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More Severe Weather; Madeleine McCann's Mother's Plea; Seasonal Affective Disorder

Aired December 22, 2007 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: Take a look at this live picture right now from Topeka, Kansas. Our top story. Can you imagine getting out in that right there? Nasty stuff particularly on the left. This weather made dangerous and sometimes deadly condition. We'll tell you where the worst is this hour. Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE MCCANN, MOTHER OF MADELEINE MCCANN: You can help an innocent 4- year-old little girl at this time of year when so many families are coming together, would like you to help us be reunited with Madeleine.

WHITFIELD: Remember that little girl's face? This will be the McCann's family's first Christmas without their daughter. The plea from the missing girl's parents next.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Also, jury is behind doors trying to decide the fate of a man accused of killing a teenager who allegedly threatened his son on the internet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

WHITFIELD: Let's begin with the nasty weather in this country at this hour. A developing story in the central plains. A major winter storm is causing holiday havoc on roads on several states. Here now is a live picture of interstate 70 in Topeka, Kansas, near the spot of a major pileup involving several dozen vehicles. We have seen conditions getting worse as the day progressed, including occasional whiteout conditions there. And in other places, we also have reports of a chain reaction collision near Amarillo, Texas.

And now, as we look at those images from Kansas, another big crash. This time in Missouri. Where a stretch of interstate has been closed, interstate 29, in fact. Joining us by phone, Elaine Justice of the Missouri Department of Transportation, coming to us from St. Joseph, where we understand, Miss Justice, this pileup I guess is most concentrated there and it started with three semi-trucks colliding?

ELAINE JUSTICE, MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (on the phone): Yes, about 1:30 central standard time today, three semi-trucks lost control on southbound interstate 29. and that immediately caused a chain reaction pileup of approximately 40 cars. Shortly after that we had a blizzard whiteout conditions moved into the area and we had to close both northbound and southbound lanes of interstate 29 all the way north to the Iowa line.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that is quite significant. Right now, I-29, particularly the southbound lanes, closed all the way from central Missouri to the Iowa state line. So, give me an idea what kind of injuries, if any, how are the passengers drivers, doing in all of this?

JUSTICE: We are still waiting for reports from the highway patrol and emergency providers on the number of injuries and/or fatalities. We have not gotten information on that yet. We are standing by to find that out. And we have both northbound and southbound lanes completely closed to traffic at this time.

WHITFIELD: Wow, what are the options for folks who are either listening to this via satellite radio and they are stuck on i-29 traffic, what do they do? How do you get off? How do you get to where you want to go?

JUSTICE: Well, honestly with the weather conditions the way they are, it's inadvisable to take a secondary route if they can get off the interstate and find another route. They are welcome to try that. But our advice, our best advice, would be to pull off and wait until weather clears and our crews can get back on the interstate. The interstates are always the very first thing we clean after a snowstorm. That's going to be their best option.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Justice, public information officer with the Missouri Department of Transportation. Thanks so much. We will check back with you and your folks there about the developments there on i-29, now closed, all the way from Dearborn to the Iowa state line. A real mess because of this 40-car pileup.

Let's check in with Bonnie Schneider, who is in the weather center. And weather certainly stirring up a lot of problems, not just in Missouri but in Kansas and in Texas as well.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: And it's not surprising when you look at the map and what's happening. We have a lot of snow coming in but it's really not just the snow causing that's problems in terms of visibility. What's happening is we have a fierce wind blowing in Topeka, Kansas right now, where it feels like it's 6 degrees. The temperatures are actually 25. Winds are coming in steadily out of the north sustained at 20 miles an hour, gusts as high as 30 miles an hour, with that northerly flow coming in from the air, it makes for visibility so limited that the latest reports show visibility one quarter of a mile. That's barely just in front of you. We are going to show you some live pictures in and around the Kansas area of what it looks like and you can barely see the road.

This is live courtesy of our affiliate WIBW in Topeka, Kansas. Completely covered in snow and there's more snow coming. It's not just into Kansas area as we head over the border into Missouri. We are seeing some very strong areas of wind and snow across St. Joseph, where he we had reports of that pileup, which we were speaking to the official. Now, down to the south, we also have reports of accidents in and around the Amarillo, Texas area. The weather conditions have improved in Amarillo. The snow has passed through but it's still fiercely cold and very windy. So, this entire region is still under advisories straight through tomorrow. We're expecting heavy snow to accumulate, five to seven inches in this region and as you head to the north, about three to eight inches.

