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CIA Interrogation Tapes Destroyed; Rock Star Weekend in Political Race; Congressional Pages Gone Wild

Aired December 08, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: CIA interrogation tapes destroyed. So who knew about it in the White House? We are learning new details this morning.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And it's a rock star weekend in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire. Two campaigns bringing out the big guns.

NGUYEN: And be careful where you step. Watch this. A frozen pond wasn't so frozen. We'll have the rest of this rescue. Look at that.

HOLMES: They never are as frozen as they seem, are they, Betty? This is the CNN Center. And this is the CNN NEWSROOM and it is Saturday, December 8th. Good morning to you all. I am T.J. Holmes.

NGUYEN: Yes, good morning everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen. It's 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 9:00 a.m. in Des Moines, Iowa, where the presidential campaign is heating up.

And new this morning, the CIA's own lawyer opposed the destruction of videotaped interrogations of al Qaeda suspects. Well that's according to a former intelligence officer who tells CNN that top White House officials didn't even know the tapes had been destroyed until after the fact.

HOLMES: And on top of that, two administration sources say former White House counsel Harriet Miers knew about the tapes and also advised that they not be destroyed. So what in the world happened? CNN's Justice correspondent Kelli Arena sorts this out for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lawmakers want to know if anyone at the CIA broke the law by destroying those interrogation tapes.

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D) MASSACHUSETTS: What would cause the CIA to take this action? The answer is obvious -- cover up.

ARENA: They are also angry about being left in the dark. In a letter to employees, CIA Director Michael Hayden said that congressional leaders were told of the intention to destroy the tapes ahead of time, but Congresswoman Jane Harman, who was the top Democrat on the intelligence committee and other lawmakers, insist that's not true. REP. JANE HARMAN (D) TERRORISM RISK SUBCMTE CHMN: No one ever informed me that tapes were being destroyed.

ARENA: The tapes were made in 2002 after the president approved severe interrogation techniques for terror detainees, which included water boarding or simulated drowning. Government officials with knowledge of what was on them say they included interrogations of two prisoners, one of them al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah. The CIA says the tapes were destroyed in 2005, right in the middle of a major debate over whether the agency's actions amounted to torture. They were never made available in any terrorism trial or even to the 9/11 commission.

DANIEL MARCUS, 911 COMMISSION GENERAL COUNSEL: If the commission had known at that stage that videotapes of some of the detainee interrogations existed, we would have insisted on seeing them.

ARENA: Hayden says the tapes were destroyed to protect CIA interrogators. If their identities were ever leaked, he argued, they could be targeted by al Qaeda, but it's not flying.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D) ARMED SERVICES CHMN: It's a pathetic excuse. They would have to burn every document at the CIA that has the identity of an agent on it under that theory.

ARENA (on-camera): The CIA maintains there was no legal or internal reason to keep those tapes. In the meantime, the Justice Department says it has received the congressional request to investigate and that it's in the process of fact-finding.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: All right. For more details now, let's turn to our Kathleen Koch who joins us by phone from Washington. What we know is that White House counsel Harriet Miers knew about these tapes. What did she advise?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Well again, she was then deputy White House counsel, and according to two administration officials who spoke with our own White House correspondent Ed Henry last night, she was aware of these tapes, told the CIA not to destroy them.

And then, obviously, as we reported at the top of the show, CNN has also learned from a former intelligence official that the CIA's own top lawyer, John Rizzo, said do not destroy these tapes.

They were destroyed and he didn't even find out until after it had happened. So certainly this is building the case that the CIA was obviously, going against the wishes of -- and recommendations of a number of top officials and does certainly provide some exculpatory evidence for the White House, which is really under fire on this now.

The White House in the briefing yesterday, Press Secretary Dana Perino said President Bush had, quote, "no recollection of being made aware of the tapes or their destruction before Thursday."

Now that was when he was briefed on this whole incident by CIA Director Michael Hayden. The administration official told me Vice President Dick Cheney learned of the tapes at the very same time.

The question is, did either man, did they approve of the destruction? Do they think this was a good idea? What was their reaction? Perino wouldn't go there in the briefing, only saying that the president has complete confidence in Director Hayden.

But clearly, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are spewing over this controversy. Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois among those asking for the Justice Department to investigate. Now, will that happen

NGUYEN: Let me ask you this, though. Were any laws broken? I know an investigation is something a lot of lawmakers are calling for. Another big question is, if the president didn't know and the vice president didn't know until last week, these tapes were nonetheless destroyed. Were any laws broken?

