Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Grandmother of Missing Toddler Speaks Out; Joran van der Sloot Goes to Court; Accomplice Charged with Murder After Teen Mother Shoots Intruder; Barack Obama Using Chicago-Style Politics to Govern; Adopted Child Taken from Couple; New Hampshire Showdown; Taliban Peace Talks; The New Girl Scouts; Students Provoking Teachers

Aired January 07, 2012 - 17:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, HOST: Hello, everyone.

I'm Don Lemon.

Thank you for joining us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We are going to begin with a developing story. I want you to imagine this -- a stranger just showing up out of nowhere and then taking your child. And the court makes you stand by and just let it happen.

That's exactly how a South Carolina couple feels after losing custody of the 2-year-old girl they adopted and raised from birth. They're in a nasty tug of war with her biological dad, who turned up and took her away with the full blessing of a judge. Now, at the heart of all of this, a federal law that makes it illegal to break up Native American families.

George Howell digging into this case for us now. And he joins us.

Explain how this girl's biological dad was able to -- to do this after two years.

GEORGE HOWELL: Well, Dustin Brown is the biological father. And he used this law child the Indian Child Welfare Act. It's basically designed to keep Indian families together, to keep them from being broken up.

He is enrolled in the Cherokee Nation; his daughter, partially Native American. So through the courts, he was able to get his daughter back from Matt and Melanie Capobianco.

And, as you can imagine, they didn't really realize that this would happen a day sooner than they had predicted for it to happen.

LEMON: She's adorable, too. Look at her, yes.

HOWELL: They raised her since -- since her birth, two years old. They say that this was an open adoption, that they know her biological mother, but given the court's decision, they had to basically transfer their daughter over to Dustin Brown. This happened, again, on New Year's Eve. They thought it would happen New Year's Day. It happened a lot sooner than they thought. We actually have an interview with the family that was taken just after that transfer happened, from our affiliate, WCIV.

Take a listen.

LEMON: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY WCIV)

MELANIE CAPOBIANCO, ADOPTIVE MOTHER: Matt said when we had to do the transfer, it was like he was failing her as a father, to -- to send her off with people that she didn't know, what she must think of us. She just had this, in my mind, like a really confused look on her face, which just -- but I'll always remember her crying after us when we had to -- we had to walk out of that office and leave her there.

MATT CAPOBIANCO, ADOPTIVE FATHER: I mean everybody keeps saying, you know, how -- how bad they feel for us, but I mean she's a 2-year-old girl that got shoved in a truck and driven to Oklahoma with strangers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, that was -- what's the deal?

The biological dad, George, is he -- what is he saying it?

Because I'm sure he's getting heat, right.

I mean after this one, what is he saying about this?

HOWELL: Well, at this point, speaking through his attorney...

LEMON: Right.

HOWELL: -- and his attorney does admit that Dustin Brown did sign a waiver, at one point, giving up his rights as the father. But the attorney says that he was tricked into doing so.

LEMON: Really?

HOWELL: Dustin Brown actually went to a one year deployment in Iraq, signed this waiver, apparently, before that. So he filed the lawsuit four months after his daughter was born. So he's been working on this for some time.

LEMON: Oh, unbelievable.

So, what about the adoptive family now?

What are they doing?

Is there any -- do they have any legal recourse?

HOWELL: At this point, they filed an appeal with the South Carolina Supreme Court. That could be heard over the summer.

LEMON: So it's not a done deal.

HOWELL: Not a done deal. And I do want to go to one statement from Dustin Brown's attorney. It's really interesting...

LEMON: OK.

HOWELL: -- when it comes to this -- this act that they used to get the daughter back.

LEMON: OK.

HOWELL: It says, quote, "It is important to understand that the Indian Child Welfare Act was not used as a loophole in this action." She goes on to say, "My client would still be entitled to custody of his daughter, even under South Carolina law."

So they believe that they would have won Veronica back regardless of the act that they used.

LEMON: Oh, unbelievable. And you're going to -- you're going to be following this. So we have to -- you said it may go on as long as the summer before anything is resolved and before it even goes to -- to court?

HOWELL: It could. It could.

LEMON: Yes?

HOWELL: And the family has actually set up a very aggressive -- a very aggressive online campaign on Twitter, on Facebook. They have actually come up with several Web sites talking about their case, hoping to get as much attention as possible.

LEMON: The thing is, is do you get the sense from both sides that there's a child involved and they're not just going over the child and -- and fighting amongst each other?

HOWELL: You know, I think at this point, it seems like the child is the centerpiece. And I think that both sides are definitely fighting to get her. So it's a case that, I think, that could continue for some time.

LEMON: Is there visitation, anything like that?

No?

HOWELL: The Capobiancos did get to speak to Veronica just a few -- a day after, rather -- the transfer happened, a very brief conversation.

LEMON: Oh.

HOWELL: But they haven't had any further conversations with them.

