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Man Convicted of Shooting Teen; Child Predator Caught on Tape

Aired December 22, 2007 - 22:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We outnumbered them and we were surrounded.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Isolated and alone, soldiers on the very tip of the U.S. military spear in Afghanistan. They walk a step by step through a battle, none of them were sure they would survive.

A mob of angry teenagers shows up at your house threatening your son. What do you do? This man shot one of them. Now a New York jury is deciding whether he committed a crime.

A child predator caught on tape. Just one incident in the string of attacks allegedly carried out by the same man. We've got the details.

Last-minute shopping makes some of us take extraordinary measures. Maybe a marathon shopping spree, but could you stay in the store for three straight days? One woman did. That and more, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

And this just in to CNN on that New York trial. A racially charged and deadly encounter on Long Island leads to a conviction. After four days of deliberation, a jury has convicted a black father of second degree manslaughter for shooting a white teen. Jurors also found 54-year-old John White guilty on a weapons charge. White says he was trying to defend his family in 2006 after a group of angry white teens showed up at his house to fight his son. He says, the gun went off accidentally.

The confrontation happened after White's son was asked to leave a party at a friend's house. A girl at the party had complained about a MySpace postings that said white's son wanted to rape her. Apparently, the posting was written as a hoax.

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

HARRIS: OK, let's get to the weather story now. Sleet, snow, and all the stuff, major chain reaction wrecks are made of. None quite the kind of White Christmas. Drivers in Kansas, Texas, and Missouri were hoping for -- good evening. I'm Tony Harris. We are tracking a nasty storm tonight that is crippling the mid-section of the country. Take a look at this. Interstate 70, just west Topeka, a chain reaction crash involving 30-plus vehicles. We're told one person is dead. A 40-mile stretch of freeway is now shut down. It remains shut down tonight near Amarillo, Texas on interstate 40.

Another chain reaction crash, just a tangle of twisted cars and trucks involving more than 50 vehicles. One person was reportedly killed and two dozen others are injured. That stretch of freeway closed for most of the day. And as the storm sweeps across Missouri, 40 cars and three 18 wheelers went ice-skating on interstate 29, between St. Joseph and the Iowa state line. The area is expected to get up to seven inches of snow. Let's find out if it did. Let's go straight to meteorologist Bonnie Schneider in the severe weather center. Bonnie, good evening.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Now to the Anchorage, Alaska area, the town of Eagle River to be precise, where a wild gang is on the loose. Traveling in packs preying on neighborhood dogs, terrorizing people. We're talking about a pack of wolves, as many as seven. Their latest attack happened as a group was taking an early morning jog. Andrea Gusty CNN affiliate KTVA has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALYCIA BEIERGROHSLEIN, SURVIVED WOLF ATTACK: They were not afraid of us. They were really close.

ANDREA GUSTY, KTVA AFFILIATE: It was quick. So quick, the three friends didn't know what was happening until it was too late.

BEIERGROHSLEIN: And they're so quiet. They just came right up on us. They just came right up on you us. They were quick.

GUSTY: A pack of at least seven wolves surrounded the three women and their dogs, as they jogged on artillery road. The lead wolves came within feet, circling the women as they tried to get away.

CAMAS BARKEMEYER, SURVIVED WOLF ATTACK: I was rainbowing my pepper spray, and they fell back a little bit. But as soon as we would turn our backs to try to go, they would run up on us. And then, when we would turn around and start screaming again and I would spray my pepper spray.

BEIERGROHSLEIN: We just kept pulling, and they're so big and they're so many. And they started howling and we thought they were circling us. And it got us really panicked, but we just kept screaming.

GUSTY: Alicia, Camas and their friend were more than a mile and a half away from their cars. All of their dogs were leashed because they read about the warnings of other attacks. The trio were careful not to run and instead the woman walked backwards, screaming to keep the animals away and trying to keep everyone safe.

