Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

American Freed in Nicaragua; A Season to Remember; Sean Taylor's killers; Campaign Season Continues; Devlin Receives More Jail Time

Aired December 21, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Look closely. What you're seeing could have been horrible. A predator stalks, then grabs a young girl, then lets her go when her friend makes a fuss. He's still on the loose.
Teams on the field, state title on the line, players' dads in Iraq -- the underdog Falcons of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, win the championship, and two of them join me in the NEWSROOM.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. And you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM

We start with T.J. Holmes, though, with a story of freedom -- T.J.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a story of freedom.

This appears to be over, this long ordeal, for 28-year-old Eric Volz of Nashville, Tennessee, who was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison in Nicaragua for killing his ex-girlfriend. That was back in 2006 when she was killed. He was sentenced and convicted earlier this year.

However, the problem here and which got so much attention on this story was that 10 people came forward and testified or gave affidavits swearing that he was actually in his office in a town some two hours away from where she was killed at the time she was killed.

But still that evidence and those witnesses were not taken into account. And a judge there sentenced him to 30 years in prison for that murder. He's been fighting ever since. His family, friends, and many have gotten involved in trying to get him out of prison. And in fact, his conviction was overturned just a short time ago, about a week ago, but still he wasn't released because the judge refused to sign the papers releasing him, came up with all kinds of excuses, saying she had a flat tired, saying the papered weren't numbered correctly, even saying they stapled correctly.

So, kind of a stall, so now other appeals judges jumped in, got those papers signed. And according to his family, he has now been released. Not sure exactly where he is now, apparently may be still in Nicaragua. Don't know if he's going to be making his way back to the U.S. Again, he's from Nashville, Tennessee, had been working in Nicaragua on a magazine, a bilingual magazine. But Eric Volz, a long ordeal, we have been following this story for quite some time, and just an outrage on an international level because it just seemed so unfair, at least, but now it seems like justice may have been served for this young man. And he's now out of prison -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, T.J., thanks.

HOLMES: All right.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk more about Eric Volz, all right, and how did he become a prisoner in Nicaragua.

Well, Rick Sanchez traveled to Central America to tell his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Eric Volz is a handsome American young man in love with the idyllic setting of coastal Nicaragua. He had also fallen in love with this Nicaraguan beauty, Doris Jimenez. They dated, and had broken up, but kept in contact. Then in November, a year ago, Jimenez was found strangled. Despite almost no evidence, Eric is charged with her murder.

But witnesses tell me, he wasn't there. He couldn't have done it.

(on camera): He was there in his office, you say. You saw him. He was wearing shorts.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): At his trial witnesses also tell the judge that he wasn't there. But there was something else going on outside that may have impacted the judge even more. With Eric Volz on trial, his life hanging in the balance there in that courtroom, the mob here on the street was getting even more tense. And the message that they seemed to be sending to the judge was clear, we want the gringo convicted.

This is Volz' mother telling his father the outcome.

MAGGIE ANTHONY, ERIC VOLZ' MOTHER: It's a guilty verdict.

SANCHEZ: Eric was found guilty of murdering Doris Jimenez. He was also found guilty of raping her, even though police never concluded that she had been raped.

He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Rick Sanchez, CNN, Managua, Nicaragua.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you're among the thousands of people heading to airport, here's a few things to keep in mind. Don't try to carry on wrapped presents. They're just going to unwrap it all at the security gate. And don't check items that you can't do without, like prescription medicine. Travel expert Pauline Frommer also advises not to get on planes without snacks and something to read just in case you are delayed. You heard Chad. They're just getting longer.

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has won a lot of friends lately, but not necessarily at the State Department. It's election-year politics, folks.

And CNN's John King is with the Huckabee campaign there in Iowa.

Hey, John.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello from Muscatine, Iowa, Kyra.

This is an interesting one. You have a Republican candidate for president who is in a bit of a policy squabble, not only with the other Republican candidates, but now with the Republican administration. At issue is that article Mike Huckabee wrote in the "Foreign Affairs" magazine where he said the Bush administration had an arrogant bunker mentality when it came to some foreign policy.

Now, he does praise the president in some respects, but this criticism has rankled his Republican rivals. The White House has declined comment. But this dustup has resumed again today because this morning Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked about this. And she didn't address Huckabee by name.

At first, she said she wanted to stay out of politics, but then she said it was "ludicrous" for anyone to say that the Bush administration had a bunker mentality or a go-it-alone foreign policy.

