Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Winter Weather Hampers Holiday Travel; Marshall University Mystery
Aired December 22, 2007 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Near Amarillo, Texas, dozens of cars collided. Look at this. Some of the aftermath. And an ugly, ugly scene. We are awaiting confirmation of possible injuries. A sort time ago we heard Interstate 29 closed between St. Joseph, Missouri and the Iowa line. And conditions could get worse. Joining us on the line right now with an update, Elaine Justice of the Missouri Department of Transportation. Elaine, great to talk to you. Can you give us an update on the situation, as things stand right now?
ELAINE JUSTICE, MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (on phone): Thank you, Tony.
Yes, we've had good success getting the accident cleared on southbound Interstate 29. About 1:30 this afternoon we had a multiple-car pileup. The highway patrol tells me that's almost completely off the interstate. Our crews experienced white-out blizzard conditions 2:30 this afternoon so we had to close both northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 29.
HARRIS: Wow.
JUSTICE: But we're working on them right now and hope to have the interstate open, with any luck at all, before too much longer.
HARRIS: Elaine, we talk about, oh, an interstate is shut down and it's a major inconvenience. Can you tell us, for folks who are not from that part of the country and don't know that interstate what a major inconvenience this is to have that interstate shut down?
JUSTICE: Well, there's no question that any time of day there's a huge volume of traffic on Interstate 29, both northbound and southbound, and especially with the holiday season, there are thousands are trying to get home. We've lad to take them off the interstates and hold them basically at truck stops and areas along the way until we can get the area cleared and opened up again. It's a huge inconvenience.
HARRIS: And how difficult a process has that been, sort of rerouting folks and explaining to them, you know what? We have to do this, there's really no other option for you?
JUSTICE: We put up sign boards, we put up barricades, we tried to explain to people the best way we can that conditions are just not safe for them or for our crews. Folks are great. They really do understand. They can see what the weather's doing, so we've been very fortunate in that regard that they do understand. HARRIS: OK. So you've been able to clear a lot of the wreckage. So, where do we stand in terms of getting lanes open and how much of it is passable, at this time?
JUSTICE: Well, they're working tonight right now, even as we speak. Our biggest problem right now is drifting snow.
HARRIS: Yes.
JUSTICE: We have some significant drifting going on. And we're just going to battle it. It's easier to do it with traffic off the interstate because with whiteout conditions it's hard to see the average passenger car. So having them off right now makes it possible to clear it even faster.
HARRIS: Elaine, we're going to go to Bonnie Schnider in just a moment. But I'm wondering what you're hearing locally in terms of the weather forecast. Are you past the worst of it or is there a possibility you might get another round of this?
JUSTICE: I don't know if there's another round moving in our not. I'm going to have to check on that. We've been preoccupied with the interstate.
HARRIS: No worries, Elaine. We can do that for you. We can do that. Elaine Justice with us. Thanks for your time all afternoon on this story. We appreciate it.
Let's get a check of weather conditions right now. Boy, Bonnie Schneider, I guess I asked Elaine a question that, my goodness, she's got her hands full. She's not a meteorologist.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No.
HARRIS: She's trying to manage a difficult situation, but you are. And you can give us a sense of the weather conditions, boy, in this really hard-hit stretch of the country right now.
SCHNEIDER: Unfortunately it's still going to stay pretty bad. It's only cleared out a little into Texas but it's still blowing snow reported in that region. But this is really where the worst weather is in the country right now through Topeka, Kansas all the way up to St. Joseph in Missouri. And we talked about the numerous accidents on I-70, we also have accidents in and around some of the other highways north to south. And you can see winds coming in steadily out of the north at 20 miles per hour. The temperature currently at 23 degrees with a wind chill factor of six degrees. And that is making for blowing snow.
We've had reports of visibility at about a quarter of a mile to a mile, depending where you are. And all of the snow is sliding to the north and east towards Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. We have winter weather advisories pretty much from south to north and winter storm warnings, as you can see by the areas in red, they go straight to tomorrow. So this is going to be an overnight event as well. I want to talk a little bit Chicago. What we're looking at in this region is a lot of fog. Dangerous fog, there is a dense fog advisory. The temperature right now is 47 degrees. But big changes are in effect for Chicago. We have a live picture, we can show you what it looks like there now. You can't see anything, there you go. No visibility, at zero presently. That's why we have so many delays there at airport.
What's interesting, Tony, is the weather in Chicago is going to change dramatically. See the temperature of 47, within just a few hours the temperature is going to drop by 20 degrees.
HARRIS: Oh, get out of here.
