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Central Illinois Dealing With Some of Its Worst Flooding in Decades; Economic Signs Show Road to Recession

Aired January 10, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Guess what's on the rundown now. The Democrats standard bearer for 2004, backing a candidate for 2008. And it's not his ex-running mate John Edwards.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Police find the decomposing bodies of four girls in Washington. Now a woman facing murder charges. New details from police just moments ago.

COLLINS: Flood waters rising in central Illinois leading to heart-pounding river rescues. The man who shot this tape, live in the NEWSROOM.

Unfolding this hour, Central Illinois dealing with some of its worst flooding in decades. One woman fighting to stay afloat in the fast-moving Vermillion River. You're about to see her rescued. That's her head just barely bobbing above the water there. Emergency crews scrambled to a bridge to throw her a lifeline. They got lucky, to. It landed right in her pat. She grabbed it and crews pulled her to shore.

HARRIS: Man, that dramatic rescue was videotaped by, you believe this? Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy. He joins us on the phone right now. Mr. Mayor, good to talk to you. How in the world did you happen to be the man on the spot with the camera?

MAYOR SCOTT MCCOY, PONTIAC, IL (on phone): Well, good morning, Tony and Heidi. Actually I carry a pager for the Fire Department. We've been videotaping and taking snapshot photos for recruitment videos and different materials for the department over the last year or two. And I happened to have a video camera in my office. I was about three blocks away when the call came in. So I just hopped in the car and was about the second person to actually arrive on the scene other than a Pontiac police officer.

HARRIS: Well, Mr. Mayor, did you give any thought to sort of jumping in and trying to make this rescue yourself?

MCCOY: Well, in the heat of any kind of an emergency you're always kind of shaken and ready to go and you feel like you want to jump in, of course, it's very, very treacherous. We have the fire department and Pontiac Police Department who know how to handle this stuff. They've been trained on it. You just want to let them do their job and stay out of their way which is what I was trying to do primarily.

HARRIS: That sounds like - it's a smart move is what it sounds like. Jacqui Jeras is with us this morning. And Mr. Mayor, Jacqui's got some questions for you.

MCCOY: OK.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Mr. Mayor, I just want to ask you, can you put this into perspective for us because the Vermilion River floods a lot but the level this has been at, this is near record proportion.

MCCOY: That's correct. We actually believe we broke the record last night. This incident happened on Tuesday. The flood stage is 14 feet. Last night around midnight we crested somewhere around 19 1/2 or more. And it's starting to recede now but when you see that video, it's about maybe two feet over flood stage. So when she went under that first bridge and they first made the attempt she had maybe six inches of clearance under the bridge. Just wanted to make sure she got through that.

JERAS: Wow. And then there were some evacuations that took place in town, too. How many people is this impacting?

MCCOY: We've actually evacuated for the fire and police departments, probably 100, 150 individuals and families, pets, that sort of thing. Many others have just left their homes, the ones who would get out and get through the water, we have several hundred homes underwater right now. It's definitely the worst flooding that Pontiac has ever seen.

HARRIS: Wow. Mayor McCoy, I have to ask you just watch that video, how is that woman? How is she doing today?

MCCOY: The last I knew she was fine. When she was pulled out, of course, she was alive.

HARRIS: Yeah.

MCCOY: That's the number one thing we want to do when we saved her. I have not really received any reports. We've been so busy with the general flooding situation here, I've been concentrating on that.

HARRIS: Man. And when you had an opportunity and everyone had an opportunity to look at your videotape, how did this rescue score?

MCCOY: Oh, well, it obviously scored very high, plus I'm very proud of the departments. We even had state police show up, conservation, Livingston County, everybody worked together in very quick mode. She was moving fast. She traveled about three quarters of a mile. And if they wouldn't have been able to get her at that bridge it would have been a very difficult outcome, I'm sure.

HARRIS: Amazing video. And amazing rescue. Yeah, I think you would have to score it an A. Any rescue where you are able to get that person out of the water in relatively good shape has to be considered an effective rescue. Mayor McCoy, thanks for your time this morning. Appreciate it.

