, they say they welcome the "correction" of U.S. views on Iran's nuclear plans.
He was feared lost at sea. Police in Great Britain found his clothes and a canoe washed ashore five years ago. You can imagine the shock when he walked into the station on Saturday. 57-year-old John Darwin is an ex-prison officer. His identity was confirmed by his two sons. He says he can't remember a thing that happened to him. And now authorities are finding out that his wife immigrated to Panama six weeks ago. Mystery here they're still trying to unravel.
And we're getting breaking news this morning of a deadly plane crash in New Castle County, Delaware. This pictures just in from the scene. And you can see that there's literally nothing left of the aircraft. Medics there say one person burned to death in the crash. No word if there are any other victims at this time. Kiran.
CHETRY: A Missouri prosecutor says that no criminal charges will be filed in the MySpace suicide case. This is the case of 13-year-old Jennifer Megan Meier who killed herself last year after receiving cruel messages on her MySpace page from someone that she thought was a friend. Police say the messages were actually sent by an adult neighbor, Lori Drew, and her then 18-year-old employee. The prosecutor though saying that no charges were filed because no crime occurred.
Last night, Megan's mother talked about how she felt about that decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TINA MEIER, DAUGHTER KILLED HERSELF: I was extremely angry and disappointed and I certainly couldn't understand why there could not be criminal charges when I felt that what she had done is absolutely criminal. I don't feel this is a defeat. To me, this is one step further that we're going to go. We have to work with lawmakers, and the internet has moved so quickly, and the laws have not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So our Veronica de la Cruz has been tracking this story to get reaction and we're finding that some people are taking the law into their own hands because this is such an emotional case.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're seeing a complete role reversal in cyberspace like you just mentioned. Those in cyberspace taking the law into their own hands. Like Kiran just said, no criminal charges have been filed against Lori Drew or her family. But they have become targets of cybervigilantes. Those who have taken it upon themselves to bring what they feel is justice.
The web site like rottenneighbor.com and a blog called "Hit USA" repeatedly posted photos of Lori Drew, her husband, their address, phone number and places of employment urging people to harass them. This statement posted to a blog called daviddreamingdarkly reads "some people are born evil, Hitler... Stalin... Lori Drew. There is also angry video blogs like this one from YouTube which could be considered threatening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm surprised you can leave your house to check the mail if you still can do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: And on that note, the Drew's home has been vandalized. It has been hit by paint balls. A brick thrown through the window. There have been death threats and calls to set their home on fire. The voice mail belonging to the business run by Lori Drew was even hacked.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. This is Lori Drew, world famous teenage girl murdered."
(END AUDIO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: So, here's the thing. Cyberbullying, the very thing Lori Drew is accused of is now happening to her and her family.
CHETRY: It's true. The prosecutor in the case said there was really not enough evidence to go ahead with the cyberstalking case. What do you have to meet for that to happen?
DE LA CRUZ: Well, you know, first and foremost, the hoax was not illegal. They've been saying no laws here have been broken and then on the federal level, in most states, stalking laws have yet to be created or updated to include the on-line variety. The prosecutor in this case says the law in Missouri requires proof that communication was made to frighten, disturb, or harass someone. He says the fictitious MySpace profile was created not to bully Megan but to find out what she was saying about Drew's daughter. So, again, really the only thing for the Meiers to do in this case would maybe be to file a civil suit.
CHETRY: Right. And they say they are not interested in that at least to this point but we're going to talk a little bit about that in a second. Veronica, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Let's get a little bit more on this by turning to AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin. She's got more on the legal aspects of the case. You just heard what Veronica had to say about where it crosses the line in criminality. I think a lot of parents are interested in that this morning. Can you elaborate? SUNNY HOSTIN, AMERICAN MORNING, LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely. Right now, the prosecutor is saying it didn't cross the line but there are times when it does cross the line. Cyberbullying crosses the line when you hear threats of violence, extortion, child pornography is being passed and someone is actually being stalked, hate language, hate crimes, harassment. When that happens, there are plenty of things that a parent can do. A parent can get involved, be aware and make sure that you're really watching what your child is doing on the internet. Call your internet service provider.