SCHNEIDER: And as that storm moves in, we're going to see a changeover from the light rain they're getting right now to snow. So it's going to get very dangerous in this region if you're driving tonight, got to be extra careful. Coming up, we're going to show you all the numerous airport delays that we have right now. You can see the planes in the skies, almost 6,000 of them right now according to our Flight Tracker.
HARRIS: OK. Bonnie, can't wait for that update. But boy, that is a mess through the central plains. Bonnie Schneider for us in the severe weather center. Bonnie, thank you.
To other news now, a body found in a crawl space in Huntington, West Virginia, is 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 Leah Hickman has been missing since December 14th. Authorities haven't confirmed the body was hers but it was found in the building where she lived and was last seen. We'll get more from Hickman's apartment building in a live report at the bottom of the hour.
Two Georgia men are enjoying their first full day of freedom after more than three years in prison. Ryan Barnwell and Cortez Washington were released yesterday, they were part of the case involving then-17-year-old Genarlow Wilson who had consensual oral sex with the 15 year old. Barnwell and Robinson pleaded guilty to child molestation charges stemming from the 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 such cases a misdemeanor when they involve teens close in age.
Parents in Los Angeles can exhale a bit today. Police have arrested a man suspected of targeting children. We have this report just in from CNN's Kara Finnstrom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks back, he actually specifically identifies and targets his victim.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the videotape, police point out a man brazenly trying to kidnap a crying four-year-old from an apartment complex while a security guard was out of sight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He grabbed her, he is now trying to escape with her. Another child is calling out for her. He eventually puts down the child.
FINNSTROM: That boy's screams and tugs may have saved the girl's life. The drama ends when the attacker, depicted in this police sketch, calmly walks away.
CAPT. JORGE VILLEGAS, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: He's probably not a rookie. He - it wasn't a first time - he didn't appear to be afraid. Of his surroundings. Of what was occurring. He looked like he was specifically targeting and casing that group of kids.
FINNSTROM: And police believe that an hour earlier, just down street, the same man grabbed and fondled a teenage girl. He's now been arrested in connection with both those attacks as well as two earlier attacks in the same area.
VILLEGAS: This person is a danger to the community. He certainly is a danger to kids. And quite possibly a sexual predator.
ANGELA CARDENAS, NEIGHBOR: Thank God I was safe. No it don't mater if you have security cameras. Security - you're not safe anywhere anymore.
FINNSTROM: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says high-profile abductions by strangers are rare but that statistics suggest the victims are most often girls who are abducted outdoors. Police say the response of that little boy, who screamed until the attacker let the girl go, is a textbook example of how children can fight back.
VILLEGAS: Somebody had a conversation about stranger danger with him, called enough of him, he recognized that what was going on was not correct, wasn't the right thing to do. So essentially he put a stop to it and quite possibly could have saved her life.
FINNSTROM: Experts say teach your children anyone invading personal space is dangerous. Tell them to run away from danger and make a scene. Kicking, screaming and loudly yelling, "This person is not my parent."
In this apartment complex with locked gates, security cameras and even a patrolling security guard, what stopped the attacker ended up being a child.
Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Great tips there.
All right. Attention, holiday crunch time shoppers, this is not your friend. Hope you don't have a problem with crowds. Live to New York and Jim Acosta coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, I'm Staff Sergeant Larry Martin (ph) stationed at LSA Anaconda. I'd like to give a shout out to my family in Monticello, Arkansas. Happy holidays. I miss you. And I love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We continue to follow these live pictures coming out of various sections of the central part of the country right now where this line, this line of storms has really impacted. Talking about Missouri, Kansas, this is a shot from Topeka, Kansas right now and also parts o parts of Texas where roads are just in many cases close to impassable because of blowing and drifting snow, white-out conditions. We're going to continue to bring you updates and show you pictures as they come in to us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's talk about holidays, let's talk about shopping. It may be the season of red and green, but retailers are hoping a big finish to the holiday season will put them in the black. A lot of people still out Christmas shopping today. And CNN's Jim Acosta is in the thick of it, live outside Macy's in new York city. Jim, we talk about Black Friday an awful lot the day after Thanksgiving as being a big day for shoppers. But this really is the weekend, isn't it, where retailers hope to cash in?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Tony. And don't mind that person right there. She doesn't realize we're on live television. Yes, you're right, Tony. Actually, the last 10 days of the holiday shopping season is when 40 percent of the shoppers do most of their spending, according to the research that we found and it's true, what we're finding inside this Macy's Department store, we've been out here all day today and inside the store is a sea of humanity inside this story. This store's staying open 24 hours a day if you can believe it trying to lure holiday shoppers in.
