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Storm Threat: Snowstorm Slams Into West; Holloway Suspect Released; Court Hearing for Barry Bonds
Aired December 07, 2007 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning again, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on this December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Our I-Reporters catch rip-roaring floods in Hawaii.
Southern California, you could be in for a muddy mess, too.
HARRIS: Frantic cries for help during the Omaha mall shooting. Hear the 911 calls.
Also, coping. We talk with a Columbine survivor.
COLLINS: Home sweet home, until you can't pay the mortgage anymore. Your e-mail questions on the subprime rate freeze asked and answered in the NEWSROOM.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: In the thick of that major snowstorm out West now, CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano, who is chilling out, if you will, in Telluride, Colorado.
See, now everybody is there getting ready to got on the slopes, right?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Well, you know what time it is?
COLLINS: I do.
MARCIANO: Mountain Time, 9:00.
COLLINS: I do. Just about time for the first lift.
MARCIANO: Crank those lifts open. You better believe it. This one's open. The staff here, instructors, patrollers, they're all getting ready to make their first turns of the day. Snow now starting to fill in, starting to come down. It's all good. Of course, they're looking active because their boss is real close by.
I want to introduce you to an old friend of mine. This is Dave Riley. We knew each other in Portland, Oregon, when he managed Mount Hood Meadows.
Now you manage Telluride. What have you got teed up for your first year here?
DAVE RILEY, CEO, TELLURIDE SKI RESORT: Well, we're having a really great start to the snow season. We have had two big snowstorms over the past weekends, and we have got another storm coming in right now. So, you know, this is going to set us up really nicely for a great Christmas and a great ski season for the year.
MARCIANO: I wanted to talk more about how much more snow -- in your opinion, how much more snow we were going to get tonight, but now they're telling me we have got a little bit of breaking news, Dave. Good to see you again, my friend. Good luck on this coming year.
Heidi, I guess you have some news to tell the folks about. I'll send it back to you.
COLLINS: All right, Rob. Thanks so much. Appreciate that.
HARRIS: OK. Let's get you to CNN producer Tracy Sabo, who is on line with us.
And Tracy, I understand you have some breaking news, some new developments in the Natalee Holloway story.
TRACY SABO, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, Tony. We just learned from the prosecutors in Aruba that Joran van der Sloot, one of the three suspects being held in the case of Natalee Holloway, has just been released from detention in Aruba.
The judge from Curacao had heard arguments yesterday by prosecutors in court, and he took close to 24 hours before ruling just now that Joran is to be released from custody. Again, just remember, this is pretrial detention, where all three of these suspects had just been taken in the last couple weeks, but now all three of them now officially released from custody by a judge from Curacao.
So it remains to be seen whether or not the prosecution will take this case to trial. They have imposed a self-imposed deadline of December 31st in which to make that decision. So we expect that to be perhaps the next development in this case, and we're also standing by for a press conference from the chief prosecutor, Hans Mos, himself, within the hour.
HARRIS: And Tracy, one quick question with regard to Joran. Can he -- can he leave the island, or must he stay?
SABO: We're actually waiting to hear those details. This decision has just been faxed by the judge in Curacao.
HARRIS: OK.
SABO: So among those things, that may be part of the order we're waiting to read here momentarily.
HARRIS: All right.
CNN producer Tracy Sabo with some new information, breaking news on the Natalee Holloway story.
Tracy, appreciate it. Thank you.
And treacherous weather conditions in southern California to tell you about. Well, those conditions contributed to this, a pretty terrifying scene, this accident in Burbank.
A car slid off a freeway and flipped over into a river canal, and a swift water rescue crew went into action and pulled the victims to safety. You watched that right here in the NEWSROOM.
A fire official talked about the rescue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. RON BELL, BURBANK FIRE DEPARTMENT: Initially, we want to find out who is in the vehicle. Are there people in the vehicle? We need to stabilize the vehicle, because the water level has dropped just since we've been here because the rain has slowed down.