KOCH: That's the question. And again, that's why people like Dick Durbin, Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts want the Justice Department to look into it. Was there obstruction of justice? Not only were these tapes not provided to the 9/11 commission, which expressly asked for this type of information. They were not provided to the courts in high-level terrorism trials.

Perino, when she was asked, is the White House concerned about whether or not laws were broken? She simply is not going there saying, well, an investigation is underway. The CIA is collecting evidence and we're supporting them in that.

NGUYEN: All right, CNN's Kathleen Koch joining us by phone with the latest information on this. Of course CNN will stay on top of this story for you.

HOLMES: All right, we will go from one Washington scandal to another of a different sort here. Sex -- but it's not among the people you may be thinking. We talk about congressional pages in a sex scandal this time.

NGUYEN: At least one House member says the sexual escapades are going on right in the pages dorm and that there is a serious lack of oversight by congressional leaders. CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Yellin talked with the Florida representative making these allegations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GINNY BROWN-WAITE (R), FLORIDA: It wasn't kissing and hugging, let me put it that way.

YELLIN (voice-over): It went beyond that?

BROWN-WAITE: It went -- it did go beyond that. And there were not only young male and female involved in the incident, but there also were observers and other page participants who were, let's say, enablers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, two House members on the page committee have now quit, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for a review of the page program.

HOLMES: Just a horrible story here. A tragedy to tell you about at a Christmas parade in Florida. A 9-year-old has died after he was run over by a parade float. Police say the boy was walking beside the float tossing beads and candy to the crowd when his foot got caught by a wheel. He was rushed to the hospital but he died from his injuries. The accident happened last night in Plant City. That is near Tampa.

NGUYEN: That's so sad.

Well, a woman attacked it on a bus and severely beaten -- was race part of the reason? The victim says it may have been. Sarah Kreager suffered broken facial bones and other injuries. She was punched, kicked and dragged off a bus in Baltimore on Tuesday. Nine black middle school students are charged in this attack. Kreager says she thinks race was a factor, but peer pressure caused things to escalate. Investigators are trying to figure out if the incident was a hate crime. Tough to look at right there.

Well, extra security officers and police are on duty this morning at a mall in Nebraska where a shooting rampage took place. Some stores are open right now at the West Roads Mall. As you recall, 19- year-old Robert Hawkins shot and killed eight people there on Wednesday before killing himself. While the mall itself reopened today, the Von Maur store where the shootings took place will remain closed. Omaha's mayor greeted shoppers this morning as that mall reopened. He says the city wants to assure shoppers and store owners that the mall is safe.

HOLMES: Ahead to the campaign trail now. Democrat Barack Obama banking on star power this weekend, not of the Hollywood variety. We're talking more Chicago-based, you know, queen of daytime talk star power. Oprah Winfrey, she is going to appear with Obama today and tomorrow in three key states.

And our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is in Des Moines. Good morning to you, ma'am. Good to see you. How much will this matter in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina that Oprah is in town?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll have a definitive answer for you in a couple of weeks when the next polls come out.

But, listen, it's already helped. And here's how. When they gave out these tickets, they gave them out to their precinct captains, they gave them out to people who would volunteer for four hours at the Obama campaign. So it became this organizational tool, a way to kind of draw people in.

And obviously here today in Des Moines, later in Cedar Rapids and on down to South Carolina and New Hampshire it brings people in.

So is there a direct correlation between Oprah Winfrey saying I endorse Barack Obama and someone saying, well, me, too? There may be a couple. There may be more than that. But the fact of the matter is this is about her bringing them in and him closing the deal.

HOLMES: Him closing the deal. So they're not expecting really her to turn heads, to influence anybody at all, but, like you said, in South Carolina, they start out with a small venue. They're having to move it to a huge football stadium she's bringing in so many. So that's the point.

CROWLEY: Yeah, absolutely. The point is to bring them in so they can hear him. At this point in the campaign, certainly in Iowa, New Hampshire, to a certain degree in South Carolina, a lot of these people have been around watching these candidates.

So this generates excitement about Obama. This overwhelms in terms of free media. Anything anybody else is doing on the campaign trail today and that probably includes Bill Clinton, it's really hard to out program Oprah Winfrey at this point.

So he's getting all this free media, generating all this excitement and getting a new look some people at who Obama is and what he's talking about.

