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Few Delays for Holiday Travelers; New Orleans Residents Angry Over Planned Demolition; Judge Hears Arguments about CIA Tapes; Man Discovers Birth Mother is Co-Worker

Aired December 21, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Security, enforce our rule.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Disorder in the court. City council actually. A big stink in the Big Easy over housing. And we've got a blow-by-blow account.

Home for the holidays is looking better than ever. Should I say, staying home for the holidays? We're watching the skies in the peak travel time right before Christmas.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Don is off. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Fridays are notorious getaway days, right? And this Friday a lot of folks are getting away for the holiday.

Any weather hazards out there, Chad Myers?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Trying to get away. Many of them are slowly getting away, and others are getting stuck.

New York City has low visibility this morning. Eight hundred foot was the ceiling. They had to back the planes up a little bit so you're delayed there at this point in time. Actually, here's a live shot looking up the Hudson up toward the G.W. Bridge. If you keep going to the right that would be kind of the Cross Bronx expressway.

We kind of notice every once in a while you try to pick out a big white car or a truck on the bridge to see if it's moving, and we do see a lot of eastbound traffic doing pretty well. Even 20, 30 miles per hour on that bridge is OK as long as it keeps moving and doesn't back up from the other direction.

Now, another line that we want to keep moving, too, are these TSA lines. A lot of people in Denver right now and Boston, as well, and Atlanta trying to get through. Here's a pretty good shot from KMGH from the second story looking down at TSA going to one of the wings there at the Denver Airport. What a great airport that is out there. And that line doesn't look too long, actually. It's probably coming around. And that, actually -- the people you see there, they're actually waiting for some people to get off the plane and pick them up and take them with them (ph). So that's not even a line there to the TSA.

We've been hearing very good things about the TSA lines today across the country so far. They really got their act together today, trying to get you in and out.

Now, the planes, well, they can't do anything about that. They literally cannot worry about the weather. Two-hour delays in Boston for a while today. Chicago two hours and 40 minutes. JFK and La Guardia at one hour.

Even trying to get into Aspen today, now it's snowing there, which you kind of want, but you don't want it when you're trying to land. Airport delays there an hour. Charlotte 30 minutes, Philadelphia 30 minutes.

But so far pretty good on major in- and outbound routes right now, Kyra, all of these big hubs as we call them, doing fairly good. Especially St. Louis, right in the middle of the country, doing great.

PHILLIPS: Great news. Thanks, Chad.

Suspected, now confirmed. National Weather Service experts say it was a tornado that caused all this damage yesterday in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Chad was talking it, and he was talking about how the winds were clocked at 120 miles an hour, as well.

Trees, roofs, appliances were scattered over nine miles. One man was hurt when that twister slammed into his home.

Remember these scenes from yesterday? A modern-day Battle of New Orleans outside city hall gates. Protesters were up-in-arms over plans to tear down thousands of public housing units. The vote went through so today this hour a lot of angry people are planning their next move.

CNN national correspondent Keith Oppenheim has the whole story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Security, enforce our rules.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even for the volatile city politics of New Orleans, this was no regular city council meeting. It got wild on the inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walk them out this way.

OPPENHEIM: And wild on the outside, with as many as 200 protesters furious they couldn't get in. Police fired pepper spray and used stun guns. In all, 15 people were arrested, mostly for disturbing the peace.

SUPERINTENDENT WARREN RILEY, NEW ORLEANS POLICE: It was clear that there were people there that had one goal in mind, and that was to be disruptive, to be disobedient and, in some cases, to actually start a physical confrontation.

OPPENHEIM: It was all an emotional build-up from a housing crisis created by Hurricane Katrina. The city council was deciding whether to demolish four public housing developments, more than 4,500 units.

In their place, HUD, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the city will subsidize new mixed income housing. Some residents and protesters argued the demolition will essentially kick out the poor and replace blacks with whites.

TRACIE WASHINGTON, ATTORNEY: It's a race issue, because the public housing developments were HUD's (ph), 100 percent black, and these are the people who are not allowed to return to the city.

OPPENHEIM: But supporters say the current projects are ridden with crime, that residents will get temporary housing. The council voted unanimously to tear down the buildings.

ARNIE FIELKOW, CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Not only are we going forward for the future, but we have safeguards in place in the interim that are going to allow us to make sure that HUD and HANA (ph) perform what they promised.