Putting our own people down in the water is a very dangerous situation. But sometimes that what we obviously need to do to get to those people.
We are very lucky because of the water level that we could do that here. We have to tie off that vehicle. Right now it is chained to the side of the wash so that if the water level does come up, that it doesn't take off and we are chasing it down the wash.
COLLINS: Oh.
BELL: All these things that we're looking at, besides the fact that the water is icy cold. Hypothermia sets in immediately with these people that are in the water, whether they are in a vehicle or they just fall into these washes or the L.A. River. So all these things that we're looking at right now, trying to do a very safe, quick operation so we can get these people to the care that they need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: We can tell you that some of the victims were injured, but it is unclear how severe those injuries are.
COLLINS: Even if you don't know the game, you probably know the name. Baseball legend Barry Bonds accused of lying about steroid use. The homerun king heads to court next hour. Our Thelma Gutierrez is live now from San Francisco following this story.
So, Thelma, how is this day going to go for Barry Bonds?
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you, Heidi, it will be a very run of the mill kind of an arraignment. That's what we're told so far. He's expected to plead not guilty.
This hearing is scheduled to begin in about 45 minutes, and already -- let me take -- show you that already a group of very colorful, albeit scantily-clad protesters, are starting to gather out there in front of the courthouse. If you pan all the way up, you can see a group of reporters out here as well.
Now, this will be Barry Bonds' first public appearance since he was indicted back in November. He'll be fingerprinted when he arrives here. Then his mug shot will be taken. Then a U.S. magistrate will discuss bail with him, and then the case will go to a U.S. district court judge who will formally accept his plea.
Now, he is expected to plead not guilty to four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to grand jury back in 2003 for knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. Now, at that time he had been offered immunity by prosecutors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN ROSENBLUTH, FMR. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: When they say to you, hey, we're not going to touch you, we're not going to prosecute you, just tell us the truth...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: Now, federal investigators had spent about a year compiling evidence against Bonds. They say that they have evidence that he did not pass several doping tests, and this is something that Bonds has vehemently denied.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL RAINS, BARRY BONDS' ATTORNEY: What we want to know, what we will keep asking is whether, the media and whether the government of this country will spend as much time repairing Barry's reputation as it has spent destroying him after he is proven innocent by a fair and impartial jury.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: If Barry Bonds is convicted on all charges, he could spend up to two years in prison.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: All right. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez today.
Thank you, Thelma.
HARRIS: A startling admission from the CIA. The spy agency admits destroying videotapes showing its operatives using harsh interrogation techniques on two top al Qaeda suspects. The tapes were made in 2002.
CIA Director Michael Hayden says they were destroyed years later to protect the safety of undercover officers and because the tapes no longer had intelligence value. He insists the interrogations were lawful. The Senate is investigating.
COLLINS: All right. We want to take you to New York now, to a situation there that we have been following the best that we can. Again, breaking news to tell you about coming out of New York.
We heave learned -- CNN has learned through the fire department that apparently one person is dead, possibly more. What's happened is there has been a scaffolding collapse. And if you happen to know the area, it's East 66th Street, 227 East 66th Street. Obviously some work being done on a building there.
Awful pictures to be showing, unfortunately. But once again, CNN has confirmed through the fire department in New York that one person is dead, possibly more.
We are going to be following the story for you. This video in from our affiliate there, WABC. We'll stay on top of this one for you.
HARRIS: Reeling from the madness. How do families cope when someone guns down a loved one? We will talk to a man who survived the Columbine attacks. His sister didn't.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. We want to get you the latest -- oh boy, look at this scene -- the latest information on this scaffolding collapse in New York City.
CNN senior producer Andrea Amiel is on the line with us.
And Andrea, if you would, tell us exactly where you are.
ANDREA AMIEL, CNN SR. PRODUCER: I'm at 66th Street and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. It is the northeast corner. It's on the northeast corner of 2nd Avenue. And it's a big, modern black building.
HARRIS: Andrea, do you know whether or not -- there is some reporting from at least one of the affiliates that this is an addition to...
