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Bill Richardson Drops Out of Presidential Race; President Bush Visits Israel and Palestinian Territories

Aired January 10, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, is this an early spring? Well, we will take winter then. The rain-swollen...
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Iroquois.

PHILLIPS: Iroquois River -- thank you -- have to keep practicing that one -- turns the town of Pontiac, Illinois, into a lake.

LEMON: Down South, the storms are violent and they are getting worse, Kyra. The radar is lit up like a Christmas tree and Christmas is over, of course.

Our Chad Myers watching from the CNN Severe Weather Center.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

PHILLIPS: And Chad is helping me with all the pronunciations of all these towns throughout Illinois, where I grew up.

I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: We're going to get to our breaking weather news in just a second. But, first, we want to show you this new video of Otis Blunt, the fugitive -- was a fugitive for about two weeks -- being brought back. Let's listen in.

QUESTION: Your mom says you're not guilty. Are you (OFF-MIKE)

QUESTION: What do you hope to get out of this?

QUESTION: What do you want to say to your family, your wife, your mom?

OTIS BLUNT, FORMER FUGITIVE: I love them.

QUESTION: Hey, Otis, you didn't really think you were going to get away, did you?

BLUNT: Ain't nobody was trying to get away. I could have got away if I wanted to.

LEMON: So, there he is, going back into jail there in Union, New Jersey, Union County Police Headquarters in Westville, New Jersey.

Again, what happened here, he escaped, along with another man, from a jail in New Jersey by boring through a hole and then covering it up with girly pictures.

He's 32 years old. They found him in Mexico. Authorities there traced him to Mexico City, where he was hiding in a $10-a-night-hotel. The task force from New York and New Jersey, their regional task force, spotted him, and then Mexican officials, immigration and marshals there, converged on that hotel room and then brought him become back here to the United States.

But he had gone missing for a while, the person who had escaped with him brought back before him. So, again, he is back in custody. And new information coming in on this story just as soon as he faces possibly more charges here in the U.S., we will bring that to you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

LEMON: And, as I said, folks are also on alert in east central Illinois. They haven't seen flooding like this in 30 years. Hundreds of people have fled and states of emergency are in effect.

WGN's Marcella Raymond is in Pontiac, about a quarter of which is underwater.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARCELLA RAYMOND, WGN REPORTER (voice-over): Eighty-two-year-old Mary Rodino glided down Main Street this morning in a canoe, led by two Pontiac police officers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.

MARY RODINO, RESIDENT OF PONTIAC, ILLINOIS: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

RAYMOND: Without power and the water getting dangerously close to the first floor of her house, Mary was forced to leave.

MARY RODINO: This morning, when I got up, it had filled up the whole basement, and was at my first landing going up from the basement, you know, the back door.

RAYMOND: That's about seven feet of water. Mary's son and daughter waited, and watched, on dry land.

MIKE RODINO, SON OF MARY RODINO: We were going to take her out last night. But she said she wanted to stay. But the water wasn't nearly this bad then.

RAYMOND: Bert Kesler's son went to rescue her. She had no choice but to leave. Her basement was also full of water and her electricity was out.

(on camera): How was that ride?

BERT KESLER, RESIDENT OF PONTIAC, ILLINOIS: Well, it wasn't -- for an old lady, it was fun. I said, I had two big strapping guys take me for a boat ride.

(LAUGHTER)

RAYMOND: Never thought it would be down the middle of your street, did you?

KESLER: No.

RAYMOND: Now, this is what street? Main Street. So, is this one of the worst ones?

MAJOR HUGH ROOP, PONTIAC POLICE DEPARTMENT: At the other end, yes. This is shallow here, but it gets about above waist deep down at the other end.

RAYMOND: So, what have you been doing all night? Can you tell me?

ROOP: This, rescuing people.

RAYMOND (voice-over): Up to now, about 200 residents had to evacuate their homes. Many needed help; 25 percent of Pontiac is underwater, mainly on the east side. Schools are closed. Playgrounds are flooded.

MIKE KONETSKI, EVACUATED HOME: I'm getting ready to go back home to see if I can start pumping out a little bit.

RAYMOND: Mike Konetski's house is surrounded by water. He's staying with his sister across town.

KONETSKI: It took less than probably 24 hours to come up around my house.

RAYMOND (on camera): OK. And it's still just as bad?

KONETSKI: Oh, yes.