MCCOY: Thank you. COLLINS: There is no doubt about it. She was exhausted. I did not see any of her limbs moving at the time that they pulled her out on to the shore there.

JERAS: And the force of that water is so fast, too. Even an Olympic swimmer couldn't get out of something like that.

COLLINS: Jacqui, I know there are these tornado warnings to talk about, too, northern Mississippi and Tennessee?

JERAS: Yeah. Absolutely. That's still ongoing. One thing other thing I do want to mention about the flooding by the way including there in the Vermilion River is that even though it has crested already, it's going to stay out of its banks well into next week. You're still going to see many, many roads with water over them. And don't take that risk. Don't be the person that needs to be rescued. Make sure you don't drive though any of that.

All right. Let's talk about some of the concerns that we have for tornadoes right now. We have a brand new warning just issued. This is north of the Baton Rouge area. This is for East Feliciana and also St. Helena parish. This possible tornado right there. Look at that live lightning strike that's going on here, too, near Jackson and it's pushing up to the north and east around 30 miles per hour. There you can see until 10:15 local time. Also being included. And of course that tornado watch until 5:00 local time.

We still have one other warning in effect. We were talking about this one earlier for Mississippi and parts of Tennessee. Only one county remains under the warning here at this time, Fayette County. All the other counties have been dropped from this. But this storm has a history of producing a lot of wind and a lot of hail with it. And could be a tornado touching the ground at any time. And the rainfall is coming down so heavy with this storm, too, by the way that the tornado could be obscured. You might not be able to see it. So if those warnings are going off. If you live in Fayette County you need to be seeking shelter immediately.

And we talked a little bit earlier, guys, about that moderate risk, about how the storm prediction center is going to be upgrading that risk to a moderate area. Here is that area that they put that upgrade into effect. Into Northern Alabama, parts of Mississippi and central parts of Tennessee. Basically, that's an upgrade. What they're expecting is a greater number of severe storms, possibly as many as 30 plus reports of wind damage, possibly as many as 20 tornadoes today. And anywhere within that watch area, there's about a 15 percent chance of a tornado touching down within about 25 miles of any of those points. So it's looking like a very serious situation developing this afternoon as we get more warnings or any more reports of damage or injuries or more on the flooding, too. That's going on not just in Illinois but Indiana and also into Ohio. So a lot developing for this time of the year and January getting these tornadoes.

HARRIS: Can you believe it?

COLLINS: Yeah. An awful lot. Jacqui, thanks. We'll check back a little later on.

Meanwhile we'll get the news on the political front this hour, now. Sources telling CNN Massachusetts Senator John Kerry will endorse Senator Barack Obama. Kerry who ran for president himself in 2004 will make the announcement in Charleston, South Carolina. That could come any minute now. Sources describe Kerry as quote, "one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party with an e-mail list of millions of addresses."

Our Suzanne Malveaux is with Senator Obama at the College of Charleston. Suzanne, with all those millions of e-mail addresses, maybe millions of dollars, is that what the hope is?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: Absolutely, Heidi. I mean, right now this is all about the Obama campaign trying to prove that they haven't lost their momentum or the mojo after the loss in New Hampshire. This is about the big crowds. We expect a big crowd here. It is about big money, as you know. They say they raised some $8 million in the first eight days of this year, $500,000 right after the New Hampshire defeat. It's also, of course, about the big endorsements. We're talking about big names as well as the unions. He snagged up two just yesterday out of Nevada. Very significant. Because as you know, that contest is coming up very shortly. And in two and a half weeks, that's when you're going to see things happen here shake things up in South Carolina. So this Kerry endorsement really will bring about the e-mails, the contacts, the lists, possibly the money, so that is what you're going to see.

Obviously a blow to John Edwards who was his running mate, clearly a sting there. But not necessarily all together surprising. Edwards had been critical of Kerry's campaign. Their campaign essentially publicly afterwards. So there has been a little bit of tension between those two. The Obama folks are painting this as saying that Kerry feels that Obama is really the transformational figure here, the one who can bring about change.