AMIEL: I'm sorry, Tony. You have got to speak up. I can't hear you.
HARRIS: OK. I'll try. Andrea, I'm getting information from some of the reporting from a couple of the local stations in New York City that this is in addition to the Sloan-Kettering facility. Do you know that to be true?
AMIEL: There's a Sloan-Kettering facility kitty-corner that's under construction. It's a new imaging center. And it's been under construction for about a year and will be going on for another year, but that's not the building involved.
HARRIS: That's not the building involved. Great. That clears up...
AMIEL: That's not the building involved. They have not roped off that area at all.
HARRIS: How tall a building are we talking about here? From the aerial it looks huge.
AMIEL: It is. It's very tall. It's probably over 30 stories right now. It's been here for a very long time.
HARRIS: OK.
AMIEL: It's not new at all. It's been here -- I have been living down the block for 10 years and it's certainly been here longer than that.
HARRIS: And the information also -- some of the information that we're getting -- and if you can confirm this, please do, is that two construction workers fell and that they may have landed on the sixth floor of another building. Is that correct?
AMIEL: I don't know that. I have been trying to get information from the police, and there's a spokesman here, but since I'm on with you I can't listen in.
HARRIS: All right. Well, let's just -- if you would, just give us a wrap of what you do know and that you've been able to confirm for yourself.
AMIEL: What I do know that there is an ambulance standing by, but it has not left.
HARRIS: OK.
AMIEL: And they don't seem to be rushing anyone in there. It's a pretty calm, safe scene, and it's been roped off. And right now it doesn't look like anything is happening. I mean, there's nobody moving in. The firemen are walking away.
HARRIS: All right.
AMIEL: And it seems pretty -- it actually seems pretty calm.
HARRIS: All right. Well, then let's leave it there until we get some more additional information. Andrea Amiel on the line with us, a CNN senior producer.
Andrea, we appreciate it. Thank you.
AMIEL: Thank you.
COLLINS: Holiday shopping turns to terror. Bursts of gunfire, shrieks of panic, and frantic 911 calls to Omaha police.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 DISPATCHER: 911. What's your emergency?
(GUNSHOTS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is someone with a gun shooting people in Von Maur at Westroads.
911 DISPATCHER: OK. We are on our way out there. Have you seen anybody that was shot?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No.
911 DISPATCHER: OK. They're on their way out there. Did anybody see the person shooting?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a bunch of people shot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) shot up (INAUDIBLE). Oh, my God! Help us.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COLLINS: Audiotapes capture the moments of horror and death.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is outside the mall now where Wednesday's rampage took place.
Ed, what are the victims' families saying now? We have certainly learned a little bit more about them.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, that's been kind of the interesting thing we've seen, is several family members coming out and just sharing stories about who their loved ones were, how they lived their lives.
One in particular, P.J. McDonald talking about his brother, John McDonald, from Council Bluffs, Iowa, who described his brother as a gentle soul. So moments like that, people kind of describing their loved ones, taking this time to share a little bit about their lives with people who have been watching this tragedy intensely over the last couple days here.
And of course, the 911 tapes, listening to that also, taking people inside the mall in those initial moments when the shooting erupted, it only lasted a short while, but you really get a sense of just how scary it all was.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
911 DISPATCHER: Hello?
LAVANDERA (voice over): Omaha police say Robert Hawkins may have fired off as many as 60 rounds on the third floor of the Von Maur department store.
911 DISPATCHER: That can't be, because I'm still hearing shots. Hello?
LAVANDERA: Shoppers trapped inside the store called 911 as they hid to survive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, we're up in the women's bathroom. And there is a bunch of us.
911 DISPATCHER: There's a lot of people out there hiding. So you all just stay safe. Let the police do what they've got to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm at Von Maur and I think there are shots being fired all over the place.
911 DISPATCHER: Yes. Well, they're on their way out there. Anybody been hit?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't seen anything. I'm hiding in a clothes rack.