RAYMOND (voice-over): The Vermilion River crested overnight at about 19.5 feet, five feet more than flood stage. The water is receding, but slowly. Livingston County has been declared a disaster area. State help is already here.

SCOTT MCCOY, MAYOR OF PONTIAC, ILLINOIS: With all the agencies that are assisting us here, we have more than ample supplies to take care of the needs. Again, safety is number one. Number two is property. And we will get to that in a couple days when the water goes away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Live pictures now to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Governor Bill Richardson getting ready to step up to the mike. You know, he has played a big part in this presidential election with regard to breaking barriers. This is the first time in the history of any presidential election you have had a Hispanic, a female, and an African-American running for the presidency, in 2008.

We're getting word, though, that, as he gets ready to step up to the mike, that he is probably, more than likely, going to step out of the presidential race.

Now, we know what happened with Duncan Hunter. We thought that's what was going to happen a couple days ago when he held his news conference saying he was going to have a big announcement. And his big announcement was, no matter whether he was involved in the debates or not, he was not going to get out of the presidential race, which surprised everybody. So, he's still in the running.

So, now we're hearing from Bill Richardson and his camp that he does have a big announcement. And we are going to take this live as soon as he steps up to the mike.

Thanks for that live picture from our affiliate, KOAT out of Santa Fe. When he steps up, we will take it live.

LEMON: And you know what, PHILLIPS:? He was here just a couple months back. We interviewed him right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. And he talked about being the first Hispanic president, he hoped.

I asked him if he thought he would take the vice presidential role, if that were the case. He said absolutely not in all of this, which is what they always say, you know, that they're in it...

PHILLIPS: Hey, you never know.

LEMON: They're into it to win it, correct?

PHILLIPS: And that's a possibility.

LEMON: And then we talked to him. Also, I remember this interesting note. Remember the whole thing, flap with Barack Obama and the lapel pin, the flag pin, and what have you. I asked him about that.

And he said he thought that you wear -- you are a patriot on the inside. So it didn't matter if you wore the flag or not. You didn't have to wear it on the outside. So, he's being introduced now.

But, you know...

PHILLIPS: His supporters and aides right there next to him, of course, sticking it out the entire way with him. He's got a bunch of his supporters there in the room. They're introducing him now.

And we will go ahead and listen in as he's about to come up to the mike.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) REP. TOM UDALL (D), NEW MEXICO: She has been a great first lady. I saw on the ground in Iowa and in New Hampshire the kind of campaigner she was. And people really loved Barbara Richardson.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UDALL: She -- she -- Barbara has been dedicated, our first lady has been dedicated to New Mexico, has been dedicated to all of the things that we know need to get done, working hard on making sure that every child is immunized in New Mexico, health care for kids, trying to make sure that the victims of domestic violence have shelters.

I can't tell you how many places I have been where she's dedicated shelters and pushed for victims of domestic violence. She...

(APPLAUSE)

UDALL: Barbara Richardson has done so much for this state.

Please welcome -- please welcome our wonderful first lady, Barbara Richardson.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BARBARA RICHARDSON, FIRST LADY OF NEW MEXICO: Well, thank you. Thank you, all.

And our heartfelt -- our heartfelt thanks to Congressman Tom Udall, who was a real trooper out in Iowa in the freezing cold.

(APPLAUSE)

BARBARA RICHARDSON: And now I am very pleased to introduce my husband of 35 years and the proud governor of the great state of New Mexico, still the best job he's ever had.

(LAUGHTER)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D-NM), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Barbara, and Tom Udall.

Thank you for all coming here today.

I want to begin today by speaking directly to those who have supported my campaign for president from the very beginning, those that joined us along the way, those who were with us at the end, and most importantly, the people of New Mexico. It is with great pride, understanding and acceptance that I am ending my campaign for president of the United States.

It was my hope that you would first hear it from me directly and not from a news organization. But, unfortunately, as with too many things in our world today, it's the ending of something that garners the most intense interest and speculation.

You know, it's been an exhilarating and humbling year, an experience I will treasure and I will never forget. The voters of this country, and particularly of the early primary states, where I focused my campaign, tested me in ways that I have never been tested. We had 200 debates. Actually, it was only 24, but it felt like 200.

(LAUGHTER)

BILL RICHARDSON: And there I believe that we made our case to the people. We made our case for change, but guided by an experienced hand. We made our case for a foreign policy with principles and realism.