Well, I caught up with Governor Huckabee on his bus here in Iowa a short time ago. He said he has the greatest respect for Secretary Rice. He said he wonders if she read the entire article, but he said he does not take back what he said about a bunker mentality and arrogance. And he said in our interview that, look, if you can't have differences with the president of the United States, no matter what party he is in, why have elections?

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we are so unable to point out policy differences and how things would change under a new administration, then maybe we shouldn't run for president. We will just keep the current one in office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: And, so, in our longer interview, Kyra, he stood by his words again. He said, look, he's ready to be commander in chief. He knows his rivals are saying he's not a loyal Republican and that he's naive about the threat.

But Governor Huckabee says, where he disagrees with President Bush, whether he's a Democrat or Republican, he's going to air it out, and he says he thinks most Republican voters will respect him for that, even if they still like their Republican president -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And, John, even with the controversy that is happening, this dustup, as you say, this is someone who came in and literally overnight had everybody talking about his numbers.

KING: And you know what, Kyra, he thinks the reason he has skyrocketed in the polls is because he tells it like it is, because he has a folksy style, because he is, to use a word, many of his voters say, is approachable. You can come up to him. You can ask him the question.

He doesn't hide from us when there's a controversy like this. And he doesn't hide from the voters. I was just at an event where he took some tough questions about his record on immigration.

So, there's a potential downside here. Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson are both going around saying, hey, this is a Republican criticizing our president. There is a potential downside there. But Mike Huckabee says he's going to call it like he sees it.

And we will see what happens. And, at the moment, what's happening is, at least in our latest CNN poll, he's eight points ahead here in Iowa.

PHILLIPS: John King, good talking to you.

KING: Thanks, Kyra.

Scheduled back before a federal judge today, basketball -- or baseball home run king, Barry Bonds. It's part of the proceedings surrounding Bonds' perjury and obstructing justice charges. Prosecutors claim that the Bonds legal team faces conflicts of interests, since they represent other key figures in the steroid scandals.

How many life sentences can convicted kidnapper and child molester receive? Well, tack on a few more for Michael Devlin. He's the Missouri man you may remember that already is 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. This sentence is for making pornographic images and videos of one of those young victims. The two boys were discovered in Devlin's apartment back 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 that he 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 years old.

A year to remember for a football team in Kentucky -- the story of the Falcons and their fans from overseas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's 3:12 Eastern time. Here are three of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The Christmas travel rush is on, lots of people knocking off work this afternoon to head home for the holidays. They may face thunderstorms in the Southeast, though, and some heavy snow in Colorado

A 21-year-old West Virginia college student has been missing for a weak. Friends at Marshall University gathered to pray last night for the safety of Leah Hickman.

And another sentence today for a Missouri man who is 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 year to remember for a football team in Kentucky -- the story of the Falcons and their fans from overseas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, they can't embrace their dads, but, this holiday season, 12 sons of American soldiers have something else worth hugging. It's a football championship trophy.

The boys at Fort Campbell High School in Kentucky won the Class AA championship football game. A dozen players' fathers are in Iraq, where they followed the game on laptops.

Now, in the championship game, Fort Campbell defeated Newport Catholic Central, whose coach paid tribute to the families of those boys who beat him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB SCHNEIDER, NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC COACH: What a great thing for Fort Campbell. After what they go through on a daily basis, and to have that shown over there and their kids winning, it just -- it gives me a little chill right now, just thinking of those folks seeing their kids win the state championship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And just a few weeks back, Fort Campbell quarterback C.J. Croft got to play in front of his dad, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Croft. Colonel Croft was on a brief home leave just after having been in Iraq since July. Truly a season to remember.

And joining us to talk about it now, Fort Campbell coach Shawn Berner and quarterback C.J. Croft. They're both in Nashville.

Guys, great to see you.

SHAWN BERNER, FORT CAMPBELL HIGH FOOTBALL COACH: Thank you.

C.J. CROFT, FORT CAMPBELL HIGH QUARTERBACK: Yes.

PHILLIPS: So, C.J., tell us what your dad is doing in Iraq, what his mission is.

CROFT: Well, he's a transporter, so he kind of just gets people in the place that they need to be.

PHILLIPS: Well, that's kind of what you do as a quarterback, I guess.

(LAUGHTER)

CROFT: Yes, pretty much the same thing.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: So, do you worry about him?