The areas highlighted in red, we have winter storm warnings to the north up towards Iowa, into Wisconsin and Minnesota. These would stand all the way until tomorrow. We'll expect these to expire later tonight. But what you see ahead of the system is actually wind advisories all through this region as well from Tennessee up through the Ohio Valley. So fierce storms coming through and it's only going to get worse for areas into Iowa, Minnesota, and as well as Wisconsin and even if you can see towards Chicago, we're going to see some wintry weather and for Minneapolis. Some of the larger cities will be affected by this storm system as well. Coming up, Fredricka, we are going to be talking about a little bit about the flight delays. We've got a lot to tell you about. And we'll have that in just a minute.

WHTIFIELD: Yes, and of all weekends for all of this convergence of delays, bad weather, accidents, et cetera, on one of the busiest holiday travel weekends of the year. Bonnie, we will check back with you. Thank you.

Now, we're following that story here in the NEWSROOM and other developments as well, particularly this one out of the Los Angeles area, where there is now caused for relief today among parents there. And that's because police have arrested a man suspected of targeting children. Eight days ago he was caught on tape during this apparent alleged attempted abduction. Take a look. It's rather difficult to see. But what you are able to see is that man and small children in that view. Allegedly, that man tried to abduct a 4-year-old. Police put together composite sketches, they came up with that image and now we understand according to the Los Angeles Police Department, they have made an arrest, an arrest of a 24-year-old man they think may have been involved in the attempted abduction of that 4-year-old as well as the attempted abductions of maybe four other young people in the Los Angeles area.

Also this hour, a jury on Long Island, New York, is working on a verdict in the trial of a black father accused of killing a white teenager. The shooting happened during a racially charged confrontation that started with an entry on myspace on a, myspace internet page. Jason Carroll has the story now from Riverhead, New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: 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.

JOANNE CICCIARO, MOTHER: All of those kids believed that this was real.

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

JOANNE CICCIARO: The thing is that night Daniel believed that Aaron threatened to rape a girl who is 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 and group of teenage boy's called him on his cell saying, "get back to this party you [bleep]."

FRED BREWINGTON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You had this group of young white men that felt 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 teams.

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 did not take any of those precautionary steps.

CARROLL: The defense said White was thinking of his family's past in the south where the Ku Klux Klan attacked them at home one night. Once Cicciaro and the teams arrived in his driveway, there was an argument. White said 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 it.

JOANNE 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: [ bleep ] I'll get them for you Dano.

CARROLL: Daniel died that night.

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

CARROLL: White is charged with manslaughter, a jury is deciding whether he will lose his freedom. The Cicciaro family said regardless of the verdict, they have already lost what was most important to them. Jason Carroll, CNN, Riverhead, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And again, that jury is still deliberating John White's fate this hour. If there is a verdict, we'll let you know here in the NEWSROOM.

Meantime a gruesome discovery, a body found in a crawl space in Huntington, West Virginia, believed to be that of a missing college student. Police sealed off the apartment building where the body was found last night. Marshall University student Lea Hickman has been missing since December 14th. Authorities have not confirmed the body is hers but it was found in the building where she lived and was last seen.

And two Georgia men are enjoying their first full day of freedom today after more than three years in prison. Ryan Barnwell and Cortez Robinson were released yesterday. They were part of the case involving then 17-year-old Genarlow Wilson, who had consensual oral sex with a 14-year-old girl. Well, Barnwell and Robinson pleaded guilty to child molestation charges stemming from that same 2003 party. Wilson is now 21. He was freed in October after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled his sentence was cruel and unusual punishment. Georgia has changed its law and made some cases a misdemeanor now when they involved teens close in age.

And while you last-minute shop this holiday season, the last-minute stump is under way as well. Some of the presidential candidates keep the campaign fires burning over the holidays and it's no wonder the democratic race is dead even in Iowa.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. GIBSON: Hi, I'm Sergeant Gibson.

SGT. MCCOLLOUH: Hi, I'm Sergeant McCullough.