(APPLAUSE)

BILL RICHARDSON: Of rebuilding alliances through diplomacy and unflagging support for democracy.

We made our case for rebuilding our country with a laser-like focus on economic growth, quality jobs, like we have done here in New Mexico, investing in education, science, math and the arts, and providing universal health care.

And we made our case for bringing people together, as I have done for my entire life -- Democrats, independents, Republicans, citizens, community groups -- to break the gridlock in Washington and get things done for the American people.

I knew from the beginning that this would be...

PHILLIPS: It's official, Governor Bill Richardson pulling out of the White House bid, after a pretty long haul there.

So, what does it mean, that withdrawal, in the political scheme of things?

John King joining us now from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Well, he definitely made a lot of progress with regard to diversity, John. We had talked a lot about the fact that he, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, all running for the presidency, that made history.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It did. But he also was overwhelmed by the better funded candidates and the more celebrity candidates, if you will. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have dominated the dynamic of the Democratic race from the beginning. Add in former Senator John Edwards, who was the party's vice presidential nominee, and it was very hard for Governor Richardson to find his niche. He did do a lot of campaigning. It would have been interesting to see what happened in the state of Nevada, where he campaigned aggressively for the Latino population in that state.

But I talked to one of his senior advisers last night, who simply said the numbers weren't there. The votes weren't there. The money wasn't coming in, so, Governor Richardson making this difficult decision to get out.

And it's interesting to note. Go back through recent history. Governors win the presidency. Governors do. Ronald Reagan was a governor. George H.W. Bush was the vice president, of course. But then Bill Clinton was a governor. George W. Bush was a governor. It sure looks like the Democrats are going to nominate a senator or a former senator to be their nominee.

And many would say, history would say that makes it a much harder sledding.

But, in stepping aside, Governor Richardson doing so there with a lot of class, talking about how much he learned on the road this year. And one interesting thing to watch as we go forward, will he decide to endorse somebody or will he stay neutral, perhaps thinking, when there is a nominee and they are looking for a number two, maybe that governor who happens to be a Latino might be quite attractive.

PHILLIPS: Well, and those were my next questions. Number one, could we see him on a vice presidential ticket, and, number two, where do the votes go now? The votes that were for Bill Richardson, who gets those?

KING: Well, unfortunately, from his perspective, there weren't a lot of votes. And, so, that's an interesting question. He, among the Democratic candidates, was even to the left of the others in saying, get out of Iraq, and get out of Iraq as fast as possible.

So, you would assume his foreign policy base would go to the more anti-war candidates. Is that Barack Obama? Is that John Edwards? Is that the new message from Hillary Clinton? Probably more Obama than anyone else. But I think that's a very tough call to make right now.

When it comes to vice presidential aspirations, on the one hand, if you're picking a vice presidential nominee, you want to pick somebody who delivers votes. As a presidential candidate, Bill Richardson didn't get a lot. But the Mountain West is increasingly important to Democrats. Hispanic voters are increasingly important in presidential campaigns. So, he will get a good, hard look.

Will he be the choice? Hard to say at this early juncture. We don't know the dynamics of the race. But no doubt about it, Bill Richardson will be on the list.

PHILLIPS: All right, John King, finally, you're in Myrtle Beach, North Carolina. What's your next move? KING: Well, I'm waiting for these Republicans to get a debate, Kyra.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: We are losing some of the Democrats. We have lost some of the Republicans. And it's a fascinating race on the Republican side. We're talking about a volatile, unpredictable Democratic race. Well, guess what? There's one on the Republican side as well.

South Carolina holds what it calls the gateway-to-the-South Republican primary. Michigan still has to go first, a key battle there between McCain, Romney and Huckabee. But will be a fascinating discussion tonight. Fred Thompson on what he -- his own campaign staff calls Custer's land stand here in North Carolina, so a fascinating Republican race as well. This is a crazy campaign.

PHILLIPS: Everybody is pulling names and pulling speeches out of the historical archives.

John King there in Myrtle Beach -- thanks, John.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: President Bush in the Holy Land, can he nudge all sides toward peace in the region? He sounded confident in making a prediction.

We're live in Jerusalem.

PHILLIPS: New evidence in what police believe are serial killings in Florida. We're going to talk with the police chief of Daytona Beach.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: With 12 months left in office, President Bush says to expect a signed Middle East peace treaty at some point during that time.