HOLMES: You mentioned Bill Clinton. It's hard to out media Oprah Winfrey. But if anybody can do it, it would have to be Bill Clinton. It's weird to think that he may be the smallest star -- the smaller of two stars on the campaign trail because he, of course is always the man when he shows up.

CROWLEY: Well, there is the show biz realm and there is the political realm. When they come together, it's really hard to tell. But I think the fact of Oprah Winfrey coming to Iowa. They are used to politicians here. They are used to politicians now in South Carolina. So when Bill Clinton arrives there, when Hillary Clinton arrives here, she's brought along her mother. She'll be here today in Iowa.

But the fact of the matter is that the new face here is Oprah Winfrey. We've talked to some people who said, who would have believed that Oprah Winfrey would come to little old Iowa. So that's where the excitement is because, frankly, they are used to Bill and Hillary Clinton.

HOLMES: They're used to it and not used to seeing Oprah out there in the dead of winter. Is John Edwards going to bring out Ellen DeGeneres or anything that we know of?

CROWLEY: Not that we know of. What do you say when you are the other campaign other than, well, we believe that people will vote on the basis of who is the best candidate for president and then you just be quiet because it's very hard to outdo this in terms of media play.

HOLMES: Yeah, we'll depend on that. I got Oprah. That usually works. Candy Crowley for us there in Des Moines, always good to see you, Candy. Thank you so much.

CROWLEY: Thanks.

HOLMES: And of course she is part of the best political team on television. Candy Crowley there for us in Iowa. And she'll have more from the campaign trail coming up later today. We'll take you live back to Des Moines this afternoon for the Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama event. Join us at 4:00 Eastern right here in the NEWSROOM.

Well, the man here, this man you are seeing, he was in single digits in the polls at one point. Now Mike Huckabee has a double- digit lead in a new "Newsweek" poll. Yes, that poll shows the former Arkansas governor has doubled his lead over Mitt Romney in Iowa. You seen it there, 39 percent to 17 percent. This is among the voters who say they are likely to attend the Republican caucus. But, hold on, folks. Don't get too carried away with that poll. Could be an anomaly here. Nearly every other poll such as this recent one by the American Research Group shows Huckabee and Romney still statistically tied in Iowa.

We'll have to wait on future surveys which may show in the "Newsweek" poll is a blip, a trend or was personally done by Mike Huckabee himself.

NGUYEN: Stop it.

All right, well, hey, there's a no-go for the space shuttle Atlantis today. We're going to show you some live pictures. But, really, nothing is happening. The planned launch has been put off until tomorrow at the earliest while engineers look over a fuel take sensor problem. Engineers meet this afternoon to decide if they need to push the launch back beyond tomorrow. CNN's John Zarrella will join us live with a report from Kennedy Space Center. That is at the half hour.

In the meantime, though, plenty of weather warnings out this morning. And here's a reminder to never stray too far from home or land for that matter.

HOLMES: We'll talk about what's happening there in just a little bit.

And this different story. Wee got you here. Coke, cash and guns and a lot of arrests. Yes, all that stuff you see, you're going to see this all laid out in the picture here. All of that taken out of the hands of drug dealers and off the streets. We'll tell you about this big stash of cash and drugs and guns coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, about 15 minutes past the hour here on this Saturday morning. Got some quick thoughts here to give you. Take a look at this huge pile of drugs and money. Federal agents say it was all coming through Atlanta -- 67 people were arrested this week in a massive investigation. Investigators say Mexican drug cartels are using Atlanta as a gateway to funnel their drugs. NGUYEN: Well baseball's home run king says he will be vindicated in that steroid scandal. Barry Bonds pleads not guilty in federal court to perjury and obstruction of justice charges. He was arraigned yesterday in San Francisco and Bonds is accused of lying under oath when he testified that he never knowingly used any performance enhancing drugs.

HOLMES: A suicide bomber in a truck targeted a police station in northern Iraq today. Authorities say six people were killed, including four police officers, 14 others wounded. The attack happened in an oil refinery hub about 120 miles north of Baghdad.

NGUYEN: Well coming up in our next half hour, the bravest of the brave. You're going to meet several silver star recipients. They are extraordinary soldiers from one of the smallest units in the army.

HOLMES: I look forward to seeing that. And look forward as always to seeing Mr. Reynolds Wolf. Not always looking forward to hearing what he has to say.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Well missing, presumed dead but hold on. Hey, guys. Here I am. A man shows up alive. Now police getting a whole another story from his wife.