BEIERGROHSLEIN: I love my dog with all my heart, but I can't jeopardize my friends. And if that's what they wanted, I didn't know whether to leave them. GUSTY: The women held tight to the leashes and were able to keep the wolves at bay, but not before the pack attacked Camas' American bulldog, Buddy.

BARKEMEYER: My dog did get attacked by the three wolves. He fought his way out as I'm falling.

GUSTY: The women weren't physically hurt and Buddy had to have surgery to fix his gashes and bites left behind by the wolves. Camas worries the pack could attack again, this time only worse.

BARKEMEYER: They were not afraid of us and I'm afraid that if I was out here by myself, they would attack me. They were not afraid.

GUSTY: Wildlife experts say wolves are smart and learn quickly which means the pack will likely get worse before it gets any better.

RICK SINNOTT, BIOLOGIST: They figure out that a dog is easy kill and its food for them. Then, they can just come to the conclusion that there's a lot more dogs than moose and let's just start eating the dogs for now. And I'm not sure they quite reached that point, but it kind of sound like they're working on that concept right now.

GUSTY: In the meantime, the only way to stop the wolf attack is to stay away and not give the wolves an opportunity to take their attacks to the next level. Andrea Gusty, CBS 11 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK, some story, huh? How about this?

Cows on the lamb in turkey. Locals from all over the country in hot pursuit. Did you see that? Top picks straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris. I'm in one of the nerve centers of our operation here. It's called EPIC and EPIC stands for, let me see if I can get this right, Electronic Production of Income and Content. And boy, have we found some fascinating pictures for you. Let's take you to Australia, first of all. Fierce winds uprooted trees, wow, rushing floodwaters and people fleeing for their lives.

This is New South Wales in Southeastern Australia struck by a massive storm front. 75-mile-per-hour winds and floods ripped through the city of Broken Hill leaving a path of destruction in just minutes. Flash flood warnings remain in effect across Eastern Australia tonight.

In Turkey, we're talking about cows on the run here. Whoa. None too eager to be rounded up. Anyone who thinks cows are docile should look closely at this video. The well-aim shot knocked the man off his feet. It must have been something in the air. The video we got showed cows busting out all over Turkey, where they were being rounded up for the Muslim Feast that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Say what? We're not sure. But we know they're happy and they really know how to light things up. You're seeing the outskirts of Taiwan's second largest city where about 2,000 people formed a giant glowing Christmas tree. They used florescent lights, torches and even cell phones. The people's tree ended up being about 600 feet long.

A little girl barely eludes the clutches of an accused child predator and the narrow escape is all caught on tape. If you're a parent watching tonight, you got to see this story.

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HARRIS: An accused predator, a little girl and an attempted abduction caught on tape. This particular story has a happy ending, but others don't. Tonight, a 24-year-old man is behind bars in California and police are issuing a warning, every parent needs to hear and see. CNN's Kara Finnstrom has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks back, you have to specifically identify the targets' victim.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the video tape, police point out a man brazenly trying to kidnap a crying 4-year-old from an apartment complex while a security guard was out of sight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He grabbed her and he is now trying to escape with her. Another child is calling out for her and he eventually puts down the child.

FINNSTROM: That boy's screams and tugs may have saved the little girl's life. The drama ends when the attacker, depicted in this police sketch, calmly walks away.

CAPT. JORGE VILLEGAS, LOS ANGELES POLICE: He's probably not a rookie. He wasn't a first-time. He didn't appear to be afraid of his surroundings and what was occurring. He looked like he was specifically targeting and casing that group of kids.

FINNSTROM: And police believe that about an hour earlier, just down this 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 this same area.

VILLEGAS: This person is a danger to the community. He's certainly a danger to kids and quite possibly a sexual predator.

ANGELA CARDENAS, NEIGHBOR: I thought I was safe, but no, it don't matter if you have security cameras or securities. 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. He called (INAUDIBLE) 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 their 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: You know, it's been seven months since little Madeleine McCann disappeared just a few days before her fourth birthday. Now, the little British girl's parents have released a video they hope will bring her back to them. Emily Chang has the story from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This home video just 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 our family, it's going to be the hardest Christmas imaginable without her here.