The president on his first official tour of Israel and the Palestinian Territories, where today he met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He promises, it won't be his last.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe it's possible -- not only possible -- I believe it's going to happen, that there will be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office. That's what I believe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: CNN's Hala Gorani joining me now from Israel.

Hala, Mr. Bush's peace treaty this year, that's a prediction. Any way that could happen?

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hello to you, Don, from Jerusalem.

Well, it depends, really, who you ask. Now, I think that, if you were to break it down, the news-making item in the president's statement this afternoon is that he used very loaded terms. He used the word occupation, for instance, to describe Israel's presence in some parts of the Palestinian territories.

He also said that Israel must end its occupation and return to pre-1967 borders, but then left out his position on very, very sensitive and thorny issues, such as Jerusalem. Well, the Palestinians would like East Jerusalem as their capital. The Israelis would like to keep Jerusalem as their capital. Currently, their capital is Tel Aviv, of course.

So, there are very many issues that, if you look at it within a historical perspective, Don, from Camp David all the way back to the Oslo peace accords -- and we all remember, on the White House lawn, Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat shaking hands. So, in all those years, these issues have not been resolved.

So, there are many skeptics out there saying that 12 months is too short a time period to resolve all these very thorny issues.

LEMON: Yes, I'm sure.

OK, so, you're there on the ground. How is the president's statement being received among Israelis and Palestinians there?

GORANI: The statement itself, it's a bit too early to tell.

However, over the last 24 hours, we have been walking around Jerusalem and asking ordinary Palestinians and Israelis what they about the president's visit as a whole.

Among Palestinians, it's pretty uniform. Many of them say, oh, well, this is just showoff. He's just coming here so that his legacy that has been clouded perhaps by what happened in Iraq, he will be able to symbolically say that he made an effort in his last year.

Among Israelis, there's more of an overwhelming feeling that President Bush is a friend of this country. In fact, we heard Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, repeat it several times in the last two days. So, there is a divide between Israelis and Palestinians, not just on the many issues we have listed, but also on their opinion regarding this visit -- Don.

LEMON: Hala Gorani in Jerusalem -- thank you, Hala.

PHILLIPS: A 20-year-old Marine more than eight months pregnant disappears. She was expected to testify about a crime. Now family, friends, and a local sheriff are worried about her safety.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BUSINESS REPORT)

LEMON: It is a gadget straight out of "Star Trek."

Miles O'Brien takes us inside a real-life holodeck. It's today's Next big Thing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVE WURTELE: We're going into a cell.

MILES O'BRIEN, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eve Wurtele is taking me on a fantastic voyage deep inside a soybean plant.

WURTELE: The whole cell is about the side of a pinhead.

O'BRIEN (on camera): OK. So we're inside a pinhead, essentially?

WURTELE: Yes.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): The amazing illusion is generated by a six sided virtual reality cube at Iowa State University's Virtual Reality Applications Center. With 96 computers and 24 projectors, it brings new definition to high definition.

JAMES OLIVER, DIRECTOR, VR APPLICATIONS CENTER: A hundred million pixels in 360 degrees.

O'BRIEN: It seems like they see about 100 million applications. They showed me a few -- like helping doctors plan tough surgeries.

ELIOT WINER, ENGINEERING PROFESSOR: There's no -- no more building the picture in your mind. The picture is in front of you.

O'BRIEN: ...or training soldiers.

OLIVER: Guys on the front lines learning how to, for instance, clear a building or proceed to do some mission.

O'BRIEN: Manufacturers are also lining up to enter the virtual world -- with or without that fancy cube -- assembling prototypes in cyberspace to save money.

(on camera): Cool!

(voice-over): And it turns out it's even TV reporter proof.

(voice-over): Oh, my goodness, gracious.

OLIVER: Nice.

O'BRIEN: I did it!

OLIVER: Nice.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): I know what you're thinking -- you want your own virtual cube home theater, don't you?

(on camera): When does that happen?

OLIVER: Oh, give it five years and you can have one.

O'BRIEN: Really?

OLIVER: Sure.

O'BRIEN: No kidding.

(voice-over): For now, the price tag is about $5 million -- making it seem like a virtual pipe dream.

Miles O'Brien, CNN, Ames, Iowa.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: New in evidence what police believe are serial killings in Florida. We're going to talk to the police chief of Daytona Beach.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, just when we thought we had a handle on the number, Chad Myers, there are new tornado warnings to tell folks about.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There are. And, in fact, we're now moving all the way back up and now we're talking about Tennessee, into Franklin, Tennessee into, Columbia, Tennessee.