RAY NAGIN, MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS: You heard lots of pain today, pain from Katrina that was voiced.

OPPENHEIM: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin tried to soothe his city. That may not be enough, because protesters say they are not finished with this fight.

Keith Oppenheim, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And CNN is watching those protesters and following up on the meeting. We're going to let you know what happens.

Government lawyers hauled into court by a federal judge in Washington. He wants to know whether the CIA violated his order by destroying tapes of harsh interrogations of al Qaeda suspects.

With the story for us, live from Washington, our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra, this dates back to 2005 when the judge issued an order saying all evidence having to do with the possible torture or mistreatment of detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay needs to be preserved. You cannot destroy it.

So when word came out that there were interrogation tapes that were destroyed, one lawyer, named David Remes, who represents 11 detainees at Guantanamo Bay said, "Uh-oh, you know, we need to make sure that this wasn't in violation of that order. If those guys were at -- were at Guantanamo Bay, if there were other tapes that were destroyed." And he brought that case before the judge today.

Here's what he had to say when he got out of court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID REMES, ATTORNEY FOR DETAINEES: The Justice Department is not in a great position to say that it should be trusted in this matter in conducting the investigation of the destruction of the videotapes, because the Justice Department itself may have sanctioned the destruction of these videotapes. And, therefore, it would be a classic case of the foxes guarding the henhouse.

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ARENA: Now the Justice Department argued, "Look, these al Qaeda detainees that were on those interrogation tapes that were destroyed were being held in secret locations." They weren't at Guantanamo Bay, that those interrogations took place in 2002.

They also argued that the court should not be conducting this inquiry in public while the Department of Justice is conducting an inquiry that could lead to possible prosecutions. They say that that could taint witnesses, that there would be documents introduced, that people would try to change their testimony to match those documents.

The judge heard the arguments today, said that he would take it all under consideration. But considering, Kyra, the very narrow point that this hearing was about, about whether or not this was indeed a violation of that court order, judging from the questions from the judge today and what he had to say, it does look like the government had the upper hand. But again, we'll wait to hear what the judge has to say.

PHILLIPS: Now what about John Kiriakou, this former officer? He was interviewed a number of times here on CNN. He discussed waterboarding. Now the CIA wants to probe him. Right?

ARENA: Well, right. The CIA actually sent a referral over to the Department of Justice, saying, "We want an investigation into whether this man divulged any classified information as a result of all of those media appearances."

And justice never comments on any referrals that it gets from other agencies to do those types of investigations and it held fast, you know, didn't say anything today.

Kyra, because lawyers said, "Look, we fully expected this. It's within the CIA's right to do that." But you know what? If Justice chooses to go down that road, they are opening up a Pandora's box into this larger issue of torture, you know, and detainees and maybe that's not a place they want to go.

So, that's another development. You're right, today. So lots of things that just keep happening, you know, concerning these CIA tapes and torture, and so just keeps on coming, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We'll keep following it, as well. I know you will.

Kelli Arena, thanks a lot.

ARENA: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Let's go straight to the news room. T.J. is working details on a developing story right now.

T.J., what do you have?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this story, this missing lady, this college student, Marshall University college student, Leah Hickman, 21 years old. Been missing now a week. And this is just baffling her friends and family and the community there, because there is no sign of where this girl might have gone. She just simply vanished.

Last week, the last phone call anybody -- contact anybody had with her was a phone call on her cell phone at around 5:40 last Friday, and after that she has disappeared, to have fallen off the face of the earth.

She -- her purse, her keys, everything was left at her apartment there. She had packed up her bags and her car. She was heading out to go see her parents, certainly probably for the holiday season. And she has not been heard from in a week.

The flyers are going out. People are searching. You see some of these door-to-door, these searches happening. But there is just no sign of this young lady.

A $10,000 reward is now out for that young lady you see there, Leah Hickman, 21 years old, a broadcast journalism student there at Marshall University.

But just to give an update to the story we've been following. And here we are a week later and still no sign at all, Kyra, of this young lady. So certainly concern. No signs of foul play, Kyra, but at this point, it's hard for anybody to think that something certainly didn't go terribly wrong, because this is certainly not like her to just go away like this. And no sign. Nobody's heard from her.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let us know if you've got more.

HOLMES: All right.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, T.J.