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

KATE MCCANN, MADELEINE'S MOTHER: You can help an innocent four- year-old little girl at this time of year, when so many families come 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 abduction. One man, Robert Murat, who lived near the resort, was named a suspect as the McCann's 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 case. But to this day, no one has been charged, and the McCann vigorously maintain their innocence.

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

CHANG: Gerry McCann then 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 that you'll hear this, but just in case, its 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.

K. MCCANN: Love you, Madeleine.

G. MCCANN: Love you.

CHANG: Emily Chang, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: There's nothing like a trip to the hospital to throw your campaign off message. We will get a checkup on Rudy Giuliani and his campaign.

And in dogbone politics, who is the genius in this presidential race? We will share one man's somewhat biased opinion on who is the smartest of them all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Restored our morality and restored our military.

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HARRIS: OK, back on the trail and feeling fine. That's the word from Rudy Giuliani today. The GOP presidential hopeful spent Wednesday night in the hospital, and he had a Friday checkup with his personal doctor. Giuliani tells CNN, he had quote, "Every test imaginable for what he described is a very bad headache. He says, his doctor will release the results of those tests sometime after Christmas. A quick reminder, you can track all of the day's political stories at cnn.com/politics.

Time now to chew on some dog bone politics. A Florida man named Don Black said Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul, a $500 donation a while back. No big deal, right? Well, Don Black also happens to be the operator of a white supremacist website featuring the motto, "White pride worldwide." Paul's spokesman says, the campaign is going to keep the donation, but he says, if black expects to influence Ron Paul in any way, quote, "He wasted his money."

Democrat Barack Obama says he would get tough on toys made in China referring to those recent safety recalls we've talked about so much here in the NEWSROOM. Obama says as president he would, quote, "Stop the import of all toys from China." That would be about 70 percent to 80 percent of all toys sold in America by the way. Not surprisingly the Chinese government was not amused. A foreign ministry spokesman blast Obama's remark as quote," Unobjective, unreasonable and unfair." And Former President Bill Clinton is pouring it on thick, as they say, in these final days before the Iowa caucuses. He has been on a trail a lot campaigning for wife Hillary and now he's taken his praise to a whole new level. While outlining the reasons why Hillary Clinton should be president, he told a New Hampshire audience, she is, quote, "A world class genius in making positive changes in other people's lives." Kind of hard to top that description. But we're going to try. Even when there are few words to truly describe what you're looking at, you know, it's enough to make you say, you got to be kidding.

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HARRIS: How about this? Three days at Wal-Mart, 72 hours at a store open around the clock, living, eating, sleeping, and a little bit of shopping. You got to be kidding, right? No, I'm not. True story. Atlanta, Georgia, a 70-year-old lady arrives at Wal-Mart. It's crowded. No one really thinks anything about her until they realize, she's been there for days. She told employees, she was simply shopping right up until the point they showed her the door.

Moving on, ho, ho, huh? Houston, Texas, now. A man tells a TV station burglars broke into his home and stole Christmas. Station runs his story, people respond with heart-felt generosity. Guess what? Miraculously, a couple of viewers recognize the Grinch. They say, he did the same thing back in 2004, and I can tell you, but it's truly one of those stories you need to see to believe.

Dancing with the stars is little on this Florida woman, lit up with Christmas cheer. C'mon, Candy Strand, yes real name, has spent the last few weeks draped in Christmas lights doing a jig outside her Tallahassee home causing a stare, drawing a crowd and likely scaring every little kid in a 50-mile radius.

Tuesday, the bows and wrapping paper come off, the packages and Wednesday everything you can imagine goes on sale. Discounts better than others. We'll take a look.