But obviously as well, you see the Democratic strategists, you see the big-time donors aligning themselves really either with Obama or with Hillary Clinton. They see that these are the two people who are in this dogfight, a dog fight to the end. Heidi?

COLLINS: No question about that. All right, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux for us in Charleston, South Carolina. Thanks so much, Suzanne.

HARRIS: Well, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson apparently about to bow out. Sources close to Richardson tell CNN he'll end his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination today. Richardson finished fourth in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. A Democratic strategist puts his reasons for quitting plainly, bluntly, quote, not enough votes, not enough money.

We're watching for Richardson's news conference in Santa Fe at 2:00 p.m. Eastern and we will of course carry it for you here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Not necessarily of course. Maybe he will after all. A source close to Michael Bloomberg tells CNN the millionaire mayor is again thinking about a run for the White House. He would do it as an independent. Staffers are reportedly polling voters about their views of a Bloomberg candidacy. The source says Bloomberg will make his decision by early March.

Follow me here. Bloomberg is a former Democrat. He was elected mayor of New York as a Republican before becoming an independent. Good.

For more on the presidential candidates and their next stops, go to cnnpolitics.com. It is your one stop shop for all things political.

COLLINS: Painful political concessions by Israelis and Palestinians. In comments you heard just a few moments ago, President Bush says that's what it will take to reach a Mideast peace agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: I called upon both leaders to make sure their teams negotiate seriously, starting right now. I strongly supported the decision of the two leaders to continue their regular summit meetings because they are the ones who can and must and, I am convinced, will lead.

I shared with these two leaders the vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. Both of these leaders believe that the outcome is in the interest of their peoples and are determined to arrive at a negotiated solution to achieve it. The point of departure for permanent status negotiations to realize this vision seems clear, there should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The president also said Israel must have secure and recognized borders. His remarks followed a prediction earlier today of a signed deal before he leaves office next year.

HARRIS: U.S. warships seconds away from opening fire, now Iran releases its own videotape of the encounter. See it, hear it for yourself in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: More now on a pretty incredible story we've been following this morning out of Detroit. A gasoline tanker flipped over a guardrail on Interstate 75, plunging about 20 feet, exploding and setting a store below on fire. Michigan State police do confirm the driver of the truck was killed. No word on any other injuries or casualties but I-75 is shut don in both directions in that area in southwest Detroit. Of course we are going to continue to follow this story and bring you any latest developments.

HARRIS: And a new attack, a terrorist attack in Pakistan, dozens dead and wounded in a suicide bombing. Let's get you straight to CNN's Frederik Pleitgen in Lahore, Pakistan. And, Frederik, it sounds like the Pakistani police took the brunt of this attack.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Tony. It's good to see you. The scene of the crime here has been cordoned off by police forces. But I was able to get behind that crime scene. It really is a devastating site to see. There is a team of investigators that has arrived here at the scene. They have begun investigating the scene. One of the things they're looking at, they say that the explosive that the suicide bomber was wearing was packed with ball bearings. Those ball bearings are one thing they're going to be examining here to try and find out who might have been behind the attack.

And as you said, it was the police force here in Lahore, Pakistan, that bore the brunt of that attack. What happened here was there was going to be a political rally by lawyers against the government. The police was assembling ahead of that rally to protect that rally. And as they were assembling, the suicide bomber, this is what police tell us, the suicide bomber walked up to the police officers and simply blew himself up. Now over 20 people killed. Most are police officers. And dozens are still in hospitals, injured. Some of them critically, Tony.

HARRIS: And Frederik, the Pakistani police offering any ideas as to whom might be responsible?

PLEITGEN: Well, they say at this point they don't know yet. The investigative team arrived about an hour ago and begun their investigation, picking up things off the floor, taking probes of things here at the crime scene. They say it's too early to tell. But certainly Pakistan has been a victim of a number of suicide attacks, a number of attacks over the past couple of months the past couple of years. And the central government here in Pakistan says that most of those attacks are by Islamist extremists, some of them al Qaeda and Taliban.