GIBSON: And we're in (Gain), season's greetings to all of our friends and family in Cleveland, Ohio. Happy Holidays!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, there's no time to waste. In just 12 days the presidential primary season kicks off with the Iowa caucuses. Five days later the New Hampshire primary. Candidates are trying to make the most of every moment and there's something hard this weekend before Christmas. We have the best political team on television covering all of the events. So, let's start with the republicans. And CNN's Dana Bash is live from Des Moines. So, Dana, the headlines in the GOP race today is Rudy Giuliani's return to the campaign trail after kind of a scare in the hospital.

DANA BASH, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Hello from snowy Des Moines, Fredricka. But you're right. The headline today is that Rudy Giuliani is back on the campaign trail. He is back in New Hampshire and he talked about that health scare for the very first time today. You remember it was Wednesday night that he was flying from Missouri back to New York. They turned the plane around and went back to St. Louis and checked, to get him into the hospital because of flu-like symptoms. We also learned last night that he actually has gone back a couple of times to his personal physician, including late yesterday. Well, today he talked about what went on with that health scare. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I had all of these tests that were taken the other day, all OK now, 100%. I'm in very good health. I had a very bad headache. That's what precipitated it. And they checked out everything. My doctor will do a report and also address the cancer part. Might as well address that as well. I'm a cancer survivor. I had cancer. I get tested for it all the time. He will put out those results as well, so people can get a complete picture of the fact I am in good health. This is something that came about, because tired, not sleeping, who knows exactly why, but I had a very bad headache. And they were concerned it might be other things. They ruled out every other possibility. It was just a bad headache.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: There you heard Rudy Giuliani describing his symptoms. Now, he also told ABC News he actually was prescribed aspirin, to take aspirin each day by his doctor. You talk to any doctor, they will tell you usually that is a prescription given to somebody with a cardiac issue or a heart issue. Giuliani was asked point blank whether or not he thought he was having a heart attack. He said no. But the other thing to keep in mind, Fredricka, he was asked several times what tests were done on him at the hospital, perhaps to the follow up with his doctor, and he simply would not answer that question, nor has his campaign answer those questions, even though we asked them for several days now. We simply do not know. But perhaps we will know more when his doctor does finally releases the health report that he said he would.

WHITFIELD: OK. In the meantime, let's talk about snowy Iowa where you are and how the GOP race is shaping up there, given it's going to be the first contest.

BASH: That's right. And you know, Mitt Romney for so long was doing so well here. He was well in the lead. He has lost his lead here in Iowa and interestingly, it looks like he's pretty concerned about the lead he had back in New Hampshire because there's another candidate who everybody just a short while ago kind of wrote off for gone and that is John McCain. He is doing much better in the polls in New Hampshire. And there's new evidence that Mitt Romney is quite worried about that. He went after John McCain today for being one of two republican senators who voted against President Bush's tax cuts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He voted against the Bush tax cuts twice. He voted against the Bush tax cuts. That's failing Reagan 101. Reagan taught us, Reagan taught us all, taught almost all of us in the republican party that lowering taxes would grow the economy and was good for our economy and good for individuals. And I believe that the republicans will nominate a tax cutter to become president of the United States. There are other places where you have differing views, immigration being one of them. And I'm sure over time you will see some other differences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, it is a bit of a slippery slope, Fredricka, for Mitt Romney to be going after John McCain as somebody who is not subscribing to the philosophy of Ronald Reagan because back in 1994 you can find this on youtube and certainly Mitt Romney's opponents pointed this out, he said he was an independent and he did not want to return to the days of Reagan-Bush. It's also interesting that he's choosing this issue to go after John McCain on. Because, yes, it is true in New Hampshire tax cuts are a huge issue. They don't have income tax there. They don't want income tax but it's also a place where republicans are very angry at Washington for not having fiscal discipline. John McCain has been trying to make the point he was opposed to the Bush tax cuts because he thought it would just balloon the deficit and he said that is why he opposed it. So he's hoping that kind of counteracts the fact he did not support those tax cuts.

WHITFIELD: Overall, it's a blustery political season. Dana Bash, thanks so much.