NGUYEN: Uh-oh. Plus, are popular search engines putting your family at risk? What you need to know about reverse addresses. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right, so have you ever typed your home phone number in that search window of Google or Yahoo!? You might want to do it because it could bring up something that you are not expecting.

HOLMES: Yes, like your house and exactly how to get to it.

NGUYEN: And a map.

HOLMES: We've learned this. Josh Levs at the dotcom desk brought this to our attention earlier this morning. And sure enough, we did it. Betty.

NGUYEN: I've already taken mine off.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She was a little freaked out.

HOLMES: It freaked me out a little to put in my phone number and it gives directions right there to my house.

NGUYEN: With a map.

LEVS: It's scary. What these search engines are really doing is pulling together information that is available but sometimes you had to use paid sites and sometimes it was more complicated. I'm going to tell you how it works. First I am going to mention that Google has a stake in AOL, which is owned by our parent company Time Warner. So full disclosure is taken care of.

Let's look at what you can do. If you type your phone number into Google, it just might give anybody out there a map to your house. So you can do this. You can go to this page that we're showing you right here which allows you to remove your information from Google.

But as this site tells you, it doesn't automatically. See in blue, it doesn't automatically remove you from all those other sites that people potentially could use out there.

What has happened with Google is it has gotten a lot easier. Type in your phone number, boom, it bring up a map. Now I tried Yahoo! This morning. We also found a removal page at Yahoo! Because Yahoo! Does the same thing. The trick there is that the page there is actually a lot harder to find. I typed in a phone number and then I clicked on, I want to remove this information. It didn't bring me there. I had to search around for a while. Ultimately there is the ability to it.

But Betty and T.J., what this really boils down to if someone out there, let's say you have a child, passes on a phone number to someone it can automatically just like that give any stranger very easily the information on where you live and how to get there.

So we certainly encourage people to try out their own numbers. If they want them removed, go ahead and give it a shot.

NGUYEN: And just to be clear, because we're both online making sure that none of our numbers or our family numbers are on there. Is this just for home phone numbers, it doesn't apply to cell phones?

LEVS: The cell phone numbers I have tried did not do that. The cell phone numbers are not automatically associated with an address so it doesn't have to be. But you know, public record searches sometimes do associate a cell phone number with an address.

A lot of people don't realize if you go down to a courthouse or something, fill out certain public records with your information on it, that enters the public domain. So there still might still be ways to find it, but I didn't find it on the search engines, not at all.

NGUYEN: Yes, you're right, I'm on Yahoo! and it does take a little searching to find the remove listing. But what Google does and that page, once you do remove it, it does give you a list of the different Web sites which allows you to go into those sites so that you make sure you're not listed on any of the other sites because Google is just one.

LEVS: Protect your privacy.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. All right, it's a wake-up call this morning. Thank you, Josh.

HOLMES: I'm awake, Betty.

NGUYEN: Very much so.

OK well this has happened again. Another noose incident and this time in California. The reaction is straight ahead.

HOLMES: Also, there will be no Saturday night dog fights in one western town. These pups are rounded up and heading out.

NGUYEN: But first if you are planning to travel abroad, you may need more than a valid passport to gain entry. Many countries also require a travel visa and getting one can be tricky. Here are some tips to help you through the process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY CHEN, ASSISTANT EDITOR, BUDGET TRAVEL: Getting a visa can be as thick as red tape or as easy as pie. Whether you should hire someone or do it yourself depends where you are going. For example, when visiting Australia, the easiest and cheapest method is applying online for an electronic travel authority, a stampless visa which is only $17. But if you are traveling to Brazil, visas cost $100. And because some consulates don't accept mail applications, it's worth it to hire a specialist.

Travel documents assumes three to seven-day service is $45 and passportvisasexpress.com charges $59 for seven-day processing. Egypt and Kenya are both great do-it-yourself countries. U.S. passport holders can pay the required fee at the airports upon arrival. As for India, opt for the $60 six-month tourist visa.

And if you are looking for immediate results you can always visit the specific country's consulate or embassy. That's if you're lucky enough to live near one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, hey there everybody. We are taking a look now at some top stories. Extra security guards and police on duty this morning at a mall in Nebraska where a shooting rampage took place. Some stores are open right now. Nineteen-year-old Robert Hawkins shot and killed eight people at the mall Wednesday before shooting himself. The store where the shooting took place, however is still closed.