Leading our political ticker now, comments from a Republican candidate for president draw an angry response from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Mike Huckabee recently criticized the Bush administration for what he said was a go it -- go at it, rather, alone foreign policy. Today, Rice shot back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The idea that somehow this is a go-it-alone policy is just simply ludicrous. And one would only have to be not observing the facts -- let me say that -- to say that this is now a go-it-alone foreign policy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Go it alone. Say that six times real fast.

Now, among other things, Huckabee accused the administration of having a, quote, "arrogant bunker mentality."

John McCain scores a double in Boston. The Republican presidential candidate has picked up the endorsement of "The Boston Herald" five days after gaining the support of the "Boston Globe." Both papers reach a sizable number of voters in neighboring New Hampshire, which holds its presidential primary in just 18 days.

From Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney, an admission. He now says he never saw his father march with Martin Luther King Jr., as he had claimed earlier. Romney says that his father, former Michigan Governor George Romney, told him he'd marched with King, and he used the word "saw" in a figurative sense.

Historical evidence shows no record of George Romney marching with King, though he did participate in a civil rights march supported King's agenda.

And for all the day's political stories, log onto our special political news Web site, CNNPolitics.com.

A California family is lucky to be alive after being stuck in a snowstorm for three days. After their rescue they were treated for frostbite. We're going to learn more about the dangers of frostbite, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

And a heart-warming reunion in Michigan. A young man finds his birth mother after 22 years. We're going to meet them live, along with the man's adopted mother.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: One-fourteen Eastern Time right now. Here are some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The Christmas travel rush is sure on. Lots of people knocking off work this afternoon to go home for the holidays. They may face thunderstorms in the southeast, though, and heavy snow in Colorado.

And a 21-year-old West Virginia college student has been missing for a week. Friends at Marshall University gathered to pray last night for the safety of Leah Hickman. And another sentence today for a Missouri man who's already serving life in prison for abducting and assaulting two boys. This time, Michael Devlin was sentenced to 170 years for making pornographic photos and videos of one of those boys.

A young man and his birth mother reunited just in time for Christmas. We first told you about their heartwarming story just a couple days ago.

And after searching for years, Steve Flaig didn't have to look too far to find Christine Tallady. Listen to this: the two are co- workers at a Lowe's store in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and they live just a few miles apart.

Steve and Christine join us now from New York, and in Grand Rapids Steve's adopted mother, Lois. And by the way, Steve's two moms have never met. So we'll get to that in just a second.

Anyway, I don't even know where to begin, you guys. This story is just wonderful all the way around. Steve, I just looked. You just kind of reached over and grabbed at your biological mother's hand.

Let's sort of step back for a second, because I know how important Lois is to you, as well. We're going to tie this all together. Why did you want to find your birth mother?

STEVE FLAIG, FOUND BIRTH MOTHER: In my mind, it's just something that's kind of been gnawing at the back of my consciousness for a long time, something I really wanted to know where I came from and who this person was and kind of fill that void in my life. And I think it's worked out wonderfully.

PHILLIPS: All right. And Christine, kind of take us back. Why -- why did you have to give your son up for adoption?

CHRISTINE TALLADY, BIRTH MOTHER: At the time I -- I wanted my child to have both a mother and a father. My dad died when I was 7. It just wasn't a good time in my life. I was going to go back to school. I wanted to do my student teaching, and it just wasn't the right time at that moment.

PHILLIPS: Sure. And then I can just imagine what went through your mind and your heart.

And so, Lois, let me ask you. Why did you want to adopt?

LOIS FLAIG, ADOPTIVE MOTHER: Well, unfortunately it was one of those circumstances where we were unable to have our own family, and so we started the process and waited about 6 1/2 years until we got that special phone call saying that there was a little baby boy available for us.

PHILLIPS: And that baby boy is definitely grown up now.

And Steve, that brings me back to you, no longer a baby boy. So, here you are working in Grand Rapids. You're working at Lowe's. How did you find out that your birth mother was actually working with you in the same store? How did it all happen?

S. FLAIG: I had mentioned to a co-worker of mine who -- who is -- she's a little bit higher up and kind of knows everyone's last name. And I mentioned to her I was searching for this person, Chris Tallady, and she asked me if I was referring to the Chris Tallady that happened to work at Lowe's. And up until this point I did not know Chris's last name.