Of course, we're going to get to the democrats' side and how they are preparing for the latest contest. The first contest coming up in early January. But first back to our top story. And let's talk about all of these weather-related, multi-car pileups. We told you about at least one of those multi-car pileups taking place in Missouri as well as in Kansas. Now, let's focus on Texas. Sergeant Shawn McClellan is with the Amarillo City Police joining us now. 40-car pileup right where you are on i-40 east, which remains closed. This, too, is weather related. Describe the conditions for me, Sergeant.

SGT. SHAWN MCCLELLAN, AMARILLO CITY POLICE: At about 9:40 this morning we had blowing snow causing zero visibility on the eastern edge of the city on i-40. We got a report of 40-plus cars, several semis involved in a series of accidents on the eastern edge of the city.

WHITFIELD: All right and when we hear i-40 east is closed, a major thoroughfare, with all of these vehicles, how are emergency responders able to get to them to assess how serious this might be for many of the drivers and passengers?

MCCLELLAN: Well, we had to get several units up on to i-40 and start working through the wrecks. Had to get some semis off of some passenger cars, where they had collided, and start working everybody off of there, including getting medical units and medical assistants up to those persons.

WHITFIELD: And again, what do you think the root cause of this was, besides the weather being a factor? MCCLELLAN: The weather was the primary factor on that zero visibility combined with blowing snow and slick conditions would be the primary factor in this series of accidents.

WHITFIELD: And any way of knowing when you might be able to clear things up so people can continue to go on their way?

MCCLELLAN: They are hoping the next few hours, if not sooner. There's still at least three semis on i-40 eastbound that's blocking traffic. They are hoping to get those moved off of there as soon as possible.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sergeant Shawn McClellan of the Amarillo City Police Department, thank you so much. We will, of course, continue to keep you updated on these multi-car pileups taking place there in Texas, Kansas as well as Missouri.

Also when we come right back, we will talk more presidential politics as the democratic presidential contenders stumped hard this holiday weekend. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, back to presidential politics now. And now to the democrats and another member of the best political team on television. CNN's Jessica Yellin joins us now by phone from Coralville, Iowa, where she just got out of a John Edwards' rally. How was the turnout there, Jessica?

Well, Fredricka, it was an excited crowd, there's a lot of energy. I talked to about 25 people who were there out of maybe, I don't know, about 150. 25 people I talked to, the vast majority of them were truly undecided at this point. They just had not decided on the candidate they want. That is just what we are finding at event after event here in Iowa. I'll tell you right now, there's a new story developing between Barack Obama and John Edwards. These are two men trying to prove to the voters who will clean up Washington more. Barack Obama has criticized John Edwards today because an independent outside group has, he said, going to run some ads in this state, sort of promoting some of John Edwards' agenda. And Edwards had denounced those kinds of outside groups. So Obama is very critical today. He said on camera named John Edwards by name saying he is essentially being hypocritical for allowing this to go on. And I asked Edwards, do you call on this group not to run these ads? And guess what, he did. He said, I want them to not run and he fights all of these 527s. And this is really a struggle about the way politics should be managed in America and it is at the heart of both of their campaigns. The larger point is, it seems, Barack Obama really does feel that there's a threat from John Edwards and he wants to make it clear that he's the guy who will do more to clean up Washington.

WHITFIELD: And I guess these contenders and others seem to believe and feel pretty convinced that's exactly what voters want to hear. In the meantime, when you talk about the 25 people out of the 150 or so folks that you spoke with who were undecided, why do I think or am I the only one who thinks that is rather unusual they are undecided or is it they are just unwilling to reveal their pick?

YELLIN: You know, I really did get the sense they are undecided. What do I know? Maybe I'm an outsider TV reporter they do not want to reveal their true thoughts to. But you get the sense they are unbelievably forthcoming. These folks are used to talking to reporters. And they would explain to me what they are choosing between. Some people just said, I don't want somebody who is just going to come in and fire up the crowd and get us all cheering. I want somebody who really will talk to me about the issue that bothers me most, and I usually hear either health care or locally the economy. Yes, they are and most of these folks were decided between Obama and Edwards. But at other events, you know, it's every variety you can think of.

WHITFIELD: Yes and right now universally across the country, it's the economy which is of greatest concern for voters in America right now, replacing Iraq as once being the top issue. Now it's the economy. That's what they want to hear.