And as you recall, less than two weeks ago, Benazir Bhutto, the opposition leader, was killed in Pakistan. And the government also says that was the work of extremists. Now certainly no one has claimed responsibility for that attack. And that's still under investigation. But this is something that preliminarily police are telling us so they say they don't want to jump to any conclusions at this point, Tony.

HARRIS: I understand. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen for us in Lahore, Pakistan. Frederik, thank you.

COLLINS: Some amazing information coming to us out of Colombia now. CNN has been able to confirm that Colombian rebels have released two female hostages who have been in custody for the better part of six years or so. They've been held in the Amazon jungle. They are now en route to Venezuela. This according also to the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who told reporters of this information.

The names Consuela Gonzales (ph), who is a Colombian former congresswoman. She's been in custody more than six and a half years. And Clara Rojas (ph), an aide to follow hostage and former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Bettencourt who has been held for almost six years.

So again, this story has been followed for several years. These two women have now been freed. And according to CNN, we will, of course, begin to follow this story even closer now and learn more about their whereabouts and their condition just as soon as we can get the information.

HARRIS: Man, we turned that video around quick, didn't we? We're CNN.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, booze under the seat, teen's car for sale. Why a self proclaimed mean mom took that action.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Economic signs show the road to recession or have you already arrived? Here's CNN's Ali Velshi.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Goldman Sachs says the weak jobs report on Friday was the last straw. Unemployment unexpectedly jumped from 4.7 percent to 5 percent. That's the kind of jump that historically at least spells recession.

That's because losing a job or the fear of losing a job is the most certain way to make Americans slow down their spending. Americans are the world's best spenders. So when they slow down, so does the world's biggest economy.

A recession is officially described as a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy lasting more than a few months. The problem is you can't officially measure a recession until months after it started. And that's long after Americans know it's happening.

And Americans are worried. Exit polls of New Hampshire primary voters show that 80 percent of Republicans and 97 percent of Democrats are worried about the economy. What can be done to stave off a recession? Well, for starters, the Fed can continue to cut interest rates. Lower interest rates make it cheaper for consumers and businesses to borrow money.

Rate cuts encourage consumers in businesses to spend which, in turn, causes the economy to expand. The Federal Reserve has already cut interest rates three times since September and it's expected to shave another half a percentage point off at the end of January. And if that doesn't work, the Fed could continue to cut rates in coming months.

For those people looking for some relief from the housing industry, well, there's more bad news. The National Association of Realtors says don't expect any broad price increase until sometime in 2009. And other people close to the housing industry say the housing recovery won't come until 2010. Ali Velshi, CNN, New York. HARRIS: In Boston, praise for a foul-mouthed -- potty-mouthed parrot. This colorful macaw is usually tucked in the back of the pet store.

COLLINS: Do we have to bleep him?

HARRIS: It might have to. It's x-rated vocabulary unfit for families but just right for scaring off burglars. It unleashed, we're told, its salty tongue on a startled thief who apparently thought he had been caught. The burglar took off, ears burning.

COLLINS: Well.

This mom means business after finding liquor in her teenage son's car. She put it up for sale. Now she has a proud new nickname. Here's Angie Hunt of affiliate KCCI.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANGIE HUNT, KCCI CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Getting behind the wheel of a car is something not to take for granted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think driving is a privilege, especially when you're a teenager.

HUNT: Especially if you're a teenager with a mom who is not afraid to sell your car if you break the rules.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would freak out. I would be so mad.

HUNT: And what teen wouldn't freak out if their mom placed a classified ad in the "Des Moines Register" to sell their car? Jane Hamilton who calls herself the meanest mom on the planet did just that after finding alcohol in her 19-year-old son's car.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He only drove it three weeks before snoopy mom who needs a to get a life found booze under the front seat.

HUNT: Ten-year-old Emilee Brammer is not even old enough to drive, but after reading the ad she had no doubt what her dad would do.