911 DISPATCHER: OK. We're on our way out there, ma'am.
LAVANDERA: Investigators have seen the security camera video of the attack. They say it only lasted a few minutes, not enough time for officers to save any victims. Shooter Robert Hawkins was dead by the time police arrived.
CHIEF THOMAS WARREN, OMAHA POLICE: It appeared that the shooting victims were randomly selected. It didn't appear as if anyone was specifically targeted.
LAVANDERA: Nebraska health officials say Hawkins spent four years in state care and was treated for drug abuse and in mental health hospitals. He was released in the summer of 2006.
TODD LANDRY, NEBRASKA CHILDREN FAMILY SERVICES: This tragedy was not a failure of the system to provide appropriate quality services for youth who need it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: And Omaha authorities here say one of the things they're also continuing to look at is those initial hours before the shooting took place. Apparently, Robert Hawkins had sent off some text messages, met with a friend, and in a house nearby here near the mall, and also made a phone call to his biological mother, as well as to the family that he had been living with. So they are going over those conversations to kind of get a sense, try to figure out why exactly he was driven to do this on Wednesday afternoon.
COLLINS: And we just may never know, Ed. Appreciate the reporting.
Ed Lavandera for us in Omaha, Nebraska.
HARRIS: Well, a gunman opens fire. Everyone around him is a target. How do their families cope with such senseless killings?
Craig Scott knows that pain all too well. His sister, Rachel, was the first victim of the massacre at Colorado's Columbine High School.
Craig, good to see you.
CRAIG SCOTT, BROTHER OF COLUMBINE VICTIM: Thank you, Tony.
HARRIS: Well, what was your reaction when you heard this news? I know on some level you were able to put yourself right there.
SCOTT: Well, one of the first things that I read was that the shooter wanted to go down in history for doing this shooting, and I immediately thought about -- wondering if his dream was going to come true and wondering if the media was going to put a lot of focus and attention on him.
HARRIS: Well, Craig, let me stop you right there, because it's part of the reason that I wanted to talk to you today, because, I don't know, I get -- I know there is a natural curiosity to want to know why and try to get the answers to why something like this can happen and what is in the mind of someone who does something like this, but, you know, I almost believe that we spend too much time asking that question and not enough time talking about the lives that were lost and the people who were so impacted.
Are you with me on this?
SCOTT: I think so, too. I think that if you give the shooter attention, you give him power, and the focus that's put on him is what he wants, and it creates a formula for people out there that feel -- that don't feel a purpose.
HARRIS: Yes.
SCOTT: And feel hopeless and feel like this is could be a way that I could leave a mark on the world, is to go out and to kill people and then -- at least I'll leave a mark on the world. And so I think that it is important to ask -- you know, to wonder why these things are happening, but I think -- I think what we've done with our tragedy that we went through with Columbine and losing two friends next to me underneath a table and losing my sister, was we focused on my sister's story...
HARRIS: Yes. SCOTT: ... which she was a very kind, compassionate person. And now we have the largest assembly program in the country called Rachel's Challenge. And we speak to a lot of students.
HARRIS: Yes.
SCOTT: And instead of focusing on the shooters, we focus on Rachel's story. And we actually know of over 10 school shootings that have been prevented from this story being shared before students.
HARRIS: Yes. We've reported on some of those.
Let me take you back just -- and circle back for one other thought. As you were going through the days immediately following the tragedy, the loss of your sister, and you are watching the news accounts, reading them in the newspaper, did you get angry at the attention that was being paid to Harris and Klebold?
SCOTT: Yes, I did. I was disappointed more because that's exactly what Harris and Klebold wanted, is they wanted all that attention. And so, you know, I think, you know, they were very dark and had evil in their hearts.
HARRIS: Right.
SCOTT: And I don't think you get any closer to the light by studying darkness. I think -- I don't know if that makes sense, but I like to put a focus -- we like to put a focus on something that's good, something that's worth sharing. And students and people out there that we've shared this story want to hear this story, and it's made a big impact.