Now, this is Nashville and there's your tornado warning just south of there. So this storm is now spreading its wings all the way almost from Kentucky right on down south into Mississippi and Alabama, where most of the severe weather is.

And as you zoom in, this is almost a scary map with all of these what we call super cells -- one, two, three, four. They're not in a line. They're all out there by themselves, kind of like a dog that can eat all the food rather than five dogs eating from the same bowl -- five dogs eating from the same bowl can't get as big eating from that one bowl.

So these have all the moisture. They're eating from all of that moisture and that's how they are getting so big and that's why they are beginning to rotate.

One very weird scenario today. I am taking you all the way out to Washington and Oregon. There's a tornado on the ground near Vancouver -- really, Brush Creek and Five Corners. You guys are really aware of where it is right now -- moving to the east at 30 miles per hour. There are very few tornadoes on the ground in Washington or Oregon in any given year. And today is just one of those days. An amazing thing. If you're anywhere around Brush Creek, Hazel Dell is where it was. Take cover in Vancouver, Washington -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, we're listening, especially there in Vancouver.

Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: Yes.

LEMON: Four women killed in an eerily similar fashion. Police fear a serial killer is on the loose in Daytona Beach, Florida. The body of the latest victim, Stacey Gage, was found last week.

And Police Chief Mike Chitwood joins me by phone now from Daytona Beach. I have to ask you, do you have any new information, first of all? Thanks for joining us, but do you have any information concerning the disappearance of Stacey Gauge and the finding of her body?

MIKE CHITWOOD, DAYTONA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT: Good afternoon.

We do not. Last night at 7:00, we recovered her vehicle about two-and-a-half miles from the murder scene. It was parked in an apartment parking lot. That vehicle is being processed for any type of evidence as we speak.

LEMON: So she went missing on December 10th from her grandmother's home and then, from the situation that you got there on the ground, it was similar to several other women -- three other women who went missing in 2005 and found in 2005 and 2006.

CHITWOOD: Yes, that's correct. I think what we do is when you look at the victimology, what you see is a few women who have a drug problem, who have a prostitution problem, who lead a high risk lifestyle. There's a huge similarity in all four victims.

Then when you look at the topography of where these women were found and then you look at the crime scene itself -- the positioning of the body, just the way they were found by officers, it leads you -- the first three murders are linked through DNA and ballistics.

LEMON: Yes.

CHITWOOD: Stacey's body -- it's eerily similar, as you look at this and you look at the whole totality of circumstances and the whole modus operandi, you say, you know, there's a pretty good chance this guy is back.

LEMON: Yes.

So I've got to ask you this why not -- why haven't police found this person, I mean after two years -- or two years ago at least? Why not? What were the stumbling blocks back then? Why did it go cold?

CHITWOOD: Obviously, there is no witnesses to come forward. We know who this person is genetically. We're working closely with the FBI, with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. This guy has obviously never been arrested before.

LEMON: Yes. CHITWOOD: So, you know, we have a whole profile on him. And then the killings just dried up. You know, it seemed like he just vanished from Daytona Beach.

LEMON: Yes.

CHITWOOD: And here he is at the same time a year two years later and he's back. You know, there -- unfortunately, when you're dealing with women in high risk situations like this, you know, most of the times they're probably picked up 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 in the morning. There's not many people around to see things.

But I would ask your viewers one thing. If this guy is involved in a relationship, whether it's with a wife or a girlfriend, they are just as much in danger every day as these women who he preyed upon. Because he has shown through his psychological profile that he has no respect for women whatsoever. He leaves their bodies in dehumanizing, degrading positions. And the person involved in a relationship with this guy is just as in danger as any woman he picks up.

LEMON: OK. And that's good advice.

And I have to ask you this, just because it threw me. When I saw your picture came up, you mentioned the FBI and working along with them. And I know you, don't I, from St. Louis?

CHITWOOD: No. No. No.

LEMON: No?

CHITWOOD: I spent -- my first 18 years in the Philadelphia Police Department.

LEMON: Phila -- that's how I know you, from Philadelphia.

CHITWOOD: Yes.

LEMON: OK. I figured that I knew you from somewhere. Yes, working with the police and the FBI there. So, much luck with finding this individual.

CHITWOOD: Thank you very much.

LEMON: And thank you for joining us today in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks.

CHITWOOD: Take care.