NGUYEN: Well a winter-like snowstorm has parts of Colorado locked in this morning. More than a foot of snow fell across the Rockies overnight. The storm shut down parts of Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 in Colorado last night.

NGUYEN: More now on the growing questions surrounding the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes. President Bush and Vice President Cheney say they first learned about the existence of the tapes this week. But CNN has learned one of the White House's top lawyers knew about and opposed the destruction of the tapes of al Qaeda suspects.

So how is a major decision like this made? Joining us now on the phone from Washington is CNN national security adviser and former CIA acting director John McLaughlin. Sir, thank you for being with us. You were at the CIA in 2002. This is when these tapes were made. This is standard stuff during procedures and during interrogations that video is made of those interrogations, is that right?

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER (oh phone): Not exactly, T.J. You have to go back to that time and realize that this was a new activity for the CIA at a very chaotic time in our country's life after 9/11. I think the decision to make them was made in the field by people carrying out the program unsure of how we were going to document the results of the program. They thought tapes would be one way to do it. Subsequently by 2002, it was apparently were documenting everything on paper and the taping was stopped.

HOLMES: All right. You say the taping was maybe a decision made out in the field. The decision to destroy those tapes, where would a decision like that had to have been made and certainly when it was against all the advice of the lawyers from the White House and also the CIA lawyers.

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, this happened, of course, T.J.., as you know, after I left the agency. And I have no way to know other than to accept what people have now said that that decision was made by Jose Rodriguez who was then the director of the operations area. And that's how that decision was made.

And now apparently there's some reporting this morning that indicates Director Goss, who was the leader of the agency at the time, was not aware of it. And so it appears that Mr. Rodriguez made that decision on his own.

HOLMES: And, sir, you are a former CIA guy. Does that make sense to you to destroy the tapes? We've heard some of the reasoning and the logic for it was simply to protect the interrogators if their names and faces ever got out there, was to protect them. So does that reason fly with you?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, it is a complicated question, T.J. I mean, personally, I don't think it was a great idea to destroy these tapes, but I do understand the rationale or the motivation that people have explained.

The way the current director has put it, looking back, he was not involved in this either, is that there was a concern that should the tapes ever leak or come to public light in some way, that it would jeopardize the security of the people on them who were carrying out procedures that had been legally authorized by the Department of Justice and carrying them out, as far as I know, properly.

People often say and I've seen some of the commentary in the news, well, how could they ever leak? I've seen senators say that. Does that mean that they had no confidence in the agency itself? Well, look, anyone who has been in Washington for a while knows that almost everything leaks. It wouldn't be the agency that would leak them but they might have been used in some investigation by someone, that copies might have been made and they might have come out. So I think people were genuinely concerned about the security and also probably thinking that if they ever came to public light it would feed all sorts of conspiracy theories and so forth.

HOLMES: Well I'm sure a lot of people agree with you there. Just about everything leaks out of Washington, D.C. Mr. McLaughlin, you know we are going to be hearing plenty more about this story. Everybody starting an investigation it seems like, on this now. Again, John McLaughlin, a former CIA acting director and CNN national security adviser. Sir, we appreciate you giving us a couple of minutes.

NGUYEN: Well astronauts on hold in Florida right now just waiting to get the go ahead to lift off in the space shuttle Atlantis. But, instead, the shuttle is parked while engineers discuss a sensor problem. CNN's John Zarrella is live at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We're not talking a minor problem. This could be a really big problem.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you are absolutely right, Betty. And you know, it's terrific weather here at the Kennedy Space Center, couldn't ask for any better.

But, as you said, the shuttle Atlantis sitting out there on the launch pad not going anywhere today. Mission managers are going to get together again this afternoon about 1:00 to make a final decision on whether to go ahead with the launch attempt tomorrow afternoon at about 3:21 in the afternoon.

And by -- it looks like they probably will go ahead and give it a shot tomorrow. But the problem that's been bugging them since Thursday is in the space shuttle's giant external tank.

Now the shuttle on the other side here, the external tank here, 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen. Down in the bottom here are what they call ecosensors. And there's four of these sensors. And when they began filling the giant tank on Thursday, two of the sensors give them faulty readings.

Now they don't know if it's the sensors that are wrong or something else that's wrong here. But they had to scrub the launch on Thursday.