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HARRIS: I got to tell you, it has been a busy pre-Christmas travel weekend and a dangerous one. A near white-out blast of winter in the plains has caused pileups on three interstates. Let's get straight to Bonnie Schneider now in the severe weather center. And Bonnie, we got some tape coming in here pretty soon from Amarillo, Texas, interstate 40 of that massive crash up there. We'll get that on the air as soon as we get it in, but what's on the map behind you there?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Believe it or not, it's all the planes that are still in the sky right now. You'd think, by this hour on a Saturday night, most people would have reached their destination. But we still have over 3200 planes across the U.S. These are real time planes flying. And actually, we see a little bit less activity here in the northern tier of the U.S. And most denseness here is through areas to the east. So, we're getting a lot of travel. Some slowdowns but most of the delays have really diminished. The only area we have a ground stop is at O'Hare Airport. The rest of the airports are looking really good.

Well, I want to show you an amazing I-report that came to us from Topeka, Kansas. But, what you have to do here Tony is not only watch but really listen.

HARRIS: OK.

SCHNEIDER: You're wondering what that sound is? It's thunder.

HARRIS: That's thunder? Thunderstorm?

SCHNEIDER: Thunder, no. That's right. It's a very rare phenomenon that happens. It's almost as if you're having a thunderstorm with rain, because you get that fast motion of air going up and down vertically as you have some of the colder air lock in the warm air at the surface and that kind of rushing back and forth. But, when you have an intense thunderstorm, sometimes you often see heavy rain. When you have intense thunder snow, you often see heavy snowfall totals. And that was shot by Kevin Owensboro (ph) out of his backyard in Topeka. And look what happened.

So much snow in Topeka, Kansas where that I-report was shot. That it shuttered a record. Eight inches of snow on the ground. So, thunder snow is interesting to see. But usually the result, even though it's a small scale event can produce some very, very heavy snowfall. We also have wind gust of 36 miles per hour. White out conditions at time. So it's a very, very severe event for Topeka in terms of heavy snow.

Now it's pushing to the east. We're still getting snow in Kansas in some of the areas. But, the big problem tonight, if you're going to be traveling will be, blowing snow. Meaning the wind gusts will climb as high as 40 miles per hour, all the way northward towards Wisconsin. So, we'll see this windy weather throughout the region here. Where you see the areas in red, this is where we have winter storm warnings. And as you head towards Iowa and further south, they will expire overnight tonight, but they will likely to extend all the way through Sunday areas to the north. This complex winter storm is continuing to pull warm, moist air ahead of it pulling down colder air behind it and that's where we are getting the snow. So, in many locations like in Chicago where it is still mild 45 degrees, by the time you wake up tomorrow morning, it will be bitterly cold and in the 20s. We already seeing that transition happen along I-70 here in Missouri as you head towards Columbia.

Look at this, 24 degrees and then further off to the east, it's about 35 but changing rapidly. So, it's a changing situation. Extreme weather across the country producing thunder snow. You don't see that every day, Tony.

HARRIS: No, you don't. I mean, c'mon, we got to cross fingers, elbows and knees and toes here for folks who are traveling in this mess. Just be careful and take your time. All right, Bonnie, maybe we'll get an opportunity to talk to you again before the end of the program. Thanks for the update.

On now to a different forecast. One that impacts your pocketbook. The early numbers are in. And right now, it looks like U.S. retailers could be looking at their worst holiday shopping season in five years. Bad for them, good for us because come Wednesday, the day after Christmas, there are going to be some great bargains, even though we're paying for them in other ways. I spoke with some analysts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT KRUGMAN, VICE PRESIDENT NATIONAL RETAILER FEDERATION: Clearly, the housing market, the credit crunch, rising energy costs and inflation is certainly taking its toll.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have a lovely holiday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So, we get to Wednesday. And say you're going out on Wednesday, and what are you expecting in terms of items that you might be looking for? Where are we going to be able to find some of the best deals and what kinds of items?