Holiday shoppers like two of the folks I'm about to introduce right now, this is Lisa and Joe, did I get that correct?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got it right.
ACOSTA: That would have been bad if I had gotten that wrong. And ma'am, how long were you inside Macy's today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four dreadfully long hours. I want to cry. And I have to use the bathroom and they wouldn't let me. The line's so long we can't use bathroom. To buy something, forget it.
ACOSTA: You were able to pick up some items?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I did.
ACOSTA: And what am I getting this year?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you like? I give gift cards, it's easier.
ACOSTA: And how about you, sir, what it's like for you? Are you getting most of your shopping done this time of year? Are you one of those last-minute procrastinators?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Started yesterday and I'll have it all done by Monday, about 5:00.
ACOSTA: And judging by the accents you're both from Alabama, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alabama.
ACOSTA: No, Boston. The Boston area. Very good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shopping isn't as good in Boston as it is here. We came in just to go to Macy's though we live five minutes from Macy's at home.
ACOSTA: You decided to come to this one here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, this is where it's at.
ACOSTA: We'll take your business.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No problem. We love dropping all our money here, too, no problem.
ACOSTA: Well, Tony, I don't know about you, but sounds like the economy's doing fine.
HARRIS: Absolutely. That is terrific, Jim.
ACOSTA: As long as Joe and Lisa's there.
HARRIS: That is terrific. Give that couple our best. Nothing like real people on television during the Christmas shopping season. That was terrific.
Jim, great to see you.
ACOSTA: Good for him.
HARRIS: You got it. Thanks, Jim.
And still to come in the NEWSROOM, New Orleans, most folks call it Big Easy, others fed up with the corruption call it Big Sleazy. But things might be changing. Grubby hands being kept out of the cookie jar.
(COMMERICAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Sergeant First Class Terence Sergeant (ph) here at LSA Anaconda, Iraq. I'd like to say hello to my beautiful son Alex, and my daughter, Tara in Bryansville, Maryland. Happy holidays. I love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Very nice. New developments from the best political team on television. You know Rudy Giuliani made his first public appearance today since flu-like symptoms that hospitalized him. Now, Dana Bash from Des Moines, Iowa, has some new information on his condition. Dana, good to see you. What have you learned?
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You, too, Tony. Rudy Giuliani not only had his first campaign appearance in New Hampshire today, he also spoke for the first time about that health scare. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've had all these tests that were taken the other day, all came out 100 percent. 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. So he'll put out those results as well.
So the people can get a complete picture of the fact I am in good health, this was something that came about because tired, not sleeping, who knows exactly why, but I had a very bad headache and they were concerned that it might be other things. They ruled out every other possibility. It was just a bad headache.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Just a bad headache. And you remember, Tony, the circumstances here, it was three days ago, Wednesday night he was already airborne in his plane leaving from Missouri, a campaign stop there, back to New York and they turned the plane around to come back to St. Louis and he checked into the hospital because he was not feeling well. Now he was asked today whether or not he was worried that the time whether he was having a heart attack. He said, the answer is, no. We don't know exactly still, despite all of this what tests he had, both in the hospital in St. Louis and perhaps afterwards. We do know now that the former mayor of New York went to his personal physician a couple of times including yesterday afternoon to get follow-up checkups if you will.
We're told by the Giuliani campaign we expect to see a full report from his doctor, a medical report, perhaps after Christmas. Maybe we'll get answers to some of the answers to these questions then.
HARRIS: OK. Dana Bash for us in Des Moines, Iowa. Part of the best political team on television. Dana, thank you. Appreciate it. You know it could be the setup line to a bad joke. How bad is corruption in New Orleans? Well, one FBI agent has this so say. Here, they don't just skim the cream off the top, they go for the cream, the milk, then start looking for the cow. But things may be changing as we hear from CNN's Sean Callebs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scores of homeless hunker down in the shadow of New Orleans City hall. Among them, Julius Nelson (ph), recently lost his construction job after breaking an ankle playing basketball. There are those like Nelson who don't see just faded tents, old mattresses and shabby blankets when looking at this homeless enclave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the end result of corruption.
CALLEBS: The newly named inspector general for New Orleans, Robert Cerasoli, agrees.
ROBERT CERASOLI, NEW ORLEANS INSPECTOR GENERAL: There's money for them to get help but there's money awash in the city, but they're not getting help.
CALLEBS: Cerasoli was just hired by the City Council. Working out of a cubbyhole in a university library, it's Cerasoli's job to root out graft and corruption.
CERASOLI: I'm going to show them where their money is. I'm going to bring to the light of day where all the money is.