EMILEE BRAMMER, 10 YEARS OLD: No alcohol. But I bet my dad would do that, too.

NATHAN BRAMMER, EMILEE BRAMMER'S FATHER: I think he would be very angry for a while but years from now he'll get it, once he has his own kids. He'll worry about it all the time.

MARTY MARTINEZ, PSYCHOLOGIST, IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY: What she was doing was being a really pretty good parent.

HUNT: Psychologist Marty Martinez says unfortunately what makes this punishment so shocking is that it's a rare example of a parent standing their ground. MARTINEZ: That's probably unfortunately the unusual thing that you would actually back up what you say to the extent of going to this. I don't know if the word is extreme but to this extent.

HUNT: Still some parents feel the son deserves as second chance.

LYNNE BALDWIN, RESIDENT: I don't think that was a very motherly way to handle this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: I'm not going to tell you what this mean mom thinks. But mean mom, as she calls herself, says she received more than 70 calls from people wanting to congratulate her. See? She also says she sold the car but will keep the ad run for another week for, quote, more feedback.

HARRIS: All right. Let's take you to Calgary. We've got a situation, as you can see, the flashing gumballs there. Ambulances have surrounded an Air Canada jet in Calgary where ten people have been injured in a flight that encountered some extreme turbulence. We understand that as you can see here, the plane obviously landed safely. And was met by all of the emergency personnel that you can see here. The flight en route from Victoria to Toronto and was diverted, we understand to Calgary. Again, paramedics are attending to as many as 10 people injured. We will just keep an eye on this situation.

COLLINS: U.S. warships seconds away from opening fire. Now Iran releases its own videotape of the encounter. See and hear it for yourself in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Pregnant and missing. A marine vanishes just before she testifies in a criminal case. What happened to Maria Lauterbach? That story, ahead.

And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

The search for four children, resuming this morning in the waters off Alabama. Their father, allegedly threw the children off a bridge Monday after a fight with their mother. Lam Luong denied bond this morning. He faces four counts of capital murder. Police say he confessed. Keep watching CNN for updates on this story.

A marine pregnant and missing. New clues, and investigators are stepping up their search today. Mike Charbonneau, with North Carolina affiliate, WRAL, is tracking the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE CHARBONNEAU, REPORTER, WRAL: This marine lance corporal and mother to be disappeared more than three weeks ago. Her mother says she last spoke with 20-year-old Maria Lauterbach by phone on December 14th. Five days later, the concerned mother contacted Onslow County deputies, worried something terrible happened.

ED BROWN, SHERIFF OF ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C.: The longer it goes, the more stressful it gets that something may have happened to this lady against her will.

CHARBONNEAU: Sheriff Ed Brown says Lauterbach was the victim of a crime that happened on base, scheduled to testify in the case. He won't go into details. She was 8 1/2 months pregnant when she disappeared and is due any day, if not past due. Authorities found Lauterbach's car at a nearby bus station just a few days ago. They say it hadn't been there long. The orange color is from investigators searching for fingerprints. They also found Lauterbach's cell phone along Highway 24, near Camp Lejeune. The "Marine Corps. Times" is reporting suspicious activity with her bank accounts since her disappearance.

BROWN: The more that we have suspicious things come up, the more concern we have that something is not right for this lady's disappearance.

CHARBONNEAU: Lauterbach lived in the Midway Park housing area, for marines but technically not on base. Deputies searched the home and questioned some roommates. They're still waiting to talk with at least one male roommate who may be deployed. The sheriff says he could be considered a person of interest.

BROWN: Until you can interview them and eliminate, you still consider them as key people of concern.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The military now won't say anything about Lauterbach's expected testimony or what the case is about. She joined the marines in 2006 and was trained as a personnel clerk.