CROFT: You know, he's in a very safe place, but, you know, it's always a war zone. So, yes, you got to worry about him just a little bit.

PHILLIPS: And, coach, not only do you have to deal with the guys on the field and talk about tragedy and winning and all that great stuff, but you have got a number of players who do have dads serving in Iraq. How do you keep them focused? And do they come to you and many a times want to talk about that fact?

BERNER: Oh, absolutely.

I mean, it is. It is a tough thing to go through, especially for our kids. But, you know, we have a special kid at Fort Campbell, and they have adapted well. And it's not just one going through it, so they all kind of unify and come together. But, yes, we talk about it quite a bit.

And we have a lot of community support, and not just myself, but the assistant coaches. I have got a couple that have coached -- or played on the Fort Campbell team in the past. So, they can relate to these guys very well.

PHILLIPS: So, when you gather the guys, coach, are there moments where maybe some of the boys, even you, say, all right, let's do it for your dads that are serving in Iraq; this is more than just a football game, but it's about you excelling and making them proud?

BERNER: Well, that's funny you say that, because the last thing that we said before we took the field, we kind of said, let's make your dads proud today. And that's something that they obviously did.

PHILLIPS: Well, I had a feeling, coach. That's what I was feeling.

C.J., your dad actually listens to the games in Iraq? Tell me how that works?

CROFT: Well, the local radio station actually set it up so that they can listen to it over the Internet. So, he gets a group of guys and huddles around a computer listening to the game.

PHILLIPS: Oh, that is over awesome. And, so, does he call you up or try to get in touch with you, like, on a sat phone and talk to you about the game, like give you a debrief?

CROFT: Well, yes, pretty much. He actually calls my mom during halftime and tells her what he wants me to hear.

And then after the game, I'm able to talk to him for a little bit. And, then, once I get back home again, I talk to him again.

PHILLIPS: Oh, wow.

Now, coach, you guys haven't won a state championship, I was reading, since 1979. So, do you think this sort of interesting spirit about the dads in Iraq and the boys kind of having a different attitude here, winning for something else besides just themselves or you or the team?

BERNER: I mean, it was a culmination of things. You know, it's been -- it's funny you say that again, because a lot of people keep saying, you know, there's going to be a book come out of this or there's going to be a movie. It's just been a special story.

But these guys, I tell everybody, I can't explain what type of character they have and how they have unified. And they did so many things for our community. And kind of just like just some great Christmas present that they have given to our community. And it's just been a special place the last two weeks with the amount of support and people that want to be involved.

PHILLIPS: And, so, C.J., put my head in the game. Put the other viewers in the game. It came down to the fourth quarter. And tell me what happened.

CROFT: Well, I mean, we had a lead going in. And we knew we just had to control the ball and keep the clock rolling.

And we had some big players step up. Dex (ph) had that huge run, put us ahead by 14 to, you know, seal it up. And then our defense came out and made some huge stops. And, you know, we kind of felt that we were going to win at that point. And we were able to take a knee to finish off the state championship game, which is, you know, a dream.

PHILLIPS: Do you remember what was going through your head? Did you say anything to the guys? Did the guys say anything to you? Did your dads come up? Did that sort of Iraq spirit enter in at any point?

CROFT: Well, I mean, it's always going through our head. And we were so glad that we could do it for our dads and for those guys who can't be here to watch it.

PHILLIPS: So, coach, there's definitely a deeper meaning to this win, yes?

BERNER: Oh, you have no idea.

And, again, what it has done to our community, I think, is very special. And I have gotten e-mails from people all over the country, all over the world that are Fort Campbell alumni or even in the armed forces and what they have -- how they have said that they were listening in Afghanistan and Iraq, and, you know, people that have no affiliation to us, but they're in the armed forces.

So, it's been a special thing. And it couldn't happen to a better group of kids. And they definitely represent what their dads represent in the military.

PHILLIPS: C.J., is that a cross around your neck?

CROFT: Yes, it is.

PHILLIPS: So, where did that come from? Is there a story?

CROFT: I mean, just very religious. I go to church. And we just kind of keep it on to make sure my dad's safe.

PHILLIPS: Right on.

C.J. Croft and Shawn Berner, what a great story. Congratulations to you guys.

BERNER: Thanks a lot.

CROFT: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Well, what would Jesus really do? How would he respond to all of the issues cropping up in the presidential race? We're going to check in with Roland Martin, who is hosting a CNN special on the matter just hours from now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes, the laughter turns to screams at an Israeli school near the Gaza border, a rocket attack caught on tape.