CALLEBS: A former I.G. in Massachusetts, Cerasoli says, when city workers steal, it's the poor that feel it the most because it steals money from programs for transitional housing, medical expenses and such.
CERASOLI: When I can start getting -- seeing that money gets to those people, then people are going to understand what I'm about, they're going to understand I'm here to help everybody.
CALLEBS: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's office tells CNN he supports the inspector again. But the mayor's office did not respond to CNN's request for comments on corruption charges. Nagin's budget proposed cutting in half the I.G.'s requested $3 million budget. "There's only so much money to go around," the mayor's office said, "and the I.G.'s office is getting its share."
New Orleans FBI special agent in charge Jim Bernazzani says quashing corruption is critically important to rebuilding the city and he says most citizens realize that.
JAMES BERNAZZANI, FBI: This city is in a fight for its life. Every dollar for programs and recovery has to go to programs and recovery. And they are sick and tired of the way business is done.
CALLEBS: Bernazzani says the brazenness of corruption shocked him. The FBI nailed once prominent city councilman Oliver Thomas for taking $15,000 bribe for a parking lot contract. The FBI set up a field office in the city's public school system and the net result, more than two dozen convictions for crimes including theft, money laundering, and stealing from the public trough.
JAMES LETTEN, U.S. ATTORNEY: The problems we have now were not created by Katrina but were, I think, rushed to critical mass by Katrina.
CALLEBS: Jim Letten is the U.S. attorney in New Orleans. He says much of the city's violent crime problem has its roots in white- collar corruption. There have been more than 190 murders in New Orleans this year. Corruption, Letten argues, takes money from schools which in turn leads to more dropouts and kids with a bleak future. Graft also takes money from cops and the courts.
LETTEN: Years of public corruption, because it has been a daunting deterring force that has caused a lot the youth to leave, a lot of our industry to leave in the past and I think has increased poverty and a lack of opportunity and an un-level playing field. I think it's fuelled and it continues to fuel violent crime.
CALLEBS: Katrina wiped out most of the city's homeless shelters. Julius Nelson says, it's become impossible for people like him and the city's other 12,000 homeless to make it in post-Katrina New Orleans.
JULIUS NELSON, HOMELESS ADVOCATE: You need least $3,000 just to move into a one-bedroom apartment right now man in the city of New Orleans.
CALLEBS: Robert Cerasoli, the inspector general says, sad reality it that the cycle of greed and corruption helped create the foundation for this tent city and with no transitional or low-income housing in the immediate future, all Nelson can do is prepare for another night right next to city hall. Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: An American is in hiding until he can return home. A family spokeswoman reports threats against Eric Volz's, the Nashville man was released from custody in Nicaragua, and got out of the country. His freedom came four days after a court overturned his conviction and sentence for the death of his girlfriend. Prosecutors are appealing Volz's release. His mother is trying to take it all in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGGIE ANTHONY, MOTHER OF ERIC VOLZ: You know, it hasn't hit me yet. We have been living on the edge for over a year now. And I just haven't had time to just digest. I'm sure the minute I go home and fall into my husband's arms and see my daughter, it will hit me and it's going to be incredible. We are so thankful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, Volz's mother says she'll worry about him until he's on U.S. soil. Volz reportedly had a bout with kidney stones.
OK. Time to go global now with more headlines from around the world. A Kurdish official says Turkish warplanes pounded a Kurdish border area in northern Iraq today. The official says the attack lasted for more than two hour and caused damage on the ground. There are no immediate reports of casualties.
In Tehran today the wife of a missing former FBI agent says she has not been able to find out what happened to her husband. Christine Levenson (ph) has been given no new information, despite visiting the Persian Gulf island where her husband was last seen. He disappeared back in March while on a job for his security firm. The Iranian government says it has no information on his disappearance.
We are getting this picture of a French journalist kidnapped in Somalia, Gwen Laboyil (ph) was taken hostage while producing a television documentary about human trafficking in Somalia. Members of the tribal clan who took him hostage are demanding $80,000 for his release. He did say in a television or telephone interview with a Somali journalist he had been allowed to talk to his girlfriend in France.
And in Spain, Christmas came early for hundreds of people. They picked up their share of winnings and what is being called the world's biggest lottery. Spaniards have dubbed the jackpot el Gordo or the fat one. That's pretty good description. The payout totals more than $3 billion.
Still to come, snowy roads causing some big trouble in the heartland. Take it easy out there. An update when NEWSROOM returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris. News happening right now, a grim discovery in West Virginia, investigators are found a body in crawl space area of an apartment building in Huntington. They believe it is 21-year-old Leah Hickman a Marshall University student missing for eight days. Hickman lived in the building.