Let me give you an idea what these things look like. NASA was kind enough to provide us with these. And this is what it looks like. This is mounted like this in the bottom of the external tank. And this is a shock mount so when it vibrates and moves like this inside there, and two of these four failed.

Now what they do is they determine how much fuel is left in the tank. So, of course, the problem, like your car. So the problem is, if it fell too low and they are faulty and they are telling the shuttle's computer brain that, gee, you are out of fuel but there's a lot of fuel in there, that can be a big problem. You could automatically shut down the engines if it says the shuttle's tanks are empty when, in fact, there's fuel in there. So that's not good. But what the real problem for NASA is is that they don't know what's causing the problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE HALE, SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGER: If you've ever had an intermittent electrical problem say, with your car or something, you will recognize that that is very difficult to troubleshoot. I think we've all had the experience of having a problem on our automobile and taking it to the mechanic and by the time you get it to the shop, it's working just fine and they can't find anything. That's kind of the situation we're in right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: So what they're going to do tomorrow is, if any of these sensors fail tomorrow, they are going to scrub the launch. All four are going to have to be working. If they get past that problem, a one-minute launch window which will maximize their ability to get into orbit using less fuel, less likely that the fuel level would ever dip below where the sensors would come into play. Betty?

NGUYEN: Got you. So, NASA, we've got a problem. We just don't know what's causing it. Good luck out there, John. We'll be checking in with you. Thanks.

HOLMES: All right. We'll turn to the campaign trail and we'll go to Iowa with the emphasis on the "O." That would be Oprah and Obama. Or Oprahbama as Betty likes to call it. It is political lingo. Democrat Barack Obama banking on Oprah Winfrey's star power to help boost his poll numbers this weekend.

The first Iowa event today happening about 4:30 Eastern time. The queen of daytime TV will also travel tomorrow with Obama to South Carolina and New Hampshire. We'll be carrying that event live when it happens again around 4:30 or so in Iowa. A lot of folks certainly going to be turning out for that.

Well Republican John McCain doesn't necessarily have the queen of daytime talk on his side, but he's doing all right for himself in New Hampshire. He's making himself at home up there. He's been spending a lot of his time in the early primary state trying to cement a comeback. And right now, could be working. He's seen his support there increasing. But he may not be able to count on the critical independent vote which pushed him to victory there in 2000, of course.

We turn now in Long Beach, California, demanding justice in the workplace.

NGUYEN: About 100 protested yesterday after they say several nooses were found at the port. And they say this proves it. A photo of a noose they say one foreman had hanging from an antenna in his truck. That incident happened in October. Now workers say they are most upset about the lack of discipline for offenders. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLOYD MITCHELL, WITNESS: They said that they fired the guy at the terminal but he's at another terminal working now. He's doing the same thing he's been doing before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Workers say they filed grievances about five incidents involving nooses in the last three months. The group that runs the port says the incidents are being handled according to the union's grievance process.

NGUYEN: A suspected dog fighting ring busted up in New Mexico. Animal control officers found about 20 pit bulls at a home in Anthony. Some of the dogs were malnourished and dehydrated. Some of them were injured. Authorities say equipment found on the property points to dog fighting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CURTIS CHILDRESS, DONA ANA COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL: I know that they do it so that they can make money. They bet on the dogs and depending on how much goes into the pot, it could be a lucrative investment for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Officials say the owner denies he was involved in dog fighting, but he has given up the rights to those animals.

So how much time will Michael Vick spend in prison for dog fighting conspiracy? We should find out on Monday, that's when the former NFL star is scheduled to be sentenced. Vick pleaded guilty to the federal charge back in August and he reported to prison early and has already started serving his sentence. So we'll stay on top of that.

In the meantime though, this happens a lot during the holidays.

HOLMES: Every year.

NGUYEN: You can't seem to escape it, can you? A feud over Christmas decorations, of all things, lands one neighbor in the hospital and the other in jail.

HOLMES: Yeah. This one here happened in Winter Haven, Florida. A man confronting his neighbor about the alleged vandalism of his holiday display ended up with a pair of gunshot wounds. The alleged gunman has been charged with attempted murder. But his family says the shooting was in self-defense. Every single year.

NGUYEN: Folks, it's just Christmas decorations.

NGUYEN: One earlier, the guy had a display for 20-something years. Last year they were stealing Baby Jesuses. NGUYEN: I'm sure we'll hear more about that, too. Come on. Get in the spirit of the season, OK.