YELLIN: It is. And, you know, John Edwards added to his speech today a discussion of the story that has been in the news a bit about a young woman who was denied that transplant, the liver transplant and died. And he talked about how this is an example of special interests controlling America. If that got maybe the largest applause line of the speech.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right. Jessica Yellin, thank you so much, from Coralville, Iowa. Thanks for checking in.

Well, the leading democratic candidates shared the spotlight in New Hampshire today. Hillary Clinton, her daughter Chelsea, and her mother, Dorothy Rodham, attended a rally together in Manchester. The Clinton camp dubbed that event and another stop in the town of Keane "moms and daughters making history with Hillary." And not surprisingly, the target audience, women.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, when I was a young lawyer and also a mom, I learned how difficult it was for a lot of the other women who worked in the law firm - the secretaries, the paralegals, at 3:00 every day, they would all be on the phone whispering to make sure their children were there safely. They were at home, they were at their grandmother's, they were at, you know, the after-school program. And it was just such a time of tension and concern to make sure their children got home. Well, one of the things we try to do during the '90s was to create a network of after-school programs. The Bush administration has slowly and steadily dismantled those programs. Some of them, a lot used to be at YWs and YMCAs all over the country. And then we tried to do more to, you know, help with preschool, early head start, kind of supporting families. And, again, we had to really push against a very hard brick wall to break through to get more help. Well, when I'm president, we are not going to have to work so hard to help families be able to take care of their children and their parents while they worked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A relatively small number of people and a handful of states. That's what this is all about. Making a huge political decision that affects all of us. So, why is that anyway? CNN's Josh Levs explores the power behind the primaries and the caucuses coming at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

And this heartfelt holiday plea -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE MCCANN, MOTHER OF MADELEINE: You can help an innocent 4-year-old little girl. At this time of year, when so many families are coming together, we beg you to help us be reunited with Madeleine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The parents of Madeleine McCann record a message for their missing daughter and anyone who knows where she might be.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: On this busy holiday travel weekend, what a mess. You're looking at new pictures that we're getting in from Amarillo, Texas. They had whiteout conditions in some moments and that's what resulted. You see that semi right there and a crush of vehicles. A 40-car pileup there in Amarillo on I-40. The eastbound direction of I-40 remains closed as they try to respond to those who may be injured. We don't have any clarity on how many people, drivers or passengers, may have been injured. But just looking at the crush of vehicles, certainly not a good scene there. Blowing snow and whiteout conditions to blame. And the some kind of conditions is being blamed on other accidents in other parts of the country as well as Kansas and Missouri as well.

Take a look at this right here. We are still waiting for word of injuries but a short time ago a Missouri transportation official told us that Interstate 29 is closed between St. Joseph, Missouri and the Iowa line and conditions are likely to get worse. What a horrible situation all the way around on this very busy holiday travel weekend. Bonnie Schneider is in the weather center.

And boy, it just doesn't pay whether you're on the road or in the air. Right now weather is affecting all forms of transportation.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's just so dangerous when you can't see the car in front of you. What happens is you think everything is OK even though it's snowing and a big gust of wind comes out that blows all of the snow in front of you and that's when you lose visibility. We had reports of accidents and pileups in the Topeka, Kansas area and also in St. Joseph, Missouri. Pretty much similar conditions for both of these cities, where we have temperatures in the 20s, strong winds coming from the north creating visibility less than a quarter mile and at times it is at zero. That, plus wind chill factor of 7 degrees. This nasty winter storm is working its way to the north and east. So, northern Iowa right now, it's snowing in Des Moines, expect more of that for Cedar Rapids. And this is all heading towards Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. It's a large area we are talking about in terms of wintry weather. We have winter weather advisories up and down the region here in the Midwest, including Kansas City through Cedar Rapids. And this means we are going to see heavy accumulating snow for this region straight through tomorrow.

In terms of air travel, look at this, delays are piling up. Chicago getting a lot of delays now, 20 minutes. But some of the lengthier ones were due to poor visibility in and around New York City, we have ground delays at LaGuardia and Newark. Boston reporting ground delays 45 minutes but the most lengthy delays are in and around the New York City metropolitan area, even though it's not snowing but we just have the overcast skies.