JENNIFER WATERS, MARKETWATCH.COM: I think apparel. You're going to get the best deals on apparel, yes, because apparel has been a slow mover through the whole season. I think you're going to see a lot of that stuff really deeply discounted. We had some issues with the weather in November, which it was unseasonably warm in most places of the country and really people have a tendency to buy now, wear now. Nobody buys without the thoughts of wearing it right away. So, I think we're going to see a lot of apparel moving and really a lot of retailers trying to move that stuff.

HARRIS: Let me drill you down on this a bit. I mean, you go to the store on Wednesday and you're looking for apparel. And if you don't see discounts in the what range? 10 percent, 15 percent?

WATERS: No, no, no, Tony. More 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent. Yes. We already saw that ahead of Christmas, those kinds of discounts. And if the stuff didn't move fast enough, you're certainly going to see that and maybe even more after that.

HARRIS: So, Jennifer, are we going to see better deals online as opposed to in the stores themselves, in the brick and mortar stores? What do you think? Are they going to be comparable?

WATERS: They're going to be comparable. I think, we're going to see some really, really good deals in the stores because they're going to want to physically move that stuff out of the stores. And most of the online stuff is coming from, you know, distribution centers, not necessarily, you know, from your local gap.

HARRIS: So, they understand that they are really in competition with the online...

WATERS: No. They don't think of themselves in competition.

HARRIS: They don't think of that one.

WATERS: No, no. They think of it as a boost, as a help. I'm telling you, Tony, five years ago, six years ago, retailers didn't talk about their Internet site.

HARRIS: That's right. You're right.

WATERS: And they weren't very good. Anyway, you couldn't manipulate them. You couldn't, you know, navigate them very well. And now, retailers are much more savvy about that, and really realizing that this is another opportunity for them to sell goods.

HARRIS: If we're looking at maybe buying a big screen for the super bowl coming up, do you suspect that we might get some discounting on that kind of a big ticket item in January?

WATERS: Absolutely, absolutely. You'd be amazed on how many people buy a big screen TV the day before the super bowl. I mean, it's amazing how many people do that. But on the other hand, we saw Best Buy has been telling us, for example, the whole season that their sales have been really, really good. But Circuit City's have really suffered. Having said that, we're going to have retailers like Circuit City who are going to have a lot of extra product. They're going to try to get rid of it.

HARRIS: The most popular game and I can't even find the doggone thing. My son would love to have one. He's not getting it.

WATERS: The Wii?

HARRIS: The Wii. Is this going to be a chronic problem with this undersupply of the Wii?

WATERS: Well, for the near term, it will be, yes. The demand for it is going to taper off some after the holidays, and then inventory will be back in place. So, I think, you know, if you can promise them, you know, a valentine's gift, it might be OK.

HARRIS: So, there you go. Deals aplenty starting next week.

OK. While many of us are caught up in holiday cheer, there is a stark contrast to tell you about, to say the least for U.S. troops. Fighting the war on terror, soldiers who right now are living in the most remote mountains of Afghanistan. Up next, an amazing story from our Nic Robertson. Nic takes us inside an insurgent ambush and shows us how's U.S. troops fight back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPEC. DANIEL ARNOTT, U.S. ARMY: This is Spec. Daniel Arnott (INAUDIBLE). I want to wish you happy greetings, holidays, Merry Christmas to my family back home. My wife, Trina, my son, Cody, daughter, Dominique, Nivea, and Maggie. Love you, mom. Happy holidays.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You know, its soldiers like that who remind us while we're visiting with families for the holidays that U.S. troops are on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan and they're under fire. CNN's Nic Robertson has this exclusive story, and it is an amazing story of an insurgent ambush in Afghanistan and how U.S. troops fought back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LT. ALEX NEWSOM, BULLDAWG COMPANY: X-ray 36. We're moving around the east side of the camp right now.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: High in Afghanistan's Hindu Kush Mountains, Lieutenant Alex Newsom leads his platoon.

NEWSOM: Ten feet out the wire moving up the trail, over.