PHILLIPS: Well, we're also learning more about a 20-year-old pregnant Marine that has been missing since mid- December. Authorities say that Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach was expected to testify as a crime victim at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune. Lauterbach is eight months pregnant.

CNN's Susan Candiotti is standing by in Miami with an update -- Susan. SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

This is a troubling story, to say the least. And Sheriff Ed Brown in Onslow County, North Carolina, who is leading this investigation, is reaching out to this young woman. In his words, she needs a shoulder to lean on and there are a lot of people who can help her. The sheriff says that she is pregnant -- eight-and-a-half months pregnant -- or probably pregnant, as he put it -- possibly meaning that she may already have given birth.

So not only are they trying to find her, they are also trying to find her roommate. He's a sergeant in training in California. And he said she might have been -- he might have been the last person she spoke with before disappearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ED BROWN, ONSLOW COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: We do feel like that he has some answers and the importance of having him back here, he is detriment (ph) to this investigation. That information, given to the base, immediately got the results we needed, and that is getting this young man back to North Carolina, the Marine Corps base, so we can look him in the eyes and ask him some questions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: So there are a lot of mysterious circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach. According to an affidavit, she has made charges at Camp Lejeune that she was allegedly sexually assaulted at the base and she was supposed to testify against this.

According to the same affidavit, she is bipolar. And the affidavit states that they are seeking information from Western Union about money being transferred to her from a period of December 10th through January 8th. Police say money was also withdrawn from her bank account. Her cell phone was found near the base on December 20th, her car found just a few days ago.

Was she a runaway or a kidnap victim? Has harm come to her? The sheriff says I'm taking the middle of the road on this. This could go either way -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll keep following it with you.

Susan Candiotti, thanks.

LEMON: We want to get back to the Severe Weather Center. Chad Myers following some developing news when it concerns tornadoes -- Chad, what do you have?

MYERS: Well, we have a report from Lowndes County in Mississippi. And we know that an elementary school was hit by a tornado. There are three injuries -- three children injured so far. Trees and power lines down in the town of Caledonia. Now, that is north of Columbus in Mississippi and at West Point and Aberdeen. I'm going to kind of jerkily move this out and you can begin to see where that town of Caledonia is. Here's Birmingham. We're still seeing Caledonia to the west of there. And then you can see that Jackson, Mississippi begins to pop up there. So just to give you an idea where in Mississippi it is, on the extreme eastern edge of the state, almost moving into Alabama itself.

That storm has been rotating and was rotating all the way through Kosiesco (ph) and then to the northeast of there. It was very close to the Columbus Air Force Base. And now that tornado warning has actually moved into Alabama itself, west of the City of Jasper, in that little pink area there.

We're going to keep you up to date. We're going to try to get the emergency managers on the phone there from Lowndes County in Caledonia and see exactly how bad this storm really was.

But it's been an ugly day. And at some point, something was going to get hit. And now we know this is probably big time hit that we've had. But many tornadoes on the ground already. We'll keep you up to date.

LEMON: All right, Chad. Thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: A terrorist strike in Pakistan -- another challenge to a crucial American ally.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Pakistan was jolted today by its first major terror attack since the killing of Benazir Bhutto. Witnesses stay a suicide bomber blew himself up in a group of police who had apparently gathered for work at a planned demonstration in Lahore. At least 23 people are dead -- many more wounded. There's been no claim of responsibility, but the government blames Islamic militants.

LEMON: They say they there are two sides to every story. Iranian TV today showed its own video of Sunday's confrontation with U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Let's go to Isha Sesay. She's at our International Desk for the very latest on this -- Isha.

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Thanks, Don.

Yes, we're closely following developments -- following that incident in the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend between U.S. Naval warships and Iranian speedboats.

Now, I want you to take a look at this map. I want to give our viewers a sense of where we're talking about. You'll see the Straits of Hormuz there. As you see there on the graphic, this is a strategic passageway to get in and out of the Persian Gulf. Now, right now, the weekend's events are playing a classic case of he said/she said. Just today, we got some videotape that Iran released and it contradicts the U.S.' version of what happened. Iranian's video shows its naval forces interacting with the U.S. warships. But it doesn't contain a threatening verbal exchange. In fact, what Iran is saying is that this was simply a routine communication between the two sides.