In the past week, Palestinian militants have rained down rockets on southern Israel. And Israelis have responded with airstrikes and ground incursions. In Pakistan, a suicide bomber hit a mosque in a politician's residential compound. At least 50 people were killed. The apparent target was a former interior minister, who escaped unhurt. That man's son was wounded.

And, when it comes to the future of Iraq, just like the future of any country, children have a starring role. For the past four years, Iraqi kids have also starred in a festival celebrating friendship and unity.

CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh is in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Abadar Fadhil plays the rabbit in the classic story "The Tortoise and the Hare" -- a rabbit who turns to the turtle he once shunned for help. Instead of rejecting him, the turtle agrees -- a move Abadar says more Iraqis could imitate.

ABADAR FADHIL, CHILD ACTOR (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The message is that we have to have friends. You may need a friend one day or your friend may need you. We must have friends to build one homeland.

VAN MARSH: In a country where divisions between Sunni, Shiite and other ethnic groups help fuel violence, this children's theater festival is meant to showcase the power of unity and pride in a post- Saddam Iraq.

BAKIR NAIF, PLAY DIRECTOR (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): It is no longer suitable to show children only fairy tales and stories. We need to introduce the reality of their daily life -- the fear they have of going to school when at any moment there could be an explosion or they could be kidnapped.

VAN MARSH: The recent lull in violence across Iraq has seen larger numbers of child actors and attendees attending this, the fourth annual festival, where folk dancers singing "Long Live Iraq!" meet the roar of the crowd.

In this play, a red and green mouse team up to help their friends -- proof that even the weakest, working together, can make a difference.

FADHIL (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): My family says bravo.

VAN MARSH: Festival organizers say the theater is a safe haven from the violence, where kids can express their hope for the future that peace and reconciliation don't have to be fairy tales.

Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: Religion and politics -- tonight, 8:00 Eastern on CNN, a special you won't want to miss. Roland Martin hosts "What Would Jesus Really Do?" He applied that question to such issues as Iraq, immigration, abortion, health care.

Roland joins me now from New York -- and, Roland, I understand part of the program includes a how would Jesus vote scorecard.

Now, how exactly is that going to work?

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Well, what we have is we've got someone from the left, someone from the right. And so we're going to take some of these hot button issues and then ask them to, you know, rapid fire respond to it. But I'll also weigh in. And then we'll sort of tabulate it at the end and see what happens.

PHILLIPS: I think I want to bring in your wife, because she's the pastor. She has that whole spiritual connection going on to all these issues.

MARTIN: Yes, indeed. But she'll -- but she'll be on a plane, so she can't do it.

PHILLIPS: OK. I'll catch up with her later.

You know, what stands out to you?

I mean what was the issue that you really wanted to tackle?

What did you want to talk about?

You mention on your blog this war on Christmas.

Where do we begin?

MARTIN: Well, some things have gotten just absolutely ridiculous. I mean you have some cities where they're talking about, you know, not even using red lights and green lights because that's too tied too Christmas. You know, folks are saying well, let's just use white lights. I mean it -- look, even if you're not even a religious person, to all of a sudden say let's not use the Christmas colors is absolutely ridiculous. So that's one thing we want to deal with.

But, also, what, also, I'm going to focus on is how are our troops in Iraq confronting the reality of being on the battlefield where, in war, it's kill or be killed. And they're to make a decision to shoot someone, to kill someone, when their faith may say thou shall not kill. That's one of the issues. We're also chatting with a chaplain and we talked about how he deals with that in chatting with troops, as well.

PHILLIPS: All right, you mentioned -- you just kind of touched on the political correctness of that -- you know, and everyone talks about the reason behind the season. There -- now there's this push -- I was reading on the Internet and the talk came up, actually, in the news meeting, to get rid of the saying "ho, ho, ho" because it has a bad connotation. It refers to prostitution.

I mean at what point, you know, do you stop? MARTIN: Well, precisely. And that's one of the things that we're going to deal with because it's gotten absolutely ridiculous. Because you can look at anything -- you can take any word, any phrase and say well I'm offended. And so we have this whole please don't offend me society. But some things are just so basic and so simple, it's like wait a minute, if you're talking about Santa Claus and saying "ho, ho, ho," we're not talking about you.

(LAUGHTER)

MARTIN: I mean so...

PHILLIPS: I'm not cussing you out.