A lot of times these web sites are taken down or MySpace pages are closed down. Report the on-line harassment. Physical threats, report it to the police or there are things a parent can do. There are also things that a child can do. You know, report it to someone that you trust, an adult you can trust so this type of action can take place. Block the messages. Save the messages. Sort of create that profile so that you can have something to give to law enforcement.
ROBERTS: Well, not only will criminal charges not be sought in this case but the parents of the young woman say they are not going to pursue civil charges. Do they have a civil case?
HOSTIN: They absolutely have a civil case and I hope that they reconsider and contact their friendly neighborhood attorney. You know, we're talking about intentional infliction of emotional distress, possibly some sort of negligent homicide. There is something here and I hope that they reconsider that.
CHETRY: What about what is happening now as Veronica told us about the cyberstalking that is taking place or you know, some of the cyberbullying that's happening to the person who is accused of doing it in the first place?
HOSTIN: Absolutely. The tables have turned and I wonder how they feel about this. Again, when I listened to Veronica's report, it was very interesting because it appears that in those cases that sort of the tables have turned and the line has been crossed. We're hearing actual harassment threats and that sort of thing is actionable.
ROBERTS: Interesting. It may be the flip side of that coin that has some sort of an actionable case.
HOSTIN: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Sunny, thanks.
HOSTIN: Thank you.
CHETRY: Still ahead. Anorexia seems impossible for many to comprehend. Why people would see themselves as overweight while they are wasting away. Well now, there's evidence in the brain about why some people see their bodies in such unhealthy ways. We're paging Dr. Gupta to show us how that works ahead.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, the chance to be an instant millionaire.
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JERRY MIKA, RETURNED CHECK: 2.24, 200? I can't even say it, it's so much.
CHETRY (voice-over): Why this man refused more than $2 million. Would you do the same?
MIKA: You do have those second thoughts.
CHETRY: Find out why he gave at all back. We talk to him live ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. And we have pictures coming in from the pacific southwest of flooded roads and hurricane force winds triggering a mudslide that nearly buried a car and shut down a road in Olympia, Washington. State of emergency declared in both Washington and Oregon because of that nasty weather.
Cars, trucks and a school bus with kids inside all stranded in Oregon. The State Department of Transportation said that falling trees and rising water closed down two dozen highways in about 30 different spots. There you see a little school child looking out the back of that bus. Everybody was rescued in that situation.
And frozen schnauzer. Meet Benny. There is Benny with snow all over his little snout there during a walk in Manitoba, Canada yesterday. Winter storms dumping knee-high snow north of the border.
44 minutes past the hour. We head to Rob Marciano for a look. How about it? The poor dogs get the ice and the snow stuck in their paws, paw pads as well.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, they bring it to themselves. I think they love jumping around in the snow. You know.
CHETRY: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: A little nose dive. Yes. That'd be great.
MARCIANO: Might get a little bit more snow across upstate New York. This is what's left of the big snowstorm that came across New England where there was a decent amount of snow. 14 inches in Lost River, New Hampshire. Bangor, Maine, 12 inches and you'll probably get a little bit more today. So, pretty decent snowstorm and it's good news for the folks who live there or at least who want to ski there.
Six to 12 inches expected with lake-effect snow warnings in for Lake Erie and Ontario. Off to the west coast, we still have flood warnings up for some of the smaller rivers that feed into the Willamette and Columbia River. Seattle, Washington 4.15 inches of rain. It doesn't sound like a lot when we think about tropical storms and all that kind of stuff but you consider that Seattle only gets 37 inches of rain a year, they typically get a lot of light rain spread out across the entire year. They had more than 10 percent of their yearly total in just one day. And we're still seeing rainfall from Seattle to Portland. That's why those flood warnings are still out. And the winds though, thankfully, have decreased and the rain has switched all the way down to San Francisco.
Those big-time winds with that strong storm have created 20 to 30-foot waves that will be crashing in from San Francisco all the way up to parts of Washington State. So the surfers will be out there in their wet and dry suits, for sure. Kind of chilly water but if you like to do that not a bad time to get out in the water.
CHETRY: They love it. The bigger, the better. All right. Rob, thank you so much.
Well, he's putting up $5 million bucks and now he's looking for your help. Actor Brad Pitt made the announcement in New Orleans yesterday as part of his "Make it Right" campaign to build environmentally sound homes in the devastated lower Ninth Ward. Pitt was surrounded by hot pink tents representing future houses so why pink? Well, he talked about it with our own Larry King.