HOLMES: Well here's one for you. This is a great story here. A man thought to be dead for five years just shows up at a police station. Hey, here I am.

NGUYEN: Where have you been, dude?

HOLMES: Did he get tired of hiding or turn himself in before being found out? This mystery keeps unraveling this morning.

NGUYEN: It's one you don't want to miss.

And T.J., you fly a lot. You know you've been through LAX, O'Hare and of course Hartsfield-Jackson. OK, listen to this. Takeoffs and landings are more dangerous than you ever thought because of near misses.

HOLMES: I don't want to hear that, betty.

NGUYEN: Find out what's being done to protect you and all of your viewers out there. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, about 45 minutes past the hour this Saturday morning. A quick look at some stories making the news. This one here, new revelations in the case of a missing man who was apparently never really missing. John Darwin's wife now telling British tabloids he hid in their home for three years after his supposed disappearance at sea and that they faked his death. Why? To get out of debt.

NGUYEN: No way.

HOLMES: Police haven't decided whether to charge anyone in this strange case.

NGUYEN: The things people will do. He hid in his house for three years?

HOLMES: Maybe it was a big debt.

NGUYEN: Hey, guess what? We know you're there. You definitely came out, so what was the point?

HOLMES: He's out of debt now.

NGUYEN: Well, I'm sure they'll come knocking at their door. We want our money back.

OK, another airline close call to tell you about. Check this out. It happened at Newark Liberty Airport where a pair of Continental jets missed each other by just 300 feet. One plane was landing when it flew right over another jet that had taxied on to the same runway. The FAA is, of course, investigating. Now for those of you who may have been flying into or out of Newark Thursday night, here are the flights for you. They were Continental flight 573 and Continental Express flight 2558.

HOLMES: When you felt the airplane make a sharp left or something --

NGUYEN: That's what it was. Why don't they just tell you?

HOLMES: Would you want to know?

NGUYEN: I don't know, but you know something is going on.

HOLMES: Something is up.

NGUYEN: So just be straight with us. OK, anyway, early reports point to pilot error in this case. But we have really been hearing many stories of these similar cases, close calls in the air, on the runways.

HOLMES: And part of the problem they say here rests with the air traffic control system. The equipment apparently getting old. And so are the air traffic controllers themselves. CNN's Susan Roesgen reports some are ready to retire without anyone ready to take their place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Passengers on a plane flying towards Chicago recently never knew they had been seconds away from a disaster. On November 14th, an air traffic controller at a busy regional control center made a mistake sending a Midwest airlines jet into the path of a United Express jet. But on the Midwest jet, the computer alert system in the cockpit warned the pilot stopping a possible midair collision.

BOB RICHARDS, FORMER AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: It said pull up, pull up. Of course the aircraft pull up just before it could go to the altitude of the other aircraft.

ROESGEN: Bob Richards spent 22 years an air traffic controller at Chicago O'Hare's Airport before he retired this year. He's come out with a book called "Secrets from the Tower." His account of why air traffic controllers are fed up.

RICHARDS: Controllers have nothing to gain at this point but retirement.

ROESGEN: A record number of air traffic controllers, 828, retired last year. To fill the gaps, some air traffic controllers at the busiest airports like O'Hare, are working longer shifts and six- day weeks. Bryon Zilonis is a leader for the Air Traffic Controllers Union in the Great Lakes area. He says it takes years to train new controllers who can handle the high demands of the jobs.

BRYON ZILONIS, CONTROLLERS UNION: An air traffic controller is not hired on day one. It took me five years to become an air traffic controller from the day I walked into the control room to the day I became a full performance level controller. It was about 18 months before I was even allowed to talk to an airplane.

ROESGEN: The union says fewer controllers means potentially more close calls in the air. And they say, fewer eyes on the sky adds to the growing number of flight delays.

The federal aviation administration told CNN in e-mails that control tower staffing varies. But that "staffing today is determined by actual traffic and need."

The FAA also says that 1,800 new controllers were hired last year. But only 40 are fully trained and actually working full time. Bob Richards says that's not enough controllers and it's only going to get worse with all the retirements.

RICHARDS: They don't need that stress anymore. They've had it enough.

ROESGEN: And when they leave, the fear is they'll leave too many planes flying too close for comfort.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Yeah, did you get that number right, Betty?

NGUYEN: Of the 1,815, only 40 are fully -- really fully trained. These are the people who control the planes coming in and out, your safety.