In Los Angeles, police have arrested a man they think targeted children eight days ago. He was caught on tape. It apparently shows him trying to kidnap a four-year-old girl. Police say the man was spooked and walked away when a boy at the scene started screaming. They think this man was involved in several previous scares, including the fondling of a teenage girl.
And a brutal, we mean brutal, winter storm is dumping snow from the plains-to-through the Midwest. Strong wins are creating white-out conditions on many roads. There have been at least hree major pileups in three states, one involving 40 cars. Several injuries reported and one death in Kansas.
Let's get you to Bonnie Schneider and the Severe Weather Center.
Bonnie, give us the latest on conditions as we remind folks to take it easy.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. If you live in Topeka, stay in tonight. This is the worst time to travel.
You're looking at a portion of I-70, a road that travels east to west. Take it to the east, you'll head toward Kansas City; west takes you to Manhattan, Kansas. You can hardly see the road in front of you.
I want to show you weather conditions because when you factor in the temperature of 23 degrees and a wind coming in out of the north at 22 miles per hour, that makes it feel like it's only 5 degrees. So it's brutally cold. Blustery with the winds continuing to blow the snowdrifts about in and around Kansas, and now to Iowa where we have the snow coming down heavy and hard in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. Travel throughout this region will be very tough, because the snow will blow about and we have blowing snow advisories through tomorrow, stretching northward towards Illinois into Wisconsin and Michigan and back down towards Kansas and Oklahoma. So it's going to be tough going for those that are going to be traveling.
Speaking of traveling, take a look at the numerous airport delays. Many people have reached their destination but some are still traveling. If you're traveling around New York City, low clouds and that's causing problems with visibility. Delays are lengthy at LaGuardia Airport, also Newark, New Jersey. Not too far away, 1:45. Boston, 45 minutes.
It's kind of surprising that Chicago only has 20-minute delays. Take a look at this live picture you expect more delays. That's because this is not snow. It's overcast skies and a lot of fog in the region.
Take a look at our graphics. We'll show you that we have fog throughout Cook County, well through the Chicago area and back out to the rest of Illinois. Dense fog advisories in effect until 6:00 tonight. This temperature, don't let it fool you, even though it's 47 degrees. Once that cold air comes in tonight, Tony, the low temperatures are dropping into the upper 20s. So a 20-degree temperature drop. Snow is expected. It's going to be touch for a lot of folks traveling because of the changing weather situations with these temperatures dropping. It's making for all of the elements to come out, snow, freezing rain. Tough.
HARRIS: OK. Bonnie Schneider in the Severe Weather Center. Boy, that name is appropriate. Appreciate it.
In West Virginia, part of the mystery involving a missing Marshall University student might be solved. Police say there are indications a body found in the crawl space of her apartment building is that of 21-year-old Leah Hickman. Now her family has new questions.
Reporter David Benton from CNN affiliate WSAZ joins us from Huntington, West Virginia. David, good to see you. We still don't have -- I'm quick to remind everyone here -- confirmation of the identity of the body. When might we get that information?
DAVID BENTON, REPORTER, WSAZ: That's right. We're told that they do not have a suspect right now. We're also told they are still trying to find out if this is truly Leah Hickman. Police tell us they believe this is the body of Leah Hickman found in the back of this apartment building behind me.
Leah was 21, studied journalism. She went to Marshall University and last seen on Friday afternoon. She didn't show up to work on Saturday. And that's when family and friends became suspicious.
After a week-long search, forensic investigators with the Huntington Police Department found a body they believe is Leah Hickman. After 20 hours of processing the scene, police removed the body from a crawl space adjacent to the laundry room in the basement.
Yesterday there were only blue and silver ribbons, signs of hope somebody could help find Leah Hickman alive. Now there's crime scene tape and questions unanswered.
Last night around 5:00, police secured the area after they found the body and held a press conference. Information has been limited since they're still looking for who's responsible. Police will not comment on a possible suspect but are questioning a lot of people.
Tony, there was a candlelight vigil scheduled in the hometown of Leah Hickman, Point Pleasant, Virginia. That's been cancelled. This is just a huge blow for this community because a lot of people had their hopes up and prayed a lot that we would find Leah Hickman safely.
HARRIS: OK, following the story for us in Huntington, West Virginia, David Benton. David, appreciate it. Thank you.