MARTIN: I mean -- right.

Have any of these people heard of the word context?

And that's what really -- what simply -- you know, what it applies to. It's context.

PHILLIPS: All right, speaking of context, you caught up with the very funny Reverend Billy Martin, who goes around the country preaching, singing, encouraging people not to go shopping.

MARTIN: Right.

PHILLIPS: Let's listen to a little bit of what happened with the two of you.

MARTIN: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Shopping -- stop.

Shopping -- stop.

REV. BILLY: Yes. Yes. We're slowing down our consumption.

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Yes.

REV. BILLY: We're not going to spend anymore money on a credit card.

MARTIN: Reverend Billy.

REV. BILLY: Yes?

MARTIN: What are you...

REV. BILLY: Brother Roland.

MARTIN: What are you doing?

REV. BILLY: We're saving Christmas from this apocalypse, Brother Roland. We don't need to get up on that Interstate and get in that traffic jam with an I this and I that plugged in our faces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Give us context, Roland. Give us context.

MARTIN: Well, look, first of all, he's not a real reverend. He is, indeed, an actor. But they are very serious about this. I mean they travel all around the country, going to malls. Police departments really hate them. He says that in New York, in one police station, they have a whole slew of megaphones they have confiscated from him.

And so they're trying to say look, we are a nation going into debt. And, Kyra, it's real. There are people right now who literally are spending money they don't have. And come January, they're going to try to figure out, man, how do I pay all of this off. As opposed to saying wait a minute, let me live within my means as opposed to trying to always buy stuff and just buying more and more and more stuff.

And so it was pretty interesting talking to him. But I must say this, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes?

MARTIN: After our conversation, I said Reverend Billy, I've got to cut it short because I need to go buy me another suit.

(LAUGHTER)

MARTIN: So, you know, I told him, I said I had to go do some shopping, so we can't sit here all day and chat with you, because I had to go buy a suit.

PHILLIPS: I have to say, and -- you know, If everybody knew you as well as I knew you, with your -- your addiction to suits -- I just -- I was wondering what you were going to wear today...

MARTIN: Well, no...

PHILLIPS: You didn't wear the pimp suit today. You didn't wear the pimp -- the pimp-stripe suit.

MARTIN: Well, first of all, I don't have one of those.

(LAUGHTER)

MARTIN: And so, see -- again, see, now I'm offended. See, now I'm offended by you using that word.

PHILLIPS: Oh.

MARTIN: No. No. But actually I...

PHILLIPS: This is going to take us into a whole another conversation.

MARTIN: No, but I actually... PHILLIPS: When have I ever offended you?

MARTIN: Right. Actually I chose to -- you know, since me being a member of Alpha Phi Alpha -- to go with the black and gold ensemble tonight.

PHILLIPS: Ah, there you go. Right on. You're dedicated to the team.

MARTIN: Well, you know...

PHILLIPS: All right, Roland.

Great to see you.

Happy Holidays.

MARTIN: No, Merry Christmas.

PHILLIPS: Merry...

MARTIN: See, that's one of the things we're talking about.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: That way I get everybody in there.

MARTIN: Get everybody in.

PHILLIPS: All right.

MARTIN: All right, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Great to see you.

Well, Roland Martin's holiday edition of "What Would Jesus Really Do?" coming up at 8:00 Eastern. You can see him only on CNN. He'll be wearing one of his new suits.

Let's go straight to the newsroom.

T.J. Holmes with details on a developing story -- hey, T.J. .

HOLMES: Yes, that story -- police out in California on the lookout for a suspect -- a sexual predator they are calling him now -- who was caught on videotape trying to abduct a 4-year old girl. That's the suspect we're seeing here, described as a Latino in his early 30s, 5'7" tall, between 140 and 180 pounds. This happened last Friday.

We'll show you the surveillance video here, which happened at a neighborhood in North Hills. The suspect you see is there on your left. He passes a security guard at the grounds of this apartment complex just leisurely. And now you see him kind of meandering about, walking through. And then, the next part of this videotape shows him. He's coming toward us now in this video carrying a 4-year old girl who is kicking and screaming.

There on the right side of the screen, you can make out another little figure -- a little boy who sensed that something was up, something was wrong. He started making noise and then scared, pretty much, the suspect away. So the little child came to the rescue of the other little child.

Again, that's just some crazy video. Bold here, is what the police are calling this man, who has now, they say, been involved in four different incidents, one in which he fondled a 17-year old, that incident we just saw and then two other sexual assaults.