Now, this contradicts what the U.S. is saying. The Pentagon released its own video earlier in the week. And what the U.S. maintains is that Iran actually -- those ships, those boats harassed those U.S. Naval warships. And, in addition to that video that we saw that was shot from the bridge of the USS Hopper, we also heard a threatening exchange. In fact, there's a quote that's saying you will be -- you will blow up, you will explode at any moment.

Now, as I say, Iran is contradicting this. We are following this story closely, and this back and forth. We know that the U.S. has launched a formal complaint through the Swiss embassy in Tehran. So we're monitoring the story. We're keeping an eye on Iranian media. And, of course, our very own Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent, is also following developments at the Pentagon.

Back to you -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Isha. Thank you very much for that.

PHILLIPS: He arrived in Hollywood star stuck, but he came to symbolize the town. Tinseltown mourns an icon.

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PHILLIPS: He came to Hollywood as a star struck soldier in 1943 and became its biggest cheerleader. Today, Tinseltown is mourning the loss of its honorary mayor, Johnny Grant.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): He's hung out with Tom Cruise, been spotted in public kissing Britney Spears and got a hug from Halle Berry that most men can only dream of. Johnny Grant -- the honorary mayor of Hollywood -- has smooched and schmoozed with more than 500 celebrities. He's inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Back in 2002, Grant even got his own star on the walk. Before his stint as Hollywood's jolly promoter, Grant was on the road with Bob Hope as a USO ambassador. This shot was taken in 1965, as he was headed to Vietnam to entertain the troops. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, he hosted game shows, did radio stints and appeared in movies and television. He won two Emmys. But it was as Tinseltown's biggest cheerleader that he gained the most fame. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce named him mayor for life in 1980.

Johnny Grant often summed up his life and career as a pretty good ride.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, we say good-bye to Johnny Grant at the age of 84. He died of what appears to be natural causes at his home -- where else -- in Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel.

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LEMON: Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

PHILLIPS: He's standing by live in "THE SITUATION ROOM" to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour -- hey, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. Thanks very much.

Bill Richardson is dropping out of the presidential race. He's standing by to join us one-on-one right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Also coming up, what's happening with the candidates with the most experience?

And Ron Paul responds after some old newsletters published in his name are coming back to haunt him. Inside, articles against gays, African-Americans, AIDS patients. We're going to speak with Ron Paul live and ask him what's going on, what happened.

And he was John Edwards' running mate, but he's backing another candidate right now. John Kerry's endorsement and the impact it will have on the Democratic race.

All that, guys, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Wolf.

LEMON: All right, let's check in now with Chad Myers. We're getting some new information on some tornado warnings -- Chad, what do you have?

MYERS: Yes, a couple of things, guys. I mean we've been talking all day about Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee. We've been talking eventually even into Georgia today. And we do now know that an elementary school gymnasium was hit in the town of Caledonia in Mississippi at 2:13 Central Standard Time, so about 45 minutes ago.

But we have some pictures here, still out of our Portland affiliate. They're still tracking what's kind of a dying tornado system there.

If you back up about, I don't know, maybe 30 or 45 minutes ago, that's where the tornado was, very close to Vancouver proper. Now, Vancouver, Washington is the town right across the river from Portland. We're not talking about Vancouver, Canada in British Columbia. We're talking about Vancouver, Washington. That storm has now moved well out toward Lookout Mountain. That Doppler you're seeing there, that's an image that they've been showing. That's probably when it happened. That is not a live Doppler image. It's not over Vancouver anymore. But, anyway, that's where it was. Look how you can see that spinning there, that little -- we call that a skit -- right over downtown Vancouver. But now that storm has scooted off to the east by about 30 or 40 miles. But a tornado in Vancouver and then a break out of all these tornadoes here in the southeast, as well. Amazing weather today.

LEMON: All right, Chad. Thanks.

MYERS: Sure.

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

LEMON: Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading day -- hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra and Don.

You know, the other day we were talking about the queen's fascination -- Queen Elizabeth, that is -- fascination with the Nintendo Wii. Today, we're fascinated with Tony Blair. He's going from Downing Street to Wall Street.

According to "The Financial Times," he's going to take a part- time position as an adviser -- a worldwide adviser, if you will, to JPMorgan Chase. "The Financial Times" says that he and the CEO of JPMorgan hit it off. And the reports are that he'll earn a million dollars for that part-time work.

He's also already earning about $100,000 per speech. His -- the advance on his memoirs, yet to come out, about $10 million. The salary for a prime minister in England, about $370,000. So, these are pretty good times when you go into the private sector, indeed.

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