ROBERTSON: On the hunt for Taliban and al Qaeda. The air is thin. The peak so steep, the soldiers struggle under heavy body armor, weapons and ammunition. Less than 15 miles from the border with Pakistan, Newsom and his men are at the far edge of the war on terror.

NEWSOM: The only way to get anything done effectively appears from the high ground. Down there, on the road, by the river you're just a target. Get your rifle. Get your hand up.

ROBERTSON: Their tiny base surrounded by mountains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They got one on top of the building right here too.

ROBERTSON: Is a magnet for insurgent attacks. Hit regularly by rocket and sniper fire. They are so remote they can only be re- supplied by helicopter. Ammunition competes with food. Soldiers get only two cooked meals a day. They've never had their full ration of ammunition, and their humvees are lighter with less armor because the helicopters can't carry the heavier version, making them more vulnerable to attack. These are the men of Bulldawg Company. Thousands of miles from home, nearly a year to go in their 15-month tour. Their leader, Captain Tom Bostick...

NEWSOM: He's a take-charge kind of guy and definitely the kind of man that a lot of us saw as invisible. You know, the kind of guy, if he's out there, you're going to be fine.

ROBERTSON: But on July 27th, just after daybreak, as the Captain Tom Bostick led his men on a routine patrol, they are not so sure.

SGT. JOHN WILSON, BULLDAWG COMPANY: I was feeling kind of apprehensive that day. ROBERTSON: Sergeant Wilson has a bad feeling as they head eight miles from their base to a tiny village of Saret Koleh, a few scattered huts next to a fuss river in a narrow but steep sided valley.

WILSON: Part of our mission A subtask was to go into the village of Saret Koleh and conduct a village assessment. Basically, talk to all of the elders.

ROBERTSON: The other part of their mission, to check out Intel reports that insurgents were planning an attack.

WILSON: We heard that there was something like 100 fighters, you know, just to the southwest.

ROBERTSON: Bostick and his men set up a stay out, placing 40 U.S. and 30 Afghan National Army, ANA soldiers, strategically around the village. Newsom stands by with a quick reaction force of 15 more soldiers. But soon, they learn their enemy is dug into the mountains, too.

LT. JOHN MEYER, BULLDAWG COMPANY: Within 30 minutes of actually leaving Saret Koleh, the first actual round was fired. It was awfully quick. You heard them being shot at you, but you had no idea where they were.

ROBERTSON: Sergeant Wilson and four others head up the mountains to find them. Sergeant William Preachy (ph) who just joined the platoon, this is his first mission since arriving, is out front. They discover tracks that show insurgents are all around them.

NEWSOM: There was one (INAUDIBLE). These were trained fighters who knew what they were doing.

MEYER: We were outnumbered and we were surrounded.

SPEC. ANDREW BLUHM, BULLDAWG COMPANY: We had RPGs being fired every couple seconds at us. Bombs were pinging off the dirt, hitting off the doors.

ROBERTSON: Even high above, soldiers on lookout are being attacked from both sides of the valley, and below Meyer's platoon is pinned down, too.

MEYER: We had fighters spread across probably a 500 meters on the north base engaging us. So, it was not just fighting against the north phase. It was northwest and the northeast. We had two U.S. platoons plus ANA, all basically pinned down.

ROBERTSON: Newsom's reaction force is ordered into the fight. The enemy is gaining the upper hand.

NEWSOM: They knew what they were doing. It seemed like they had a plan and it even seemed like they were tightening their noose around us.

ROBERTSON: Captain Joey Hutto is monitoring the operation from their secure base 15 miles away.

CAPT. JOEY HUTTO, BULLDAWG COMPANY: You feel helpless at times, because you can only sit there and listen to a radio.