I mentioned Chicago, it's very foggy there and finally we're also tracking severe weather in Louisiana. There's a tornado watch that stays in effect tonight, Fredericka, until 9:00 p.m. Central time and includes the city of Jackson and all the way down to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he with have a line of thunderstorms rolling through as we speak.

WHITFIELD: All right, Bonnie, thank you so much. It's a tough time, tough holiday weekend for so many people, not just the travelers. But a lot of other folks too who are dealing with mild depression, or what they call SAD, seasonal affective disorder. We will talk to a doctor coming up about how to identify SAD and how to treat it, all straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, perhaps you have been feeling down during these short, dark days. Well, you're not alone. Millions of people suffer for kind of winter blues, often because of something called seasonal affective disorder or SAD. Well, joining us more to talk more about it is Dr. David Mischoulon, he is a psychiatrist at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Good to see you.

DR. DAVID MISCHOULON, MASS. GENERAL HOSPITAL: Thank you. Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Well, a lot of folks are hearing about SAD for the first time through our conversation. So briefly explain, what is it?

MISCHOULON: SAD is a subtype of major depression, a mood disorder. It occurs typically during the winter months. It may start in the fall and get worse in the deep winter and start to clear up in the spring as the weather improves.

WHITFIELD: How do you know whether you have it?

MISCHOULON: There's a set of symptoms that psychiatrists look for in making the diagnosis. Typically the individual with depression will feel depressed, sad or blue for most of the day, nearly every day. They will notice other symptoms, for example, they may find themselves sleeping too much or not sleeping well. They may feel fatigued. They may not have the usual interest or motivation in their usual activities. They may be bothered by guilty feelings or put themselves down a lot.

WHITFIELD: Well, that really runs the gamut. Does that mean that you treat someone who has SAD Differently than someone else who may have been diagnosed with depression?

MISCHOULON: In some instances we can use the same treatments. There are some particular treatments that seem to be more targeted towards seasonal depression. An example of that would be light therapy.

WHITFIELD: OK. And so how do you know, you know, when it's time for you to get up, get some sort of help?

MISCHOULON: The rule of thumb is if you feel that you are being impaired by your symptoms, for example, if you're having trouble functioning in the workplace, if you're depression is causing you problems with your family or your friends, that's usually a sign that you need to get help.

WHITFIELD: OK. So you mentioned that some of the treatment may be the same, which may be in the perhaps form of an oral medicine or maybe other types of therapy. Does geography make a difference whether you have SAD and the kinds of treatment that would be afforded to you?

MISCHOULON: Geography can certainly affect how frequent SAD is. For example, people who live in high latitude areas will be more vulnerable. For instance, in New Hampshire, in the Northeast, the prevalence may be about 10 percent, whereas in Florida it may be less than two percent. So certainly where there's less sunlight, there's more vulnerability to SAD.

WHITFIELD: Perhaps, you know, if you, like you said, are in Florida or in the South somewhere, you may not have the kind of light therapy someone say in the North, other parts of the country, may have to turn to?

MISCHOULON: Exactly. And we have to target the treatments based on what the type of depression is. So a person who has a seasonal pattern of depression might be treated either with antidepressants or with light therapy. Whereas the person living in Florida, it's not likely they have a seasonal depression. And those people might be best served with antidepressants or psychotherapy.

WHITFIELD: OK. Dr. David Mischoulon, thank you so much from the Massachusetts General Hospital from Boston where we appreciate your time and have a good holiday.

MISCHOULON: Thank you, and you, too.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

Well, speaking of holidays, heavy meals, stress, traveling all are hallmarks of the holiday season. They are also things that can help trigger a heart attack. Pretty frightening stuff but the Christmas season doesn't have to be a mean season for your heart. Judy Fortin explains in today's "Health for Her" segment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDY FORTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The end of the year and the beginning of the year have many things in common -- holidays and winter weather, for instance. But probably not the first thing that comes to mind is that they are the deadliest months of the year. At least when it comes to heart disease.

DR. SALLY BEER, CARDIOLOGIST: People who come in during the holidays are sicker than usual. The people who have mild things, you don't see them.