HARRIS: What's made the biggest difference for you in the mourning, the grieving process, that might serve as some helpful bit of advice for the families in Omaha going through this right now?
SCOTT: I would say, you know, come together. I think it's so important for family to come together during this time and to be there for each other and love one another, and for the community, for people -- I know the community helped us out, whether it was making meals, whether it was sending cards, just being there, very supportive and sympathetic. It really helped us through our healing process.
HARRIS: Craig Scott, great to see you. Thanks for your time this morning and your insights.
SCOTT: Thank you, Tony.
COLLINS: Ordinary people, extraordinary acts of bravery and kindness. A tribute to CNN Heroes nominated by you, the viewer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Want to get you back to this scene in New York now. These pictures coming in from our affiliate there, WABC. There has been a horrible accident, a scaffolding collapse. We want to get out to Brian Vitaglino. He is one of our producers here -- or in the New York area, actually, who is there and has a little bit more information.
Brian, what can you tell us about what you've learned since being there?
BRIAN VITAGLINO, CNN PRODUCER: Well, yes, according to Deputy Chief Tom McCavanaugh (ph), about 10:15 this morning FDNY received a call that two window washers on an open stick scaffolding that was about 43 stories up were getting ready to do some window washing, and the scaffolding collapsed, leaving both men falling about 43 stories.
When the FDNY arrived, there was one dead on arrival and the other one was taken away in serious condition. This is an open stick scaffolding that many high-rises have on top of the roof for window washing. And according to Deputy Chief Tom McCavanaugh (ph), the FDNY arrived, and one of the window washers was entangled in steel. And the tragic story here is that apparently, according to the deputy chief, the two workers were brothers.
COLLINS: Oh my goodness. Boy, that is just horrible.
Brian, there is a little bit of question about what building this is. A lot of people very familiar with the city. And we're talking about East 66th Street. We're learning that it's the Solo (ph) Residences.
Do you have any confirmation of that?
VITAGLINO: There's no confirmation of that. It is on 2nd Avenue between 66th and 67th Street. It's a large 43-story black glass building.
COLLINS: OK. All right, Brian. Well, we appreciate it.
We are learning from Brian, just to recap here, that apparently two window washers who were brothers have had a terrible accident, according to the fire department there in New York. One of them was dead on arrival, and the other has been taken to the hospital away from the scene.
So we will continue to keep our eye on this. Boy, a 43-story fall, horrible.
HARRIS: Twelve-year-old Patrick Padraja -- you picked him as the viewers choice among our CNN Heroes -- honored last night. He is a leukemia patient who traveled the country encouraging minorities to register as bone marrow donors.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK PEDRAJA, CNN HERO: Thank you. I'm so excited, and, well, first of all, I'd like to thank all the other heroes that were featured online with me. They're all such amazing people doing amazing things, and it was really an honor to be among them.
I'd also like to thank my parents, my mom and my family, because I couldn't have done it without their support and help from my friends, and there's so many people and organizations from around the world voting for me. It really shows how cancer has touched so many of our lives.
And I told everybody I wanted to win so I could come up here and tell everybody about the critical need for bone marrow donors. With just a cheek swab you can be on the National Marrow Donor Program's registry in over 50 countries. And just doing something so simple you can be the one to save the life of a kid like me.
And all of us have the power to make a difference. You just have to never give up and always believe. And I just want everybody to remember that you're never too young to change the world. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: How about that? Strong! OK, more of your heroes later in the hour.
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're going to be talking more with the real estate expert who is going to help us sort out that whole mortgage maze. It's coming up in just a couple of minutes right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right, let's talk about it, foreclosure blues. President Bush unveiling a plan to help some people on the brink of losing their homes. It calls on lenders to voluntarily, hmm, freeze mortgage interest rates for five years. It makes refinancing easier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: The rise in foreclosures would have negative consequences for our economy. Lenders and investors would face enormous losses, so they have an interest in supporting mortgage counseling and working with homeowners to prevent foreclosure.