ROBERTSON: He didn't know it then, but he too would be heading into the battle. By now, the enemies were circling around them, trying to cut off their exit, close in for the kill. If they didn't get out soon, then the situation could get a whole lot worse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: That was Nic Robertson reporting. Up next, the final chapter of the battle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILSON: Like you're trained and trained and trained, never leave a guy behind. Here you are in a situation, where your choices are to leave a guy behind or die with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: U.S. troops fight back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Before the break, we took you inside an insurgent ambush of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Now, Nic Robertson's exclusive report on how the firefight ends and the price that was paid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: The shooting comes from everywhere. Captain Tom Bostick and his men are being fired on from every direction.

MEYER: We had fighters to the north, to the south, to the east and to the west.

ROBERTSON: Sergeant Wilson's squad is higher up the mountain, but is also taking fire and trying to make his way down to safety. They almost run into insurgents dressed as Afghan army soldiers.

WILSON: I come up on three guys in a cave. They're about 15 meters away. I almost yelled out, "Hey, hey, hey." And I just kind of stopped. And I just was like, wait a minute. These guys aren't looking in my direction. If they were security, they'd be looking at me the way they should be. They're paying attention to the guys on the road. These are bad guys. We need to kill them. So, we took those three guys down.

ROBERTSON: An hour and a half into the battle they know they need help. Air support comes to their rescue.

WILSON: At that point, two big 500-pound bombs got dropped. I heard the bomb coming in, and it hit and it just rocked my world like, you know, I went deaf. ROBERTSON: As they get up, another insurgent appears.

WILSON: That was when Sergeant Preachy (ph) got shot. It was, like, two rounds. Yes, he was right in front of me. I saw him get hit. And it was kind of unreal at the moment. To me, that was the first time I had really seen death.

ROBERTSON: The men have no time to mourn. They are under attack.

WILSON: When I was up there, I had this horrible feeling that you're trained and trained and trained to never leave a guy behind. Here you are in a situation where your choices are to leave a guy behind or to die with him.

ROBERTSON: They choose to move. Down in the valley, Newsom's quick reaction force makes it in and takes fire.

SPEC. MICHAEL DEL SOTO, BULLDAWG COMPANY: They swarmed us and I was engaging a target. It was a 360 ambush.

ROBERTSON: The men suddenly realized their company commander, Captain Bostick, hasn't been heard on the radio. They continue their firefight. At the same time, they begin a search. When they find him, he's dead.

NEWSOM: As we were putting his body in, it really hit me the hardest. You know, oh, what do we do? But we had the situation under control. I mean, we just kept going. You go with the momentum of the situation, and you just don't stop.

ROBERTSON: And now, the valley is a kill zone. Meyer and Newsom's two lightly-armored Humvees are full of wounded soldiers.

MEYER: I was scared like everyone else was out there. We had soldiers, you know, getting shot or getting blown up. I mean, it was happening, probably, you know, one guy a minute was getting hit. Every time we tried to move, there was another person shot. It got so bad I had eight casualties in my vehicle.

ROBERTSON: Their only escape, to hide behind their Humvees.

WILSON: It is a real helpless feeling, because you're just kind of out there in the open. Then, I just kind of accepted it. I'm just waiting to get shot, basically. For about 200 meters and that's when stuff really started to get bad. They took a whole bunch of casualties. They pounded us with RPGs.

ROBERTSON: But with Newsom's quick reaction force adding crucial firepower and air support preventing the insurgents from advancing, the soldiers in their Humvees gradually back out of the valley, still taking fire from all sides.

Seven hours after the first shots were fired, Bulldawg makes it out. Seven U.S. soldiers are wounded. Two are dead. The Afghans lost even more. They were out of the kill zone, but Sergeant Preachy's (ph) body was still on the mountainside, where they'd been forced to leave him. They had to go back.

They go back in on foot, the insurgents now gone.

WILSON: It was real humbling, too, when we had found Sergeant Preachy's (ph) body. He was lying down where he had been killed, and his arms were like this across his chest. I had totally expected his body to be gone. And it just kind of show that there is humanity on both sides.

ROBERTSON: Bulldawg Company held together, despite the heavy losses.