PHILLIPS: And so how did you put two and two together? And did you go up to your birth mother and say, "By the way, not only do we work together, I'm your son"?

S. FLAIG: No, not quite like that. I put two and two together. She was the right -- the right age, and she still lived in the area, and my understanding was that my birth mom still did live in the area. And in fact, I had an address that turned out to be hers. We double- checked that in the computer, as well.

And I went to the adoption agency, D.A. Lodge (ph), in Grand Rapids and went ahead and had them call her for me. And that was probably the best way to go about it.

PHILLIPS: Wow. And how did you react, Christine?

TALLADY: Well, overwhelmed and -- after I did the -- I deducted which Steve it was, because there are a few Steves I worked with at the store. I just cried, cried and cried.

And then I went and verified his birthday. I found someone who could actually verify his birthday and just you know, just overwhelmed with joy that, you know, he finally found me. It was just -- just overwhelmed.

PHILLIPS: So when the two of you put it together, I mean, did you -- did you run and hug and kiss? And I mean, tell me about that moment.

TALLADY: What we did is he called me probably about a half hour after I got the call from the adoption agency. And then we decided to meet a couple days later at a restaurant. And it was just -- I walked into the restaurant. He was already there. He stood up and yes, it was just -- it was just hugged and hugged and cried. Just cried.

S. FLAIG: Very, very emotional.

TALLADY: Yes, very emotional.

PHILLIPS: And I'm curious, Lois, how did you handle all of this? Because obviously, you -- you had adopted Steve. You raised him. He's a fine young man and obviously doing very well. How did this affect you, you know, as a mom? As his mom?

L. FLAIG: Well, we always raised Steve and our other adopted son, Scott, to know that it was not for lack of love that their mothers gave them up for adoption but because of great love, that they wanted more for them than they could provide. So this comes full circle for us, and we're just thrilled, because as parents we want our children to be happy. And we knew how important this was for Steve so we supported him at all way. We just hoped and prayed for many years for this type of happy ending, although we didn't know all of this was going to happen.

PHILLIPS: And Lois, you and Christine have never met, so I just want to take a minute here. What would you like to tell Christine about her son?

L. FLAIG: Well, he's been a joy to raise. Very inquisitive, very intelligent, which obviously comes from the genes, very just delightful, talented in many ways, especially musically. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of jamming going on, because I know you have a musical background.

TALLADY: Yes.

L. FLAIG: And that we just feel very blessed. He -- because of you, Christine, I was able to be a mom, so thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: And Christine, what do you want to say to Lois?

TALLADY: I just want to tell her thank you and thank you for taking such good care of him and bringing him up to be such a good person.

PHILLIPS: Lois...

L. FLAIG: Can't wait to give you a big hug.

TALLADY: I can't wait either.

PHILLIPS: Lois, when you're there, or Christine, when you're there next to your son, do you see a similarity? Do you feel a connection? Have you talked about your similarities as people?

TALLADY: Well, we have had nothing but time to talk and everything. There is a lot of -- a lot of similarities. We found a lot of, you know, similarities.

S. FLAIG: There was really an instantaneous connection from the first seconds that we saw each other.

TALLADY: Most definitely.

S. FLAIG: As soon as we knew who each other were.

TALLADY: Most definitely.

PHILLIPS: So Steve, let me ask you, what do you think has just been the most beautiful thing that you've discovered about your birth mother and also since that you have probably discovered even more beautiful things about the mother that raised you, about Lois.

S. FLAIG: Absolutely. Lois and my dad, Pat, have been just 100 percent supportive over the whole process, and I couldn't thank them more for that. It's been absolutely fantastic.

And Chris and I, like I said, we've had a connection from the beginning, and we just plan on getting to know each other even better over the coming years.

PHILLIPS: So Lois, the family has just grown.

L. FLAIG: We love it. It's a wonderful time of the year. And I guess our only hope from all of this is that if there's any young women out there who might find themselves in a similar position and would consider that maybe the adoption option might work for their circumstances, then our Christmas miracle will even live on, you know, in a greater way. So...

PHILLIPS: Amen. Lois, you are an amazing, amazing woman. And I know you've adopted two sons, and that Scott is there, as well.

And Steve, you are so lucky to have two moms, a brother.

S. FLAIG: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Your family keeps growing.

Christine, I hope you get a chance to learn more about your son and that this family continues to grow.