Sending their love to strangers. Tens of thousands of holiday cards going tout wounded war vets. We deliver the story, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We have to show you these pictures again, out of Topeka, Kansas. This is Interstate 70, mile post 385, near Topeka. You're looking at what we believe to be an on ramp to Interstate 70. Oh, can we roll some of that picture? I guess the pictures -- I see these are live, but where is the traffic? Maybe that's good news folks are getting off the highway, the interstate. But again, we understand this is the on ramp to Interstate 70.
And my goodness, moments ago -- we don't have those pictures -- but traffic -- and now we're beginning to see a little bit more of the traffic, reduced to essentially a crawl in spots here as the conditions continue to be horrible right now. We know that there has been at least one major accident on Interstate 70 involving at least 25 vehicles. One confirmed fatality tied to that accident. It's a situation we will continue to follow throughout the evening for you right here in the "CNN NEWSROOM."
Well, during this holiday season, wounded U.S. troops are getting a boost from cards and letters written by complete stranger wishing them a speedy recovery, but in a post-9/11 world even good wishes can get derailed by concerns about terrorism.
CNN's Gary Nurenberg introduces us to some volunteers trying to bridge the gap.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL HALL, AMERICAN RED CROSS: Ready to open some mail?
GARY NURENBERG, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Well, yes. More than 100 volunteers in Washington Saturday.
HALL: We're anticipating three times the volunteers we had last weekend which is good because we have three times the mail.
NURENBERG: About 180,000 cards and letters on this day alone addressed generically to American troops recovering from their wounds.
HALL: "Dear Soldier, I'm sorry you got hurt in the war. Thank you for keeping us safe and our country safe."
NURENBERG: The government stopped delivery letters without a specific addressee because of fears they could include hazards like anthrax or insults. The Red Cross stepped in.
NEAL DENTON, AMERICAN RED CROSS: All of the mail has been screens for biohazards.
Everything that we want to make sure that we send to soldiers is uplifting and positive message and that's what we're screening to do.
HALL: "Thank you for serving our country. Merry Christmas, stay safe. Your friend, Amy."
NURENBERG: The cards and letters are boxed and sent to military hospitals worldwide. Colonel Dennis Doyle has been on the receiving end in Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
DENNIS DOYLE, COLONEL, U.S. ARMY: It really does touch your heart when you see and you realize how many people support the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines over there.
NURENBERG: It touches volunteers, too. We caught the intense look on Preston Jacob's face as he read a card.
PRESTON JACOB, VOLUNTEER: A little kid talking about they'd love to be a soldier but they don't know if they could deal with blasting and people dying around them. NURENBERG: 14-year-old Boy Scout Matthew Oclander is doing this is a Christmas present for his dad.
MATTHEW OCLANDER, BOY SCOTT: He's in Iraq now. I think it's really special. It's the least I can do for him.
NURENBERG: Messages are often simple and heartfelt.
JACOB: Come home safely, merry Christmas, happy new year.
NURENBERG: Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Caucus time will be here before you know it. A question, though -- who are these caucus voters and why do so few people have such a huge hand in our nation's future?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Hi, I'm PFC Elliott Ferguson with 32 Stryker Regiment in Baghdad, Iraq. Happy holidays to my family in Illinois, my mother, father, brothers, sisters, girlfriend, Rachel. Hope to be home soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The Iowa caucuses are just around the corner, followed by New Hampshire, Michigan, Nevada, South Carolina and Florida. Early contests begin the process of separating the viable candidates from the -- uh-oh -- the also rans. The outcome of the contests determined by an extremely small group of people.
CNN's Josh Levs has more.
Boy, I don't want to steal your thunder but in Iowa it's insanely small.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No one realizes how tiny it is. The actual number of people who will have a huge impact, its way out of proportion.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: There are three states that you were fixating because the candidates are -- it's potential make or break contests. Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina. That's where the major campaigning is going on, where all of the money is going in.
When you put those states together, it's still a tiny group of Americans doing the deciding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to say thanks so much for coming. This is incredible.
LEVS: We know why candidates fight so hard in the early states, so many Americans follow their lead and early victory can lead to the nomination. You may not know how few voters determine who wins the early states.
Keep in mind, we're a nation of 300 million people. Now here are the numbers.
JOHN KERRY, (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you very, very much.
LEVS: In 2004, the Democratic caucuses in Iowa drew a whopping 124,000 people. A fraction of the state's voting age population and that was considered big.
TERRY MCAULIFFE, FORMER DNC CHAIRMAN: We had a record turnout in Iowa, the biggest in the history of the state.
LEVS: The last big Republican contest was in 2000, when Bush won the Iowa caucuses. 87,000 people took part.
No one knows how many will take part this time around with open races on both sides but a few hundred thousand will be huge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
LEVS: New Hampshire, 2004, when the big race was on the Democratic side, nearly 300,000 people total voted. Four years earlier, when the bigger contest was among Republicans nearly 400,000.