HARRIS: Four girls found dead in a D.C. row house. Now police say their mother, their mother, has been arrested on four counts of premeditated murder. We heard from authorities just a short time ago. They're working on the assumption the four girls are sisters, ages five to 17.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MARIE PIERRE-LOUIS, CHIEF WASHINGTON MEDICAL EXAMINER: At this time, we cannot positively identify them. We have some possible causes of death in the one child, the oldest one, seems like she might have sustained some stab wounds to the abdomen. The other three children, there's a possibility of asphyxia or poisoning. At this time, we are conducting toxicology examination. We have very limited material to work with. The bodies were very desecrated. So we are trying our best to see what we can find.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Authorities say the girls had been dead for weeks -- 33- year-old Bonita Jackson is to appear in court later today.

COLLINS: Want to head back over to the severe weather center where Jacqui Jeras is standing by because we're looking at even more tornado warnings now -- Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. New ones just issued now, this time in Louisiana. That last Louisiana one I told you about is expired. But now we've got this new cell that we're watching. This is Cathoula, Concordia and Franklin Parishes under a tornado warning. Doppler radar is indicating some very strong rotation right now. So a tornado could drop out of this at any given time. There you can see the lightning with it. We also may get some damaging wind.

The area of rotation, is very strong near right now, it's near Cudo Point (ph) and is heading up to the North and to the East and should be pushing toward the Lake Bruin area, probably in the next 10 to 15 minutes. Now, we've also been watching very strong storms outside of the Memphis area and even into Memphis, where we've been seeing very heavy downpours and a flash flood warning has been issued now for Fayette and Shelby Counties because the rainfall has been on the range of about one to three inches.

This includes downtown and midtown Memphis. So be very cautious. You know we're getting towards that lunch hour. Maybe taking a coffee break. You probably don't want to head out. Wait until these storms move out here. And something to keep in mind is that this threat is going to be on going, really throughout much of the afternoon for today. The tornado watch in effect until 4:00 local time. You can see it really affects both ends of the spectrum, right. That's where the worst of the weather is, on the South side of the watch right now and also on the North side. But we're likely going to see some action picking up here in between. The storm prediction center also is monitoring this area in the Eastern parts of the Mississippi, including Biloxi for the potential of issuing another watch.

Now, as the severe weather continues to unfold this afternoon, we've been upgraded from slight to a moderate risk. Meaning we'll likely see more wide spread severe storms and the severity of them may be a little bit worse than we had initially thought. We've got all this warm, moist, unstable air out here across much of the Southeast, and cooler and dryer air is pushing in from the North and West. And you put those two things together and means one ugly afternoon for a whole heck of a lot of people. We're still watching things along the rivers too, across parts of the Midwest, from Illinois, Indiana and also into Ohio.

And those warnings have been extended southward now into Southwestern Indiana and into northern Kentucky. Driving is really difficult, guys. There's so many roads that are closed and covered with water across the Midwest. And the severe weather system on the North side of this is going to be bringing in some rain showers into these areas. So the flooded areas get a little bit more on top of what they already have. The good news, upstream here though, is that it's maybe a quarter to a half an inch. But down here, we're looking at the potential for two plus inches of rain. And so that's certainly going to aggravate the situation. If you live in Allensboro, Avinsville, down towards Paducah, be aware of all the rivers on the rise over the next couple of days.

COLLINS: Wow. A whole lot going on.

JERAS: There is. I don't think I've smiled in like a week, guys. So much really bad stuff.

COLLINS: I know. All right. Well, we're glad you're watching it closely, Jacqui. Thank you.

JERAS: Yes.

COLLINS: Breaking news to tell you about now. Finally free, two female hostages just released by Colombian rebels after years in captivity. We want to get right to CNN's Karl Penhaul. He is coming to us live from Colombia.

Karl, tell us the latest on this.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These hostages, we understand from President Hugo Chavez, were picked up about 20 minutes ago now. They're now on route out of the Colombian jungles to Venezuela. The thought, communist guerrillas here had said, before Christmas in fact, they would release three hostages as long as they could hand them over to President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela or one of his representatives.

That deal broke down because in the event it was revealed by the Colombian government that the guerrillas didn't, in fact, have one of the hostages. A baby boy who was born to one of the female hostages, had long ago, about two years ago in fact, been handed over to Colombian social services. So the guerrillas, to save face, simply called off the deal at that stage. That also left President Hugo Chavez over the Christmas and New Year's with a lot of egg on his face.