TALLADY: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Happy holidays, you guys.

S. FLAIG: Thank you much.

TALLADY: Happy holidays.

L. FLAIG: See you soon.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's the Friday before Christmas, as you know, and trains, planes and automobiles are definitely packed. We're going to look at just how packed the airports are getting as folks start to head out of town.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the only red on Wall Street is probably coming from old St. Nick. Stocks are sharply higher. Could it be the traditional "Santa" rally?

Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with the latest from there.

Hey, Susan.

(STOCK REPORT)

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Also I want to mention the NASDAQ is doing well with the help of RIM, Research in Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry. Its quarterly sales and revenue and profits, rather, doubled. Its stock more than doubled, as well, this year. Its shares right now up more than 12 percent, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We should have known to invest in that a long time ago.

LISOVICZ: Yes. You know, Warren Buffett says buy what you know. And we know BlackBerries very well at CNN.

PHILLIPS: And every new model that's out there.

All right. What happened to all those concerns about the mortgage and housing market crisis?

LISOVICZ: Well, they're still out there. They're just not Topic A today. In fact, there's more grim warnings about the housing recession. Let me just tell you.

Moody's says that this is the worst housing slump since the Great Depression. It says that it's going to get worse before it gets better. In fact, Moody's says the median single-family home prices are expected to fall 13 percent from their peak into early 2009. Some metro areas could see record drops of 20 percent or more.

And also, the FBI confirming a "Wall Street Journal" story today saying that a lot of the defaults and foreclosures we've seen are due to fraud. There's all sorts of fraud out there. The Federal Reserve touched -- touched upon it earlier this week, like liar loans, where people misrepresent their incomes when they're getting a loan, or shady appraisals, where homes are appraised much higher than their true value.

The "Journal" says the FBI is stepping up enforcement and with good reason.

In the next hour of NEWSROOM, on this festive day -- I don't know if you hear all the cat-calling here on the floor, Kyra -- we're going to talk about chocolate and chocolate prices. And that could be bittersweet for some candy-makers. We'll have that -- story in the next hour.

PHILLIPS: What are they cackling about? Are they excited it's the weekend?

LISOVICZ: I think that's exactly it, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. I can feel it. All right. Talk to you next hour.

An Internet hoax turns deadly. One teen is shot. Another is watching his father on trial. We've got the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, roads are getting jammed. Airports are packed. It's the Christmas exodus, after all. And if you're headed for ski country, well, you might want to hear what Greg Nieto of CNN affiliate KWGN has to say.

Greg, what's it like at the Denver airport?

GREG NIETO, KWGN REPORTER: Hey, you know what, Kyra, this is probably the best time to fly in or out of Denver International Airport, because later on in the day the Denver metro area is expected to get slammed by a snowstorm. As for now, things are running pretty smoothly. I'll take you inside the big white tent behind me here, give you a look see and how things are running today.

According to both airport officials and the TSA they're really reminding everyone to pack, obviously, at home and to keep these things in mind while you are packing. Make sure all your gels, liquids, lotions, et cetera, are actually checked into that checked luggage versus putting them into your carry-on luggage. If you put that stuff in your carry-on luggage more than likely you're going to be stopped there at the security checkpoints.

They're also advising folks to check in online if your airline offers it, adding that checking in before coming to the airport or curbside can eliminate time spent in those pesky ticketing lines.

Now as for folks that perhaps are bringing a youngster or a toddler along, officials are reminding everyone to make sure you take the little ones outside of that stroller before you go through security. Also advises folks to speed up the process if you're bringing your pet along for the holidays, to take Fido or perhaps your Kitty Cat outside of that carry-on case, and actually allow the officials there to make sure everything is on the up and up.

And perhaps most importantly those Christmas presents, we'll see a lot of folks here in Denver who have those packages wrapped. Make sure they're unwrapped, Kyra, because of course if they're wrapped perhaps they're going to have to unwrapped before their final destination.

We're live this morning in Denver. I'm Greg Nieto for CNN.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Greg, thanks so much.

(TRAVEL UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: If you're among the thousands heading for the airports, the 300,000 plus, a few things to keep in mind: Don't try to carry on wrapped presents. They'll just unwrap it all at the security gate, and don't check items that you can't do without like prescription medicine.