HOLMES: That is scary because a lot of us around here, a lot of people fly all the time. The Air Traffic Controllers are pushing for a bill now in Congress that would force the FAA to negotiate a new controllers contract. That proposed legislation would give controllers more time off, higher pay as well for new controllers. Give it to them.

NGUYEN: Yes, you don't need a sleepy air controller. I've been working 12 hours. I need some rest. Please get some.

All right, a brotherhood of men who risk their lives for each other.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been with a lot of these guys the last four years, and, you know, they are like brothers. And it's, you know, I was glad that if I had to go I was glad I went with who I would.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: They're now back in the U.S. and honored for their bravery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE LOPEZ, COMEDIAN: First of all, I'm here to profess my love for Betty Ngyuen. If you're out there, Betty, I watch you every day and I'm completely in love with you. Really? A lot of people. I'm too late. I watch her every chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Oh, George.

HOLMES: You're late there, George, get in line.

NGUYEN: Much love back at you, George.

HOLMES: You've got a line of celebrities outside waiting to see Betty Nguyen.

NGUYEN: Oh, please. Actually, I'm a big fan and my little sister just loves his show. As for his wife, though, what a lapse in judgment there my friend. You did it on national T.V.

HOLMES: There are married guys out there lining up for you.

NGUYEN: Oh, get out of here.

HOLMES: Oh, Betty. We love our Betty around here.

NGUYEN: T.J. paid him to say that. That's why we aired it.

HOLMES: Others love our Betty as well. So that's nice to see.

NGUYEN: Thank you George. Hey he may look like a polar bear, but he's really a cash cow. Knut is his name. He gained fame as an abandoned cub, he's now one-year-old.

HOLMES: And Knut has been such a huge draw at the Berlin Zoo, he doubled ticket sales to nearly $15 million over the past year. Don't know if he's getting a cut of that. The zoo offered free admission for kids to mark Knut's first day. But then tomorrow they'll go right back to charging them for those tickets.

NGUYEN: With interest.

HOLMES: Yes, probably. Well, he's going to term the greatest generation now. Legendary TV news anchor Tom Brokaw is taking a look at another tumultuous time in American history in his new book "Boom: Voices of the '60s."

NGUYEN: And get this. He even gave our Fredricka Whitfield an impromptu reading. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BROKAW, AUTHOR: Boom, one minute it was Ike and the man in the gray flannel suit in the lonely crowd. And the next minute it was time to turn on, turn in, drop out. Time for we shall overcome. Also burn baby burn. While Americans were walking on the moon, Americans were dying in Vietnam. There were assassinations and riots. Jackie Kennedy became Jackie O. There were tie-die shirts and hard hats, black power and law and order. Martin Luther King Jr. and George Wallace, Ronald Reagan and Tom Hayden. Gloria Steinham and Anita Bryant, Mick Jagger and Wayne Newton. Well, you get the idea, boom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: OK, you can listen to him all day, that voice.

NGUEN: All day long. Fredricka's complete interview with Tom Brokaw is coming up in the NEWSROOM at noon Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: They are the bravest of the brave. Five American soldiers from one of the most decorated units to fight and die in Iraq.

HOLMES: They are the nation's newest recipients of the Silver Star. CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has their stories.

(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 Diyalah River Valley. They are 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'd 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 to give me a tourniquet, I'm bleeding.

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 gun fire to rescue a soldier who was bleeding to death.

SPEC. ANDREW HARRIMAN, SILVER STAR RECIPIENT: I had been with a lot of these guys since -- the last four years. And, you know, they are like brothers, and it's - I was glad that if I had to go, I was glad I went with who I would do.

STARR: This s a brotherhood of men who risked their lives. Home now at Ft. Bragg, 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 STAR RECIPIENT: It was a good 12, 14, 15 hours after that until really we had a chance to just kind of sit back in our honches, regroup and think about what happened.

STARR: Staff Sergeant Justin Young, wounded, fought for five days before getting medical attention. He's already looking ahead.

SGT. JUSTIN YOUNG, SILVER STAR RECIPIENT: We were just coming to visit and see these men and what they think of what we've done.

STARR: Captain Stephen 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.

CAPT. STEPHEN DOBBINS, SILVER STAR RECIPIENT: It was tough losing them, but each time they went down fighting, they loved the guys they were working with on the right and the left and we continue to fight honor, their sacrifice.

STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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