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LARRY KING, CNN, HOST: OK. Explain the pink.
BRAD PITT, ACTOR: OK. This is what we're calling the adopt a house campaign. It's part art insulation, part active social disobedience but it is really meant to work as a fund-raising component. And we were looking for something that was loud and we would get a lot of attention and that was also hopeful. So, what you see here is you see these blocks scattered across this section of the lower Ninth. To represent the houses that were destroyed, the homes that were destroyed.
And what we're hoping to do is as the house gets adopted, this is going to be up for five, 6 weeks, 5 1/2 weeks. As a home gets adopted, we will write that house and we'll put it back on its foundation. So, hopefully this will be an art installation that will be constantly evolving and by the end of this, by the end of this 5 1/2 weeks, we hope to have a symbolic neighborhood put back together. And that's the goal.
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CHETRY: Pitt expects to have families in the homes by the end of next summer. You can catch Larry's entire interview with Brad Pitt tomorrow night. It airs at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
ROBERTS: 13 minutes now to the top of the hour. For the first time, new research is suggesting that there may actually be a biological reason why some people see their bodies in distorted ways. It is giving new insight into understanding anorexia. We're paging Dr. Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent is at our medical update desk to tell us about this. It's pretty interesting findings out this morning, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Any time you can sort of attach a biological basis to something like this. It is very interesting, John. Let me throw the caveat out there. This is a small study, an early study actually looking at something known as body dysmorphic disorder or BDD. This is when someone perceives small abnormalities, small blemishes as something earth shattering.
I mean, this isn't just one of those things that you wake up in the morning and say I'm having a bad hair day. These are so profound and you just can't function, your life has completely changed. The question for a long time is -- is this genetic? Is it (INAUDIBLE)? What is going on here? An interesting study here, John.
Take a look at this. What you're looking at here is the left side of the brain. This is the front of the brain, over here is the back of the brain. What they find is that people who have body dysmorphic disorder when they're asked to look at a human face, they look at the face. Most to the left side of the brain lights up as opposed to the right side. So, this area on here, sort of lighting up. The reason that's so important is because the left side of the brain is responsible for so much more precise detail.
Most people when they look at a face use the right side of the brain. They're sort of looking at the face globally, sort of holistically. People with BDD tend to look that same face with the left side, noticing every small detail. It could be a biological basis. Again, I gave you the caveats, John. Very interesting though to do a study like this.
ROBERTS: When you say it might have a biological basis, is it something in the structure of the brain the way that they learn, the way the brain develops? What might it be?
GUPTA: Not sure if the brain evolves into what I just showed you or it was always that way. It's a good question. It's unclear. As you know, there are connections between the left and the right side of the brain and typically, everything we do involve some of those connections, both right and left hemisphere. But again, when looking at human faces, for some reason, people with BDD tend to activate these detailed oriented areas of the brain looking for every small blemish.
ROBERTS: All right. Fascinating stuff for us this morning. Sanjay Gupta, thanks. Don't forget to send in your e-mails to Sanjay, by the way. And we'll open up his mailbag this Thursday on CNN. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away. Heidi Collins at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Good morning, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN, ANCHOR: Good morning, Kiran. That's right. In the NEWSROOM this hour, we're going to be talking about flooding. High water shuts interstate 5 between Seattle and Portland down. A blustery storm. 100-mile-an-hour plus gusts, can you believe it? It's sticking around one more day. And a British teacher reunited with family this morning. She'd been jailed in Sudan for letting her class name a teddy bear Muhammad.
A community divided. Is it okay to take a life to protect your neighbor's property? Our guests takes us behind the scenes of this intriguing case.
Also, the president's news conference live. NEWSROOM gets started at the top of the hour, right here on CNN. Kiran.
CHETRY: Heidi, thanks so much.
Well, he may not have $2 million but he does have a clear conscience. We're going to talk to the man who returned a $2 million check. A little bit of an accounting error for Jerry. We're going to meet him in just a second and find out -- oh, is that the check, Jerry? There it is from the state of Utah. It should have been $15 but instead it was for $2 million. We're going to hear his story because being honest actually is the best policy. We'll explain. Coming up.