The government has a role to play as well. We should not bail out lenders, real estate speculators, or those who made the reckless decision to buy a home they knew they could never afford.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes,, how about that? the president says the plan isn't perfect but could help more than a million homeowners kind of hang on. Like most of these programs, the level is in the details. Financial analyst and real estate expert Ilyce Glink is here to help sort it all out and give us some answers.
Hey, Ilyce, you've got one of those nationally syndicated radio talk shows where you help folks out, don't you?
ILYCE GLINK, PERSONAL FINANCE ANALYST: I do take a lot of questions on the weekend, that's for sure.
HARRIS: You do? OK, great.
Well, help us out on this one. We've got solicited some e-mails. Are you ready to dive into the e-mail bag here?
GLINK: You got it?
HARRIS: All right, here we go. John from Pennsylvania writes, "Ilyce, how does one qualify for this program? In other words, who can be rescued?"
GLINK: You know, it's interesting. My husband and I were discussing on the way to the station today that it could be a $2 million subprime loan, you just have no equity, you have lousy credit, and your payment is going to go up.
HARRIS: Whoah! Really?
GLINK: I don't know that it's been really that well defined yet. But it sounds like, and again this is just sort of the first things that we're hearing, you have to have some basic things. You have to have taken out a loan between January 1st of '05 and July 31st of '07. It has to be a subprime loan. Of course nobody has actually talked about what qualifies as a subprime loan yet.
HARRIS: There you go.
GLINK: So you have to call and ask and say, am I a subprime borrower? Do I count? And they tell you yes or no, I guess.
HARRIS: So maybe you've answered the other part of this question. This is a situation where the government, or whatever the bureaucracy is that set up to handle this is going to knock on your door and give you a call, and you've got to reach out to the bureaucracy.
GLINK: You've got to call them. There's a toll-free number that's been set up, 888-995-HOPE, and you're supposed to call that number to start the process going on, or you can call your lender.
Now there are a few other conditions.
HARRIS: OK.
GLINK: Your loan most have been sold into the secondary marketplace, no the held by a bank. So that's most loans that happened to, but again you're going to have to call and find out. Your payment must be going to increase as of January 1st of '08 until sometime in 2010, and it has to go up at least 10 percent from where it is now.
HARRIS: Got you. GLINK: So that's another sort of important component of this.
HARRIS: All right.
GLINK: And then there's a credit component too.
HARRIS: Oh, there is? All right, so That's a lot of numbers already, and I don't want to get folks confused. Maybe we can sort of sort that out in another form.
Let me think about that for a second. Are you ready for the next question from Lance?
GLINK: Go for it.
HARRIS: OK, "Lance says, "It's good these people are being helped out of their foreclosures, but someone at least has to pay. Is it going to be the rest of us out here who don't want interest rates to skyrocket?"
Is this a bailout?
GLINK: You know what, I hope it's not. Again, we don't have enough information.
But here's where I think it's coming from. I think that as President Bush did say, mortgage lenders are faced with sort of a yucky choice and a yuckier choice. So the yucky choice is everybody goes -- the interest rate stays where it is, so all these lenders were expecting a much bigger bump-up in the cash that they were going to get, that's not going to happen. The yuckier choice is two million people go into foreclosure. It's about twice as expensive for a lender to do a foreclosure as it is to sort of keep the interest rate where it is.
The real question is, why do we need the government, the Treasury Department sort of, in the middle here? Because it would seem -- you know, all these people are smart people on Wall Street. They would have figured out it's less money to keep the interest rates where it is. Did they just not realize that the problem was as big as it is? So I'm not quite sure why the government is in the middle.
HARRIS: Well, at least this sort of dove tails into our last question from, let me see here, Bob in Colorado who writes, you know, "This rate freeze seems to have been agreed to very quickly by the industry." Let me jump ahead here. My question is this, what confession sessions were given to the mortgage industry, Ilyce, that made them agree so quickly? What do you think?