Travel expert Pauline Frohmer also advises not to get on planes without snacks and something to read just in case you're delayed.

What started as a prank on MySpace and ended with the shooting death of a 17-year-old boy in New York, now a jury is weighing the fate of the shooter, and CNN's Jason Carroll has the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It started with a sick joke. It came from Aaron White's MySpace account, a threat, sent to a teenage girl at his high school. White testified he didn't write it. Another friend did, using his screen name.

J. CICCIARO: All of those kids believed that this was real.

CARROLL: Even White's friend, Daniel Cicciaro, believed it was real.

J. CICCIARO: The thing is, that night Daniel believed that Aaron threatened to rape a girl who was like his little sister.

CARROLL: Cicciaro's parents say Daniel just wanted to protect the girl when she spotted Aaron at a party last year. The defense says racial slurs were used after White was kicked out. White testified a group of teenaged boys called him on his cell, saying, "Get back to this party, you (EXPLETIVE DELETED)."

FRED BREWINGTON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We had this group of young White men who felt that they were going to defend this young White woman from the black man who said these things about her and that they felt justified to do so because of his race.

CARROLL: Cicciaro rallied a group of his friends and headed to White's home in Long Island, New York. Aaron White said they called him again, saying they were coming to his house to kill him.

That's when Aaron's father, John White, got involved. Known as a quiet, dedicated man, he grabbed his handgun, a .32 caliber Beretta and waited for the teens.

DANIEL CICCIARO SR., FATHER: He had 20 minutes to gather his thoughts, to call the police, to defuse the situation, to find out why they were coming over. And he didn't take any of those precautionary steps.

CARROLL: The defense says White was thinking of his family's past in the south, where the Ku Klux Klan attacked them at his home one night.

Once Cicciaro and the teens arrived in his driveway, there was an argument. White says his gun accidentally went off, and Cicciaro was shot in the face.

"I didn't mean to shoot this young man," White told the court. "This young man was another child of God."

Cicciaro's parents don't believe him.

J. CICCIARO: They never called, the Whites, none of them, never called 911, even after they shot Daniel, but they did call their attorney.

CARROLL: White's attorney pointed to a 911 call Daniel's friend made moments after the shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (EXPLETIVE DELETED), I'll get them for you, Dano.

CARROLL: Daniel died that night.

J. CICCIARO: I saw the shot, the hole in his cheek. I got to tell him that I loved him and saw his eyes blank, straight open, staring at the ceiling.

CARROLL (on camera): White is charged with manslaughter. A jury is deciding whether he will lose his freedom.

The Cicciaro family says, regardless of the verdict, they've already lost what was most important to them.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Riverhead, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, how many life sentences can a kidnapper and child molester receive. Tack on a few more for Michael Devlin. He's the Missouri man already serving life for abducting two boys, keeping one of them prisoner for four years. A St. Louis judge today handed Devlin a further 170 years in prison for making pornographic images and videos of one of the young victims. The two boys were discovered in Devlin's apartment in January.

The gun that killed a football star. A suspect says it sleeps with the alligators. The four men charged with killing Redskins defensive back Sean Taylor were arraigned today on murder and other charges. One suspect's lawyer says his client is cooperating and saw the gun that killed Taylor when it was thrown into the Everglades. Taylor was shot during a break-in at his Miami home last month. He died the next day. He was 24.

Family rescued after lost in the snow, luckier than some who have been trapped outdoors in the winter. We're going to have some tips on do's and don'ts if you're caught in that situation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Alexis Dominguez endured four days and three nights in the snowy California wilderness along with her dad and her brothers. And you may have seen our story on their dramatic rescue Wednesday. They're all OK except for what doctors are calling minor frostbite in Alexis' toes. She's back in the hospital for treatment.

Our Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with more on the seriousness of frostbite and hypothermia. Boy, I've been there, I've been close.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh man.

PHILLIPS: It is painful.

COHEN: It sounds awful and I didn't know this, that more people in the U.S. die from extreme cold than die from extreme heat.

PHILLIPS: Wow, I didn't know that.

COHEN: Which is really -- yes, it's surprising.

PHILLIPS: Yes, why is that?

COHEN: It's just more dangerous. It can actually be more dangerous. Some 700 people in the United States die every year from hypothermia. In Lexy's situation, she is now back in the hospital, she's receiving I.V. fluids and she's receiving treatment for her pain. And right now -- of course, when you hear about her story, you think to yourself golly, what would I do if I were in that situation. What would I do if I were caught outside like that?