HUTTO: As a troop as a whole, it would have been easy for them to collapse. I think, due to Tom's leadership, he had built a dynasty here. Every platoon leader seemed to understood their mission. They continued with their mission. They knew exactly what they had to do.

ROBERTSON: Their commanding officers called them heroes, but these soldiers say they were just looking out for each other.

WILSON: I don't feel like a hero. I just feel like I was there. I got put in a bad place, and I got out of it the best I could.

ROBERTSON: But there is frustration. Without enough resources, they feel forgotten and hope their brothers' lives won't be.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Forward Operating Base Keating (ph), Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: An amazing report from CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson with U.S. troops in Afghanistan. And just ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, most of us have a hard time keeping our new year's resolutions. Up next, meet a woman who made a promise and kept it year-round and four ways you can do it, too.

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HARRIS: I-reporters delivering again. Hey, you know what? I promised you, a couple of minutes ago, that we would turn some video as quickly as we were able to get it in of this scene. Man, oh, man, Amarillo, Texas in this tremendous pileup there along interstate 40. So, here we go. The video from KFDA, our affiliate there. Just a massive car pileup, as you can see for yourself, involving as many as 80 vehicles. 17 of which tractor trailers.

People say -- I guess, there was some reports of several people being cut from their cars, this according to police, because they were pinned beneath the trailers. Many sent to the hospitals locally. 18 people transported to a hospital in Northwest Texas. Five of them with critical injuries. We understand one fatality. Just horrible pictures in to the CNN NEWSROOM from Amarillo, Texas.

All right, let's look ahead a bit to 2008. Lose weight, stop smoking, save money. We all make those resolutions every year, but how many of us will actually keep them? I asked the experts for some tips to keep you on track in 2008.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As soon as I make them, that's when I break them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, you get on a fast track for a month or 30 days and so, and then all of a sudden, you quit.

HARRIS: It's true. Most Americans drop their resolutions within the first six months of the New Year. The good news? Studies somehow 40 percent, do succeed. We stop smoking, lose weight and get our financial house in order.

Amber Mette went from a size 16 to a size 10 in 2007. How did she do it? Tip number one, she was finally ready to change.

AMBER METTE, KEPT 2007 RESOLUTION: You just say, that's it. You know, I'm tired of living this way. I want to have more energy. I want to have more time for me. And I just got to the point where I was like, you know, that's it. I really want in 2007 to keep my resolutions.

HARRIS: Now, 27 pounds thinner, she's keeping up with her two boys with ease. The magazine owner and editor in chief resolved to lose weight by walking three days a week, joining weight watchers and planning out her meals. That meant carving out more time for herself.

METTE: It's OK to say no. People will be disappointed that you don't serve on this committee or you're not there to help for whatever reason, but it's OK to say no.

HARRIS: Tip two, set realistic goals, write them down and slice them into very specific steps.

DR. NANCY MCGARRAH, PSYCHOLOGIST: Instead of saying, my New Year's resolution is to exercise more, maybe my resolution is to go to the gym once a week and just start with something that seems do-able and doesn't seem impossible, that's not going to add more stress to your life.

HARRIS: Tip three, don't go it alone.

METTE: I said mom, my New Year's resolution is to lose weight, and I want you to do it with me.

DR. STANLEY HIBBS, LIFE COACH PSYCHOLOGIST: If we make a commitment to ourselves, that's good. But making a commitment publicly, going on record, and knowing that we're going to have to explain, that he is a great motivator. We're all more likely to do, what we need to if you're accountable to someone.

HARRIS: Tip four, don't beat yourself up if you have a setback. Everyone falls off the wagon now and then. MCGARRAH: The best predictor of success are people that can say, OK, I had a bad day. Tomorrow's is another day. I can start over tomorrow. People that say, OK, that's it. I have no willpower. I may as well go back to smoking or go back to whatever the habit is. Have the least chance of success.

METTE: It is such a marathon, it's not a sprint. And the more I realized that, the better I did.

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