But they think they have a predator on their hands in the North Hills area of Los Angeles and they're asking people to keep an eye out for that man right there.

So, Kyra, just -- they're saying he is brazen, he is bold -- because there was light all around. There was a security guard, but he just leisurely strolled by before he picked up this girl in broad daylight and tried to make away with her.

And, again, we talked about this earlier, Kyra, but that -- that little boy -- we don't know his age -- but he just sensed something was wrong and started making some noise.

PHILLIPS: Scream, yell -- that's the way it do it. Exactly.

HOLMES: And scared the guy off. But it's something else -- you've got a little hero there, a little guy who comes to the rescue of the 4-year old. And we don't know how old that little boy was, but he sensed something was up and he made noise and it certainly worked out, certainly, for the best in this case.

But who knows could have happened had it not been?

You can barely make him out on the right side of the screen. But yet he's just kind of following them along.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And then he drops her and lets her go.

And where are the parents?

T.J. , this drives me crazy.

HOLMES: You know, they -- we don't see any of that in this video. No parents.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

HOLMES: Actually, the police say that this guy, the suspect, was actually just strolling around the apartment complex. It looked like he was just trying spot a victim. So found an opportunity and picked up the little girl and tried to make away with her. But -- but this one was foiled.

But he is still out there. Parents are being asked to keep a closer eye on their kids in that area and also women asked to not walk alone right now until they find this guy.

PHILLIPS: All right, T.J. , thanks.

HOLMES: All right.

PHILLIPS: From the battlefields of Iraq to the loving embrace of the family that raised his fallen friend -- we have the heartwarming story of a military pooch on the day of his early discharge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, in the news today, a family that lost a son in Iraq has taken charge of the son's closest companion.

Rusty Dornin has the story.

(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 8-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: 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 the 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.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's the Friday before Christmas and trains, planes and automobiles are all packed up. We're going to take a look at just how packed the airports are as you're getting ready to head out of town.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Look at Roger pretending like he's talking on the phone and directing this show.

All right, Life After Work. Each week, we profile someone who has transitioned from the workplace to a more fulfilling place.

And today Ali Velshi brings us the story of a man who has dedicated his life to kids.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE FARRIS, RETIRED TEACHER: Every year that I've come out here, everybody has said is this going to be your last year?

I said, heck, no, I'll be here until I drop dead in the classroom.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 1992, after 31 years of teaching, Joe Farris was all ready to close his textbooks and retire for good -- at least that's what he thought.

FARRIS: When I retired, I said at last I won't have to check papers and put grades. I said after three months, I like to went crazy. I couldn't stand it another day. That's the only thing I know to do, is to be in the classroom again.

VELSHI: Farris, now a substitute teacher in Douglas, Georgia, has not only dedicated his life to teaching, but also to helping those in need.

FARRIS: I love helping people. And when this came out about St. Jude Hospital, I just thought that was the way to reward my lord, Jesus Christ, for the good health that he had given me. And I thought I'd do it just for that one year.

VELSHI: That one year of collecting toys for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital turned into 46 years and 92 trips to Memphis, Tennessee. And when it's time to visit every July and December, he's ready to suit up as none other than Santa Claus. When it comes to his life's purpose, to Joe Farris, there is no such thing as retirement. He believes he's a living vessel of true kindness and generosity.

FARRIS: Thank god, I know why I was born -- to help you all and to help sick kids. Thank you and god bless you.

VELSHI: Ali Velshi, CNN.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Fridays are notorious getaway days and this Friday a lot of folks are getting away for the holiday. And we've been talking about -- boy, Chad, the weather hazards, the -- all the planes behind you, the 300,000 plus people coming through Atlanta/Hartsfield.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Wow!

MYERS: And see that plane right there?

PHILLIPS: Yes.

Is that yours?

MYERS: No, that's Santa headed back.

PHILLIPS: Oh!

MYERS: He was in a Minneapolis airport -- that Mall of America today. He's on a plane. He's headed back up there.

PHILLIPS: Outstanding.

MYERS: Did you -- I mean, OK...

PHILLIPS: How does he do it?

MYERS: Of all the places that you could go, would you really want to be on that plane headed North of the Hudson Bay, wherever it's going?

PHILLIPS: I don't know. It looks a little less crowded, my friend.

MYERS: It can't be a warm destination, wherever they're going. But, anyway, they're probably taking the elves back up, too.