So we actually have some hints for what to do if you're caught out in extreme cold. First of all, stay in your car, if you're out in the car and it breaks down, extreme cold, stay in the car. Also, move your arms and legs around. You got to keep that blood flowing to your extremities. Wear a hat. Your mother really was right, you do lose a lot of heat through your head. So, keep a hat on. And dress in layers. That will actually keep you warmer.

That's some advice from the American Red Cross, and so of course, we wish Lexy the best in her recovery.

PHILLIPS: Yes, and of course -- I mean, staying indoors, definitely solves those problems. But when you're out and about, I mean, you don't always know that you're going to be in that situation.

COHEN: Right, you don't know when you're -- if you're going to be in that situation. But I have to say, being indoors doesn't necessarily take care of everything. There are reported deaths every year, people from frostbite or hypothermia when they stayed indoors. Obviously, their heat wasn't working properly or something like that.

So even if you're protected from the elements, you still can suffer from extreme cold. Now, most of the time, people who are suffering like that are the elderly, but you can still suffer even if you're younger.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Amazing that they're alive.

COHEN: It is.

PHILLIPS: That is the best part.

COHEN: It is, it is.

PHILLIPS: So, I would take a little pain, a little frostbite ...

COHEN: Right, still be living. PHILLIPS: There you go, amen. All right, thanks, Elizabeth.

Well, reaching out to an injured Iraq war vet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's been through a lot and we just want to get Lex home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: One family finally able to get an early discharge for their new best friend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, news junkies and Web surfers, this is what you're clicking onto on CNN.com right now. These are some of the most popular videos you're looking at.

Does this guy look blue to you? Well, he does to us, too. It's not makeup, and he's cool with it. Find out how it happened.

And he's a little guy with only three legs but the heart of a lion. Charlie needs a home. Watch his story online. I think that's the wrong video.

All right, how about a little shaky video here of a terrified family. You'd be pretty terrified, too, if you saw what they caught on tape.

All these video reports and plenty more, how's that for a big tease. We've even got some of the video wrong. It's right at your fingertips at CNN.com.

All right, it's been a tough year for a certain fellow named Lex. He lost his best friend to the war in Iraq where the two served side by side. But this holiday season, things are looking up, both for Lex and for the family of his comrade.

It's a beautiful story from CNN's Rusty Dornin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An old pro going through his paces for the last time, at least for his military career. This eight-year-old German Shepherd, Lex, was the canine bomb sniffing companion of Marine Corporal Dustin Lee. Lex was at Lee's side when his handler was killed in an attack last March in Iraq that also wounded the dog.

2ND LT. CALEB EAMES, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Corporal Lee was found on the ground and Lex was right beside him. In fact, Lex had to be pulled away from Corporal Lee in order to -- for the medical staff to attend to him. DORNIN: When Lee's body came home to Quitman, Mississippi, it was a welcome worthy of a hero. Tearful townspeople lined the streets for a young man known to be a patriot. When the marines brought Lex to see the family, Lee's younger brother Cameron played for hours with the dog. It was then the family began its fight to get an honorable discharge for Corporal Lee's faithful companion.

JEROME LEE, FATHER OF MARINE KILLED IN IRAQ: Since Dustin's death, we've been trying to get his dog, Lex, from the Marine Corps, and needless to say, we've had difficulty there.

DORNIN: Lex still had two years of service left until his mandatory retirement at age 10. That was a problem for the Marines. Lex was an active duty dog. The request went from the base colonel to the commandant of the Marine Corps and even had to go through the Air Force which controls all military dogs. It took nine months. Finally, the Marines relented.

EAMES: This is the first time that a family of a handler has been allowed to adopt a working military dog prior to his retirement.

DORNIN: Marine Corps officials say it costs thousands of dollars and man hours to train dogs like Lex. Often, the dogs are adopted by their handlers after retirement or given to local police departments. To the Lee family, Lex is a priceless gift whose leash was handed over to them in a ceremony at the marine base Friday. But for the Lees, Lex is not just a dog.

RACHEL LEE, MOTHER: A spiritual connection knowing that Dustin would be very proud.

DORNIN: The brother and sister of the fallen marine wasted no time taking advantage of their newfound friend.