And the third early state getting a lot of attention...
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "OPRAH": South Carolina.
LEVS: Nearly 300,000 Democrats took part in the 2004 primary. Nearly twice that number took part in the Republican primary in 2000.
So, when we put these three states together, how many people are the candidates clambering for? The total number is sure to be less than 1 percent of the U.S. population.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: But obviously a powerful and influential fraction of a percent.
There have been debates over the idea of a national primary date. But there's been no movement in that direction.
So, Tony, for now, expects this process to keep up every four years.
HARRIS: A national primary date. What are the arguments? Pro and con? LEVS: Pro, people feel disenfranchised, feel their state is irrelevant. They don't get that one-on-one interaction with the candidates. No one cares what they think. By the time it gets to them, it won't happen.
There's a website, we might be able to show you, called National Primary.net. They're pushing for this and arguing it should happen, calling for petitions.
But I tell you the big argument against it, why some like the current system. They say, under the current system, the people who are running to be president of the U.S., leaders of free world, are forced to actually care about the individual needs of, say, farmers in Iowa.
HARRIS: Retail politics. Retail politics.
LEVS: One-on-one. And that if you fight for the whole country, you don't get one-on-one. They're forced to prove themselves to individuals that they wouldn't be if they're going for all of the millions at once.
HARRIS: If I'm a caucus goer in Iowa, my one vote, exponentially, really...
LEVS: The country and the world are watching you. If you're a caucus goer who shows up in Iowa, absolutely, exponentially it could be 100 times.
HARRIS: Important. Huge.
All right, Josh. Great to see you.
LEVS: Great to see you. Bye.
HARRIS: Remember, CNN's political ticker is your one-stop shop for everything politics. Good stuff out there, too, as candidates make their final caucus push. Just go to cnn.com/ticker.
You know, there is no doubt Americans love their cell phones. But reality, we are a world away from the fastest growing mobile phone market.
Mallika Kapur has more on today's "Tech Effect" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are a few things that are really important to Satbir Singh Chhikaria, his crop, his fields, his mobile phone.
When he runs out of fertilizer or needs a spare part a quick call to his father back home takes care of it. It's so much better than having a land line, he says. So he's disconnected his.
Most of his neighbors just use mobile phones too. 70 percent of the people in the small, sleepy north Indian village as v. cell phones.
(on camera): Eight million people sign up for connections in India each month, making it the fastest-growing mobile phone market in the world. Now, much of the growth comes from here, from rural India, and this is where big telecom firms want to be.
(voice-over): India's largest mobile phone operator, Bharti Airtel, is targeting the market aggressively with a colorful marketing strategy. Vans go from village to village belting out Ballywood-style music, announcing cricket calls, offering freebies. In between, they get people to sign up.
MANOJ KOHLI, PRESIDENT & CEO, BHARTI AIRTEL: There are no bridges in many parts of the country. The roads may be absent. Train connectivity may not be there. But mobile connectivity there. So we are actually bridging that divide and really bringing the urban community together.
KAPUR: It's not all for a noble cause, of course. Telecoms are targeting villages because that's where the majority of India's more than 1 billion people live.
DEVENDRA P.S. SETH, TELECOM ANALYST: It's not just that rural India needs telecom facilities. It's also that the telecom companies need to get into rural areas to further increase their revenues.
KAPUR: To capture the market, says Seth, companies must keep prices low. Airtel says its tariffs are less than two cents a minute.
Sure, mobile phones are price why says the head of Chhikaria family, but it mean he can stay in touch with relatives in the city.
Gone are the days of a letter a month. And that, he tells us, is priceless.
Mallika Kapur, CNN, India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Whose line is it, anyway? Counting down to the most newsworthy quotes of 2007.
And a caffeine junkie with a generous heart. It took only one person to start this trend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Just another reminder -- well, I don't need to remind you. Take a look at the pictures for yourself here, the heartland in real trouble.
Bonnie, help me walk through the shots we're seeing here. I see Topeka, Kansas.
SCHNEIDER: And Chicago, Illinois.
HARRIS: My vision is bad. Topeka what? Upper left?
SCHNEIDER: Yes. And if you're wondering where it is in Kansas, west of Kansas City.
HARRIS: OK. There it is. Take that, upper right is what?
SCHNEIDER: Chicago, Illinois. Courtesy of WGN. That's not snow. That's rain and fog that will change to snow later tonight.
HARRIS: What are we looking at there? I'm not sure what that is. Looks like we're inside a building. What's the picture at the center?