GLINK: You know, again, my guess is that somebody from Treasury suggested that it would be in the national interest for them to participate in doing this.
I have to say though, Tony, the big concern that I have, and I want to explain this, because I think a lot of the viewers don't really understand. When they talk about these fixed-rate subprime loans, they were usually talking about the option arms, the exotic mortgages...
HARRIS: Yes.
GLINK: ... the very low teaser rates that didn't even cover the true cost of the loans. The difference between that got tacked onto the balance of the mortgage. So if your loan was 100 percent loan and it was at $100,000, next year your balance is $106,000, and the next year it's $112,000.
HARRIS: Whoah, whoah, yes.
GLINK: So what I don't get at all is how postponing the inevitable for five years so all these loans -- you're still not going to be paying the interest rates you should have; it's all still going to be tacked onto the balance due on the loan. How does that all balance out? And are we really -- my question is, are we really just postponing the inevitable five more years?
HARRIS: Hey, Ilyce, you gave us a number a moment ago. Give that number to us again.
GLINK: Sure, there's a number that you can call for housing counseling and to start this process. It's 888-995-HOPE -- H-O-P-E.
HARRIS: Hey, Ilyce, great tips, great advice, great feedback, and great that the viewers got involved and sent some smart questions. We appreciate it. Thanks for your time. Have a great weekend.
GLINK: Happy to be here. You, too.
HARRIS: OK, thanks.
COLLINS: Storms in Southern California raising the risks of flash flooding and mudslides. Residents have sandbagged vulnerable neighborhoods stripped of vegetation by wildfires. Thousands of people have evacuated. The heavy rain could last through the weekend.
Feeling their pain in Hawaii.
So sorry about that. There I am.
Much of that state under water after heavy storms this week. These pictures taken by i-Reporter Chris Williams. If you look closely, you can tell it's a couch those guys are surfing on. Rain and flooding isn't the only weather worry in Hawaii. Believe it or not, there are blizzard warnings on two big island mountains. And getting slammed by a major snowstorm right now, several Western states, including Utah and Colorado. These pictures taken in Denver.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: We take you out to San Francisco now and moments ago. Here he is, the home run champ. There is Barry Bonds showing up to court today. Courtroom 10 is where he's headed, the 19th floor of the Phillip Burden Federal Building in San Francisco. As you know, bonds was indicted last month, the 15th of last month. He is expected to plead not guilty in moments here to four counts of perjury, one count of obstruction after being charged with lying to a grand jury about his performance-enhancing drug use.
Cutting to the chase here, if he is ultimately convicted, the five charges could mean more than two years in prison.
There he is, moments ago Barry Bonds arriving for his arraignment where he's expected to enter a not-guilty plea.
COLLINS: A brotherhood of men who risked their lives in battle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd been with a lot of these guys since the last four years, and they're like brothers, and it's -- I was glad if I had to go, I was glad I went with who I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now they are back home and being honored for their bravery.
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COLLINS: The bravest of the brave. Five American soldiers from one unit show incredible heroism on the battlefield. Now, they're the newest recipients of the Silver Star.
CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has their amazing story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the men of the 5th Squadron of the 73rd Cavalry Regiment, one of the smallest units in Iraq. Just 440 paratroopers, who spent 15 months patrolling al Qaeda strongholds in the Diyala River Valley. They're perhaps the most decorated unit in Iraq, with more than 20 bronze stars and 60 commendations for valor. They also suffered some of the greatest loss. 22 dead, 95 wounded. The survivors are home now.
SPEC. JEREMIAH CHURCH, SILVER STAR RECIPIENT: I knew I had been hit right away. It was kind of the same sensation of hitting your funny bone, it was kind of odd. I jumped down in the truck and I was screaming to my buddy and he gave me a tourniquet.
STARR: Yet specialist Jeremiah Church dove through a hail of enemy gunfire to get more ammunition. Specialist Andrew Harriman, a medic, ran 100 feet through enemy machine gunfire to rescue a soldiers who was bleeding to death.