J. LEE: To have a part of Dustin, to have a companion for Cameron and Maddie. The children will have a part of Dustin to be able to play with, and he will always be a part of our family.

DORNIN: A four-legged military hero, now ready for play time as a civilian.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right, now what's the most -- the amazing part today is that the family got the dog. They were on "AMERICAN MORNING" this morning and we saw the whole family. And the dog was just sort of checking everybody out. Like wow, I'm with my family.

DORNIN: He ended up playing tug of war again with the younger brother and sister later on. And, it was a very emotional ceremony. They handed the leash, basically, over to the Lees and said, he's your dog after nine months of their battle trying to get him.

PHILLIPS: Why such a battle?

DORNIN: Well it's just it -- he was a working dog, an active military dog, and they don't turn them over until they are retired. I mean, civilians can ask for these dogs and apply for them, but after their retirement. So, often the handlers themselves adopt the dogs or they go to local police departments. But it so happens we found out from the Lees this is morning, they do already have another military dog that's half blind.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

DORNIN: So they were allowed to adopt that one as well.

PHILLIPS: And just, because you mentioned it in the piece, but I think what is so heart wrenching about this is that the dog was right there with him when he died in Iraq. And it kind of gets you choked up. I mean, they had a hard time pulling the dog away from him when he realized he wasn't breathing.

DORNIN: And at the funeral, that's when the family really decided. Because it was that connection, his mother called it a spiritual connection to the dog. The dog was the closest thing to their son. He tried to protect their son after he had been killed. And they thought we really want to have this dog.

Plus, the mother also teaches rescue dogs and that's how her son became interested in the German Shepherd and being a dog handler was through his mother. So, they're a dog loving family anyway, and this was just such a special bond that they really wanted to have Lex in their home.

PHILLIPS: Lex couldn't be in a better place, that's for sure.

Rusty, thanks a lot.

Well, there's nothing sacred this holiday campaign season. Of course not. And you know Jeanne Moos, she always makes the most of it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Supporters of presidential hopefuls are singing their candidates' praises, literally, this holiday season. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Forget "O Christmas Tree..."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: O Hillary, O Hillary...

MOOS: And there's a new little drummer boy in town...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They say that you're too green Barack Obama.

MOOS: Supporters aren't just singing their candidates praises, they're caroling them. Even groups like the National Republican Senatorial Committee are getting into the holiday spirit, bashing liberals in song. MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE: On the first day of Christmas the liberals gave to me, a tax hike for every family.

MOOS: Ron Paul supporters had the same idea.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: On the fifth day of Christmas Ron Paul gave to me, peace in Iraq, no IRS, no foreign wars, no more income tax...

MOOS: Ron Paul supporters tend to think out of the box. Make that boxers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vote Ron Paul, vote Ron Paul, Ron Paul all the way.

MOOS: Listen to enough of these and you'll be on your knees praying for a silent night...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New from Capital Records, it's the Clinton Classic Christmas Treasury Collection.

Don't you just adore me.

We're scared of Hillary, Barack Obama.

MOOS: At least his name works well here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Obama, rock your mama, Barack Obama.

MOOS: You know how everyone keeps mixing up Obama's name with you know who's...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Osama -- unfortunate name, Obama.

MOOS: Not unfortunate for this guy. Meet Barack O'Llama, at the Pasado Safe Haven animal shelter. Thanks to his catchy name, Barack O'Llama has attracted 25,000 gifts sponsorships this holiday season, more than any animal they've ever had. But enough about O'Llama, back to Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's beginning to look a lot like Obama will win in Iowa. And Bill and Hillary had their chance a long time ago. It's beginning to look a lot like Obama...

MOOS: Did they say Obama, or O'Llama?

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So you're going to the mall, one tip, take your pocketbook.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A few aisles over we found this car, with a purse sitting right there on the front seat. We waited for it's owner to show up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know it's stupid. I know I'm an idiot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: More security tips from police during this hectic holiday shopping season. The next hour CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Four days before Christmas and all through the skies, planes, planes and more planes. What a surprise -- not. Mix in some yuletide weather and delays start to pile up like snow drifts. Happy traveling, my friends.

Hello everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta and you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Fridays are a notorious getaway days and this Friday a lot of folks are getting away for the holiday.

What are the weather hazards out there, Chad?

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