SCHNEIDER: Bottom one is where they want snow, Vail, Colorado. Beautiful shot of the skiers.
HARRIS: Bonnie, take it away. Give us an update on conditions.
SCHNEIDER: All right. As we take a look at Topeka, Kansas, it's a dangerous situation. Snow advisories for blowing snow that will go straight through tomorrow so the dangerous situation continues not just for Topeka but towards Iowa, Illinois.
Later when we see snow in Chicago. Airport delays. Most have been around New York City. And that's really because of low clouds. We've lad delays almost two hours in some locations.
And we're also tracking some severe weather down in Louisiana. We have a tornado watch in effect for areas to the south. You can see it here through Mississippi and Louisiana. This is in effect straight until 9: 00 tonight. We don't have snow. We have rain and severe weather in terms of tornados and thunderstorms possibly.
HARRIS: We will both be here to update folks throughout the evening. Bonnie, appreciate it. Thank you.
Some of you may prefer real Christmas trees, some may have artificial trees. Taiwan has come up with a third option. Check this out. It's a human Christmas tree. 2000 people are packed in there waving, yeah, those green glow sticks and flashlights. Altogether the tree is over 200 yards long. Flashy sight, huh, in Taiwan's second largest city.
Controversial, contradictory, comical, they were some of the most memorable remarks of the year. Is your favorite among the top five?
Our Jim Clancy counts them down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM CLANCY, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Number five, Alberto Gonzales, I don't recall.
ALBERTO GONZALES, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: Senator I doesn't recall. Senator, I don't recall. I do not recall. I don't recall.
CLANCY: Number four, Don Imus, nappy headed what?
DON IMUS, RADIO SHOW HOST: That's some nappy headed ho's. I'm going to tell you that now. Man, that's some -- oh.
CLANCY: Number three, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, we don't have homosexuals.
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN: We, in Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country.
CLANCY: Number two, Miss Teen USA contestant, don't have maps.
FORMER MISS TEEN USA CONTESTANT: I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps.
CLANCY: Coming in at number one, Andrew Meyer, don't tase me, bro.
ANDREW MEYER, COLLEGE STUDENT: Don't tase me, bro. Don't tase me. I said don't tase me! Ow! Ow!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. All right. Can't get enough of that.
Of course, there are still a few days left in 2007. So there could be a postscript to the list. Keep your ears open.
Before you get it into your head that the true holiday spirit has gone down the drain, listen to this. More than 1,000 Starbucks customers in Washington State enjoyed a free cup of Joe, thanks to the person in front of him.
KOMO's Lisa Jappy (ph) has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASHIER: The car before you took care of your drinks and your pastry for you.
LISA JAPPY (ph), REPORTER, KOMO: From mochas to mattiottos (ph).
CASHIER: They bought your drink and a pastry if you'd like one.
JAPPY (ph): Customers are spreading skim, soy and holiday joy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just paid it forward because that's what's going on. It's so great. It's what Christmas is about.
CASHIER: You guys have happy holiday.
JAPPY (ph): Picking up the tab of the customers behind them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I've got to keep it going, huh?
CASHIER: Keep it going.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep it going.
JAPPY (ph): The benevolent cheer chain started with one regular who order her usual iced tea and breakfast sandwich and paid for the stranger in the car behind her.
UNIDENTIFIED STARBUCKS EMPLOYEE: She's just a sweet lady that has tried to do this week in, week out. And it's never caught on.
JAPPY (ph): With some prodding by one barista, this time it worked.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A cup of coffee, how easy is that?
JAPPY (ph): The kindness caught customers off guard.
(on camera): Alvino Wolf (ph) just paid for your order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did? I don't know her.
JAPPY (ph) (voice-over): Nobody wants to be the scrooge who breaks the chain. More than 800 customers joined the java movement buying a cup of Joe for the next guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's great.
JAPPY (ph) (on camera): You just bought a drink for the person behind you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
JAPPY (ph): That's this guy. Did you know he brought your drink?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I kind of anticipated it.
JAPPY (ph): What are you doing about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously I'm going to buy -- you want a drink?
JAPPY (ph) (voice-over): Some drinkers kicked $15, $20 into the coffer and some came back more than once.
CASHIER: My heart is soaring.
JAPPY (ph): Today at this one coffee shop, customers and barristers are buzzing on more than caffeine.
CASHIER: Makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy inside.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: That's pretty good, huh? Starbucks will keep spreading cheer. The store's kicking extra money donated by customers to its holiday toy drive.
I'm Tony Harris in Atlanta. "Lou Dobbs this Week" starts right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