But today, the deal has gone down much more effectivity, much more swiftly. And in the space of just about three hours, these helicopters landed, took off, flew deep into the Colombian jungle, picked up the two female hostages. They're now heading back to Venezuela. Now for those two female hostages, Clara Rojas, she was a former vice presidential candidate, she's been held for almost six years in the jungle. The other, Consuela Gonzalez, a former Congresswoman, been held for more than 6 1/2 years -- Heidi.

COLLINS: It's such an incredibly long time. We know that the child apparently, at least from what I'm reading here, Karl, is in a foster home in Bogota. What about all of the other hostages? Aren't there something like 700, and even some Americans?

PENHAUL: Well, in fact, the FARC guerrillas, that's Colombia's biggest guerrilla group, is estimated to currently be holding 750 hostages. That does include if you rightly say, three American contractors. They've been held by the Colombian guerrillas now for almost four years. What the guerrillas are demanding is that a group of 47 hostages, that they term both prisoners of war and political hostages, be swapped for 500 guerrillas who are being held in Colombian and in U.S. jails.

The government isn't likely, yet, to agree to that kind of wide a prisoner swap. But don't forget as well, besides the 750 that the FARC are estimated to be holding in Colombia, as a total, there are currently 3,050 people kidnapped and currently unaccounted for, Heidi?

COLLINS: Wow. That's just the tip of the iceberg then today, isn't it? All right. CNN's Karl Penhaul coming to us live with this breaking news out of Colombia.

Karl, thank you.

HARRIS: An Alzheimer's patient improves minutes after an experimental treatment. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with amazing new study results.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: One year after President Bush announced the troop surge in Iraq, a similar build-up is on the table for Afghanistan. Senior U.S. military officials tell CNN 3,000 more marines could be headed there. Their mission, beef up U.S. combat strength before expected spring offensives by the Taliban. The marines would serve a seven- month tour. Right now, there are about 26,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

HARRIS: So really, what happened between U.S. warships and Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf? You know, there is new video out today. Details now from CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara, good morning. What are the Iranians showing us here?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Tony, the fact that the Iranians even have video to show is pretty interesting because they went out there with a camera just like the U.S. Navy. Iranian English Language Television has now shown a video from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard about what they say happened on Sunday when they encountered three U.S. Navy warships in international waters.

Watch and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IRGC CRAFT: Coalition warship 73, this is Iranian Navy patrol boat. How do you copy, over?

U.S. NAVY SHIP: This is coalition warship 73. I read you loud and clear, over.

IRGC CRAFT: Coalition warship 73, this is Iranian Navy patrol boat requesting side number present course and speed. Over.

U.S. NAVY SHIP: This is the coalition warship 73. I am operating in international waters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: It all seems pretty cool, calm and collected as you see. This all seems to be fairly routine transmissions between these small craft and the Navy ships. The U.S. Navy says to the best they can figure out, this was some of the routine transmissions that took place before they encountered five Iranian very fast speed boats coming at them and operating in a very threatening, provocative manner, according to the U.S. Navy.

They have acknowledged that they did have transmissions with some Iranian craft before the incident occurred and that it was all very routine and very normal in the Navy's words. That's what they think the Iranians are showing. They say this is heavily edited video that does not show this, what happened after that when some of those boats came in a very threatening manner -- Tony?

HARRIS: OK, let's, I suppose we should probably leave it there for now. And if there's any more on this, you'll certainly give us a heads up.

STARR: You bet.

HARRIS: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us. Barbara, thank you.

COLLINS: Coming up in about 15 minutes or so, "YOUR WORLD TODAY." And Jim Clancy is at the desk now to tell us a little bit more about what they'll be following on the program.

Hi there, Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, Heidi and Tony.

Well, we're following President Bush in the Middle East. You know, it's an important trip. And he said three words that the Palestinians have been waiting years to hear, what were they and how much hope is left?