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CHETRY: Well, what would you do if you received a $2 million check that is made out to you ready for the cashing? Jerry Michael of Draper, Utah had to consult his conscience. He was expecting a $15 refund check from the state of Utah. Somehow, the invoice number was printed as the dollar amount. The invoice being more than $2 million bucks. When all is said and done, Jerry did the right thing. He turned it in. He joins me now from his home in Utah.
Jerry, it certainly has gotten a lot of attention. Because just out of curiosity, how many seconds did it take you to sort of decide whether you were going to cash that check or call up the state government and say you made a mistake?
JERRY MIKA, RETURNED $2 MILLION CHECK: Actually, first of all, Nomas day.
CHETRY: Nomas day to you as well.
MIKA: Thank you, Kiran. Secondly, when I opened up the check, it was an amazing feeling. It was something like you become a millionaire, but did you know if it was real or not? So I really thought it was real for quite a while. And I was wishing it was real. I ran around the house and called a couple of friends and told them I was an instant millionaire.
CHETRY: Right. And so it took you a couple of weeks actually. You returned the check to the Utah Department of Congress. What was their reaction, I mean commerce. What did they say when you gave back the money.
MIKA: Well, actually, it took me about three weeks. The first two weeks, I had a little bit of fun with it. When I went to the bank, just to talk to the tellers and put my other deposits in, I would look at them and say how much interest could I earn off of this? Now I have actually become a very important person. With that kind of money, it's just amazing how you are actually treated different and it was really fun to do that.
I did try to return it, though, to the county process or the county office building and when I walked in, it was funny, because as I walked in, the two sheriffs said could I help you? I said, yes, I'd like to return this check and they took a look at it and asked me how come I hadn't cashed it yet. It was just really funny.
CHETRY: The police asked you that?
MIKA: Exactly, the two sheriffs, hey, boy, how come you haven't cashed this check yet? From there, I go over to the county office to the treasury department and I'm trying to return it there as well there. And it was funny there because the county lady she looks at me and she says this is neat, how come you haven't cashed it yet? Because it's county money.
CHETRY: So, the bottom line is you could not have cashed it. Let's say you weren't the nice person that you are. They would of eventually caught up with you, right, unless you're planning to get out of the country some.
MIKA: Exactly. I mean, well, the thing is, too, you know, you never know. Some of these things happen where maybe my grandfather had a silver spoon somewhere down the line and left me a bunch of land. That's what I was hoping but, unfortunately, it was a mistake.
CHETRY: You know and Gerry, the other interesting thing about it is you really could have used that money. You've dedicated a lot of your life to helping others. So, explain your connection with Nepal, which was you said Nomas dei and then (INAUDIBLE).
MIKA: Thank you very much. Actually, I sponsor two families to come live with me from Nepal. Apa Sherpa who holds the world record for Mt. Everest summit 17 along with Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa. I have six children living here. I have four family members. I have ten total. We actually, to bring these families here, I actually mortgaged my home last year. We actually have a web site called supersherpas.com. That's s-h-e-r-p-a-s.com. You can read more about that.
But the whole story is here, you know, god works in mysterious ways and that money would have gone a long way. We actually helped these families. I helped with the education. I helped the Nepal children in Nepal. That was a opus dream. And it's pretty amazing. We have these two wonderful people living right here in the United States and nobody even knows about it.
CHETRY: They do now because you were an honest guy and returned this check. We also found out that Ellen Degeneres gave you a week- long trip to Hawaii. So, enjoy that. And Jerry, thank you for coming to share your story again supersherpas.com. If people want to go find out more about that as well. Thanks for being with us this morning.
MIKA: Thank you so much and I look forward to that bagel with cream cheese.
CHETRY: Right. And the orange juice.
MIKA: And the orange juice. We'll send it to you, Jerry.
ROBERTS: Well, he certainly could have put that money to good use. He said he decided to keep it. Hey, listen a final check on our Quick Vote this morning. We asked you if. That's wrong. Wow. That is totally wrong.
CHETRY: That was yesterday's quick vote. We did that.
ROBERTS: We asked people would you do the same as he did? And that is to give back the money. 78 percent of you said yes. 22 percent of you said no. To all of you who voted, thanks very much.
CHETY: We got a lot of honest folks watching our show.
ROBERTS: We certainly do and we'll do it again tomorrow. We won't ask that truth question. We'll find a new question. We'll be right back after this.
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