FORTIN: December and January have had a bad heart reputation since a study came out in 2004, noting an increase in heart attacks during those months. But now another study has narrowed it down even further, finding the peak danger days to be Christmas Day and New Year's Day, causing researchers at Vanderbilt Medical Center to coin the holidays Merry Christmas Coronary and Happy New Year Heart Attack. The reasons behind these numbers probably will not surprise anyone. Big, heavy meals, lots of treats throughout the day, not a lot of exercise, stress and alcohol are all factors.

But if steps are taken before and during the holidays, those heart- hurting rituals might not prove as deadly.

BEER: Well, I told my patients to follow the usual healthy guidelines that they should otherwise. If they are -- if they have not been exercising or doing any heavy physical exertion, then this is not the time to start.

FORTIN: And finally, don't commit one of the biggest reasons for those deadly numbers, and that is denial.

BEER: People don't want to have to go to their doctor, they don't want to have tests, they don't want to potentially come to the hospital for tests, or God forbid be admitted to the hospital. So they ignore symptoms that they might otherwise seek attention for.

FORTIN: So for this year, the number one item on the holiday to-do list might be to remember to practice being heart smart. Judy Fortin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Heart smart, huh?

WHITFIELD: And try and stay healthy, not just during the holiday season, but all the time.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: How are you feeling? HARRIS: Hi, Fred. Just a little -- into the season. A little cold, a little stuffed up. But why sit home and be miserable about it? I'm sorry, I'm breathing on you. I apologize for that.

WHITFIELD: I'm sorry that you don't feel well.

HARRIS: I shall redirect. Hello, everyone.

WHITFIELD: You're a trooper. You're here.

HARRIS: What am I going to do? Going to sit home and be miserable. Let me come on and be miserable for all of you.

WHITFIELD: And make everybody else miserable. Good deal.

HARRIS: There you go.

Hey, you guys have been covering the story of all of the accidents, central plains and what's going on with the weather. We are talking about blowing, drifting snow right now, whiteout conditions. Take a look at this, Fred. Got some new pictures for you just for this moment here from our affiliate there in Amarillo, KFDA, of the multiple vehicle pileup there. The road looks pretty clear. We don't know if there's ice there but you can see it's a real mess and you have been following the story. We are going to continue to follow that story at 5:00 because it's pretty dramatic. We are talking about Kansas, Missouri and Texas, severely impacting. Bonnie Schneider will be helping us.

Whoa, take a look at these pictures.

WHITFIELD: Isn't that something?

HARRIS: OK. That's even a little more dramatic there. I don't know, I think you mentioned a moment ago that you read this story about this wolf attack in Anchorage, Alaska. This is an amazing story. Woman out for a little run, a little hike ...

WHITFIELD: With her dog ...

HARRIS: Yes, and they are approached by a pack of wolves. What do you do now?

WHITFIELD: Back down.

HARRIS: Exactly. So tonight at 10:00 right here in the NEWSROOM, we have one confirmed, actually two confirmed, two of the swim part -- two of the women who were part of that team out for a little hike.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. It's a fascinating story.

HARRIS: We are going to share that story and how frightening it was for them.

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

HARRIS: This wolf attack in Anchorage.

WHITFIELD: And they are not the only ones. There have been a number of attacks by these packs of wolves that are out and they are not fearing nobody.

HARRIS: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: They are not fearing anyone and they are not fearing the domestic animals either.

HARRIS: Exactly. So we are going to cover all of the breaking news in terms of the weather at 5:00 and then join us again tonight at 10:00 when we will have this pretty amazing story of these women how they manage to survive this wolf attack. One dog injured. But we'll fill you in tonight at 10:00/

WHITFIELD: Oh, man. I know I will get a call from my old English teacher as well as my mom. Nobody? I have to correct myself.

HARRIS: There you go.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot.

HARRIS: Sure thing.

WHITFIELD: All right. How about this? This story touched a lot of people as well. Around the world missing Madeleine even more at the holidays, particularly her family. McCanns release a message and plea. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, Madeleine McCann's family has only one wish this Christmas, to have their daughter home safe. They have a tape a holiday plea for the four year old's return. Here now is Emily Chang.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This home video released by the McCann family shows little Madeleine McCann unwrapping Christmas presents as her parents prepare to spend this Christmas without her.

GERRY MCCANN, MADELEINE'S FATHER: Clearly for us and the rest of the family it is going to be the hardest Christmas imaginable without Madeleine here.