SPEC. ANDREW HARRIMAN, SILVER STAR RECIPIENT: I had been a lot of these guys since, you know, the last four years. And they're like brothers, and I was glad that if I had to go, I was glad I went with who I did.
STARR: This is a brotherhood of men who risked their lives. Home now at Fort Brag, North Carolina, on this night, five silver stars are awarded. First Sergeant John Coomer exposed himself to enemy fire, throwing grenades so a medic could get to a wounded soldier.
1ST SGT. JOHN COOMER, SILVER START RECIPIENT: It's 12, 14, 15 hours after that until really we had a chance to kind of sit back on our haunches and sit back and regroup and think about what happened.
STARR: Staff Sergeant Justin Young, wounded in his neck fought for five days before getting medical treatment. He's already looking ahead.
SGT. JUSTIN YOUNG, SILVER STAR RECIPIENT: Just coming to visit and see these men and what they think of what we've done.
STARR: Captain Steven Dobbins was hit by an IED. He crossed an open minefield to save other men.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I propose a toast to our fallen comrades.
STARR: Memories of those who didn't make it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was tough losing them, but each time they went down fighting they loved the guys that they were working with on the right and the left, and we continue to fight to honor their sacrifice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Our Barbara Starr is joining us now, live from the Pentagon. First, Barbara, obviously we thank them for their service and their sacrifice. This unit has really seen a lot of losses.
STARR: You know, Heidi, they really have. They're a small unit, and what we're just showing you is just a bit of the terrible battle action that they saw in their 15 months in Iraq. Five battles, five Silver Stars. They are part, of course, of the legendary 82nd Airborne, a unit that has seen conflict, really in the 90 years it's been in existence.
These guys hope to be home for at least a year before they have to go again, but I want to also point out to our viewers that the video we showed you of them in Iraq, was when CNN traveled with that unit on the ground earlier this year. They really are a remarkable group of men.
COLLINS: Yes, and something you pointed out earlier that I'm not sure everybody really understand, but they all want to go back. They want to be back with their unit.
STARR: It's something that we hear, all reporters hear, time and again from so many of the troops that serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. They come home. They spend a year at home with their family and friends, but really the great majority of them that are making the military a career, these young kids all say I want to go back. I want to be with my buddies.
COLLINS: It's remarkable. Thanks for doing this story, Barbara.
STARR: Thank you.
COLLINS: We'll see you again soon.
STARR: Sure.
COLLINS: We'll be back in just a moment. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Reynolds Wolf with a look at today's cold and flu season report. And any spot on the map where you happen to see yellow and green would indicate no activity or sporadic activity, in terms of that sickness. But any place you see purple, like in Hawaii or even into Florida, well you've got plenty of cases of local activity.
That's a look at today's cold and flu season report.
HARRIS: OK, are you ready for this? How about an early morning doughnut run. We all love one of those, right? A man accused of stealing this Krispy Kreme truck. Watch the doughnuts fly out of the back door. Did we miss that? Alright, the truck backs up, hits the police car. You saw that just a moment ago. Then the suspect, as you see, drives away. Trying to keep up with the play by play here. Police say he hit speeds of 82 miles an hour. The suspect was arrested on several charges, including, no surprise here, drunken driving.
COLLINS: A surprising basement dweller. Pittsburgh police found more than robbery suspects in one house. They also stumbled on an alligator roaming the basement. The animal rescue league says it's the biggest gator ever found in a Pittsburgh house. And big teeth, too. Police also found an emaciated pitbull; the dog will be put up for adoption. The gator will likely be released into the wild.
HARRIS: And horse's icy dip. This quarter horse right here fell into a pool in Dorsett, Vermont. He broke through six inches of ice into three feet of water, and became trapped. Rescuers were able to put a rope around the horse's neck and get him out to safety and then warm him up with blanket. Our thanks to the Vermont State Police for the photo.
COLLINS: CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now. Lots of stories we're following today.
HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home.
I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. Have a good weekend everybody. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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