Six thousand six hundred and sixty-six planes on this, what we call Anson Candi Map (ph). Those are all the planes that in the air right now. All are trying to get to their destination on time. Many of them not. Chicago, you've been in ground delays all day, which means that you're not getting planes on the ground to get you out on time. Two hours, two-and-a-half hours (INAUDIBLE).

An hour for JFK and LaGuardia. An hour Newark and maybe an hour - and-a-half at times. And Philadelphia, you are now up to an hour-and- a-half just because there's low cloud cover and low ceilings in the East.

L.A., you've been about 45 minutes all day. It says increasing, but it said that all day and it hasn't gone any farther than 45 minutes. And Boston, 25.

So other than that -- I mean, really, the map doesn't look that bad when it comes to the amount of precip coming down. Light snow in the mountains, but if you're headed to the mountains, you want that -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That is true. And at fireplace and the nice cabin and, you know, all that other stuff.

MYERS: The ski (INAUDIBLE).

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly.

MYERS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Snow shoes.

All right, Chad.

MYERS: OK.

PHILLIPS: All right, Chad, you've got to -- you've got to look at these pictures. These are just classic. We love our I-Reporters, right?

Well, Santa makes children's wishes come true, but he also makes some of them scream until they're blue.

MYERS: Oh, yes.

PHILLIPS: You've been sending us your scared Santa photos.

I want to know if you've ever had one of these, Chad?

MYERS: Ten four. Last year.

PHILLIPS: Oh. Right on. OK, we're going to talk about that in a minute.

Here's one that we got. Children usually love their grandparents, but not always when they come in with a long white beard and bright red costume. Little Jolee (ph) was terrified when she saw grandpa dressed as Santa. She was two years old at that time. Jolee is five now. This video was sent in by Joel and Rebecca Garcia. Ah.

And take a look at this vintage photo of I-Reporter Caroline Thorpe. It was taken back in 1957 in Toronto when she was just two. She jokingly says that Santa is to blame for all her adult traumas.

If you have scared Santa photos like this, just send them to CNN I-Report. But please make sure that their photos that you or a family member took. Just go to CNN.com and click on I-Report to upload your photo.

So your -- your little one got scared, Chad?

MYERS: Yes. We spent like an hour in line to get to this guy and then all of sudden he just didn't want to go there anymore.

PHILLIPS: So did you get the picture or no?

MYERS: Well, crying.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: OK. We...

MYERS: It wasn't a pleasant picture.

PHILLIPS: Well, you (INAUDIBLE)...

MYERS: It didn't go in the Christmas card.

PHILLIPS: Oh . Well, bring it in Monday.

MYERS: All right.

PHILLIPS: Will you bring it in Monday?

MYERS: I will.

PHILLIPS: OK. Fabulous. All right, Chad.

Well, we're going to see if Santa can continue to deliver a big rally for stocks right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, planes to catch, trains to ride -- if you're traveling today, there's no place to hide. The Christmas crunch is what we're talking about. It's already here.

So for air travelers, what's there to fear?

At Atlanta's airport today, reporter Julie Wolfe with -- hopefully -- no more rhyming.

She's from WXIA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIE WOLFE, WXIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 'Twas the Friday before Christmas and oh, what a sight -- passengers hurrying to catch a flight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm trying to go to Jamaica to meet -- my whole family is over there.

WOLFE: Visions of vacations danced in their heads. They came hours early, roused from their beds.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have about an hour or so left.

WOLFE: When suddenly from the terminal, there rose such a whine. It stretched on and on, the security line.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I pretty much expected to wait in a really long line.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just go with the flow.

WOLFE: Some families stayed happy, some became mad. We even found one that had lost their dad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's now parking, trying to get in. So I think we'll make it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really easy for me to be in the holiday spirit because I'm going home.

WOLFE: A nice thought as they shuffle out of sight exclaiming...

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Merry Christmas.

WOLFE: ...to all and to all a good flight.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.

Susan Lisovicz standing by with a final look at the trading day -- are you going to rhyme, as well?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am going to get out of here.

(LAUGHTER)

LISOVICZ: That is for sure. I am counting down the seconds and -- you know, and I think a lot of people on the trading floor are doing the same. You know, I didn't see eight reindeer outside the corner of Broad and Wall this morning, Kyra, but there are unmistakable signs of St. Nick. (STOCK MARKET REPORT)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com