CHANG: Sitting in front of their Christmas tree, Kate and Gerry McCann make yet another impassioned plea.

KATE MCCANN, MADELEIN'S MOTHER: You can help an innocent four-year- old little girl at this time of year when so many families are coming together. We beg you to help us be reunited with Madeleine. Please do the right thing and come forward.

CHANG: On May 3rd, Madeleine disappeared from their holiday apartment in Portugal. Portuguese police initially treated the case as an abduction, one man, Robert Marat (ph), who lived near the resort, was named a suspect as the McCanns launched a worldwide campaign to find their daughter.

But after four months, suspicion turned to the parents. Kate and Gerry McCann were also named official suspects in the casement but to this day, no one has been charged and the McCanns vigorously maintain their innocence.

G. MCCANN: Someone knows what's happened to her and they well know where she is now. That person has it within their power to show the compassion to end this terrible ordeal for us.

CHANG: Gerry McCann than restates the phone number for the find Madeleine hotline where people can call to give tips or information. Kate McCann speaks directly to her daughter.

K. MCCANN: Madeleine, it seems unlikely you will hear this but just in case, it's mommy and daddy here. Just know how much we love you, Madeleine. We all miss you so much. We're doing everything we can, Madeleine, to find you.

CHANG: She also tells her daughter to be brave.

L. MCCANN: Love you, Madeleine.

G. MCCANN: Love you.

CHANG: Emily Chang, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So sad.

Well, it has been a year with a lot of foot in mouth disease, so to speak. The best quotes of the year straight ahead.

First, our news quiz. Here's a famous quote from last century. Who said, quote, "What the world really needs is more love and less paper work?" The right answer after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, before the break, we asked you who originated this famous quote -- "What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork?" Uh-huh. You see the picture there. That sage advice coming from the late singer and actress Pearl Bailey. She actually came out with a bunch of well known sayings including, "Everybody wants to do something to help and nobody wants to be first." Some real pearls of wisdom.

Good or bad, they are some of the most noteworthy quotes of this year. CNN's Jim Clancy counts down the -- I think top five.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Number 10 from Jimmy Carter, worst in history.

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT: I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history.

CLANCY: Number nine, Senator Joseph Biden says, articulate and bright.

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have the first sort of mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man.

CLANCY: Number eight, Senator Larry Craig, wide stance.

SEN. LARRY CRAIG, (R) ID: I'm a fairly wide guy. I tend to spread my legs when I lower my pants so they won't slide.

CLANCY: Number seven, from Senator Harry Reid, name-calling match.

SEN. HARRY REID, (D) NV: I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a nine percent approval rating.

CLANCY: Number six, Joseph Biden says noun and a verb.

BIDEN: Rudy Giuliani, there are only three things he mentioned in his sentence, a noun and a verb and 9/11.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Brr. Was that the whole ten?

HARRIS: No, because what happened to, "Don't tase me, bro"?

WHITFIELD: OK.

HARRIS: That's not it.

WHITFIELD: There you go. I'm not going to tell you which number that is. OK. For a continuation of the top 10 ...

HARRIS: Oh, they broke it up.

WHITFIELD: I know we are both ill-prepared. Didn't know that. So news to you, Tony, news to me, you got the next five out of the whole top five straight ahead in the NEWSROOM with you.

HARRIS: Don't tase me, bro! Sorry.

WHITFIELD: I love that one, too. It's both funny and annoying.

HARRIS: It is annoying. T-shirts, bumper stickers, the whole thing.

WHITFIELD: Come on. That was not spontaneous. Don't tase me, bro!

HARRIS: But you have got to have the yelling, ahh, ahh, at the end of it. Oh, hi.

WHITFIELD: Tony Harris coming up next with more in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: You too. See you tomorrow.

HARRIS: Man, oh man. Let's get to it. White out conditions, chain reaction crashes, interstates closed. Look at these pictures. What a mess across part's of the nation's center where a winter storm is making it real difficult to get home for the holidays. We are following it all for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

HARRIS: OK. Let's see if we can break this down for you.

Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Our developing story, holiday travel chaos on roads in the nation's heartland. Blizzard conditions affecting parts of Kansas, Texas and Missouri. All three states reporting chain reaction collisions on major interstates.

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