Also, just before the president left on this trip, he sat down and talked with Turkey's leader, Abdullah Gul. Well, we also talked with him today about his troubled neighborhood, Iraq, the Kurds and Iran. Well, he's a president that doesn't want to see nuclear weapons move in next door.

Plus, this car is not for everyone, but everyone will be able to afford it. It may not set any safety records, but enthusiastic buyers say it's a lot safer than the vehicles that they're riding in now. We're going to tell you all about the little ta-ta.

That's coming up, top of the hour.

COLLINS: OK, you could definitely park that in New York City.

HARRIS: $2500, are you kidding me?

COLLINS: Get a couple of them, maybe. HARRIS: Yes.

CLANCY: Good deal.

HARRIS: Yes!

COLLINS: Such a deal.

All right, Jim, thank you. We'll be watching.

Looks like the Christmas shopping season brought no holiday cheer for the nation's retailers. We've got the numbers for you.

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COLLINS: We've got to get back to the weather center because Jacqui Jeras is there and giving us new tornado warnings. And these are like the fourth or fifth time we've come to you throughout the show.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know. We've got some reports of some damage, too, by the way, Heidi.

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HARRIS: And very quickly, we want to take you back to Canada, Calgary, specifically, to update a story we told you about, oh, about 15 minutes or so ago. We've got some new video we want to share with you now. This is that Air Canada flight that experienced some really rough turbulence in flight en route from Victoria to Toronto. It was eventually diverted to Calgary. As you can see, all kinds of emergency personnel on the ground there, waiting for that aircraft when it landed. And this is new video from just a short time ago.

We told you that as many as 10 -- maybe more than that, 15 people seriously injured because of a turbulence experienced by that aircraft. And you can see here some of those folks being wheeled from the airplane obviously into, I guess, through the airport. And eventually they'll make it to a hospital for treatment. But as many as 15 people seriously injured.

Take a look at that video.

People there in restraints as well. So maybe 20 to 30 others with minor, not quite as severe, injuries as the people who were being wheeled out here and taken to the hospital. Some smiles there. So that's encouraging news. Just want to show you this video and remind you to follow the latest developments with this story.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

HARRIS: Stay with us this morning. Breaking news from the Pentagon, next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: I want to get directly to the Pentagon now and our Jamie McIntyre, who is standing by with more information on the grounding of the F-15s. Looks like it has 15S's, but there are several different models that we should probably distinguish between just for a moment, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, These are the older versions of the F-15s, model A through D. One of them broke in half, snapped like a twig, said an Air Force official today back in November, and that prompted this examination. And what we're told today as the Air Force releases its investigation is, one, that was caused by a manufacturing defect in the plane, and they have found it in 40 percent of those older models.

And today the air combat commander, General John Corley (ph), told me that he thinks some of those planes will never fly again. They'll be too expensive to repair, and that means the mission of defending the United States is going to be more difficult.

Right now he's pressing other planes into service, but they're supposed to go to combat zones. What does the Air Force want to do? Well, they want to spend a lot of money to buy F-22s, the new state- of-the-art plane, to replace them.

COLLINS: Yes, 15E's, though, still flying, yes?

MCINTYRE: Those 15E's are manufactured in a completely different way. They look to be perfectly safe.

COLLINS: OK, interesting. All right, Jamie McIntyre, thanks so much.

HARRIS: Busted by photos on Facebook. Now some Minnesota high school students plan a walkout today to protest. School officials say at least 13 students at Eden Prairie High School face disciplinary action over the pictures. They allegedly show students partying with alcohol. The principal says students should remember that sites like Facebook are not private places.

In a statement he says, quote, "We do not go out looking at student's social networking sites. We do however take action when we are given legitimate information about school or Minnesota state high school legal violations."

COLLINS: Something like that.

HARRIS: Yes, yes. Come on, kids.

COLLINS: CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.

HARRIS: Oh, thanks.

"YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. I'm glad we didn't screw that part up. Have a great day, everybody. We'll see you tomorrow.

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