LEMON: This is a very interesting -- like sort of story this bug (INAUDIBLE). It's a very interesting story, a beautiful little girl right in middle of it. HOWELL: Yes, indeed.

LEMON: And let's just hope that her well being is taken care of.

HOWELL: Certainly.

LEMON: Appreciate it. Keep digging on this story.

HOWELL: Don, thanks.

LEMON: And thank you for this information.

We aprec -- we appreciate it, George.

HOWELL: Of course.

LEMON: All right. We're going to move on now and talk about an American teen wrongly deported to Colombia, now back on U.S. soil, 15 years old. Her name is Jakadrien Turner. She was reunited with the family she hasn't seen in more than a year.

Here's what happened. Turner ran away from her Dallas home in 2010 and got arrested for shoplifting last April in Houston. She gave police a fake name, claiming to be 21 years old and saying that she was from Colombia. And that set off a chain of events that led to her getting deported in May.

The family's attorney says they're planning to sue immigration authorities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY JACKSON, TURNER FAMILY ATTORNEY: They want their daughter to be able to get some rest. They want to reunite the family. That's the purpose of this day. They're very happy that we were able to get them home to make the people who are responsible pay for the civil rights violations that Ms. Turner has had to go through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Turner's grandmother tracked her down with the help of Facebook.

In another story, a Connecticut paramedic is charged with raping a patient in the back of an ambulance while it was on the way to the hospital. The woman says 49-year-old Mark Powell assaulted her while she was unconscious and strapped to a stretcher. The 22-year-old woman had fallen and suffered concussion at a holiday party. The police chief calls it outrageous and horrifying conduct.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF THOMAS WYDRA, HAMDEN, CONNECTICUT POLICE: Obviously, it's shocking. No member of the public should or would expect to be sexually assaulted during a ride in an ambulance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Powell is now free on $25,000 bond.

A Tennessee man is accused of gunning down his wife and mother-in-law inside a North Georgia hospital. According to our affiliate, WTVC, his name is James Benson. He was asked to leave the waiting room after he got into an argument. Well, police say he went to his car and returned with a gun, shooting and killing his wife and mother-in- law. The two women were visiting a family member in the hospital, in the intensive care unit there. Investigators say Benson was separated from his wife. He drove to the police department and turned himself in immediately after that shooting.

Oh, boy, it is heating up. Just hours before the Republican hopefuls take the stage for a debate, all indications are that Mitt Romney remains a -- in a strong position leading up to the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday.

CNN's Joe Johns is standing by for us in Manchester.

It looks like a chilly Manchester. A nice shot, with the bus behind you there, brother.

I understand some of Romney's challengers are -- are going after each other, right?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, one way of looking at this, really, is Mitt Romney is leading, Don, both here in New Hampshire and in the polls in South Carolina.

So that would mean the battle is for second place, right?

Ron Paul certainly thinks so. So much so that he's really aimed his fire at Rick Santorum, who is the guy who came out of Iowa with so much momentum. And the Ron Paul ads are really one reflection of that. He's got a new ad coming out in South Carolina starting on Monday that really just isn't very nice when it comes to Santorum.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RON PAUL CAMPAIGN AD)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rick Santorum, a corporate lobbyist and Washington politician, a record of betrayal.

The facts?

Santorum promised a balanced budget amendment, then voted five times to raise the debt ceiling, even for the bridge to nowhere, adding trillions to the debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So it's the latest Ron Paul ad directed at a conservative Republican, very tough language there. And he's quite unapologetic about it -- Don. LEMON: Hey, you know what, that guy who does those commercials, I'm sure, it seems like it's always the same guy -- "did you know that this candidate did this?"

JOHNS: Yes, I know.

LEMON: It's the same voice.

JOHNS: And the voice.

LEMON: Yes.

JOHNS: You've got have to have the voice, right?

LEMON: Right.

Hey, what's this I hear about Gary Bauer?

Is he going to endorse Santorum?

JOHNS: Right. Yes, it sounds that way. Tomorrow, we're expecting that Gary Bauer, who is one of the leading movement conservatives. His endorsement is a big deal to conservative Republicans. And it looks like it's going Santorum's way. Santorum, for his part, out on the campaign trail here, really sort of tailoring his message to make it a little bit more blue collar, directed at the common man, even going after President Obama today, saying he was essentially wrong to try to aspire to send every kid in America to college.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was so outraged at the president of the United States standing up and saying, you know, every child in America should go to college.

Well, who are you?

Who are you to say that every child in America go to -- I mean the hubris of this president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

SANTORUM: To think that he knows what's best for you. I -- you know, there are -- I have seven kids. Maybe they'll all go to college. But if one of my kids wants to go and -- and be an auto mechanic, good for him. That's a good paying job, using your hands, using your mind.

This -- this is the kind of -- this -- the kind of snobbery that we see from those who think they know how to run our lives. Rise up, America. Defend your own freedoms and overthrow these folks who think they know how to orchestrate every aspect of your life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: A kind of a do what I say, not what I do moment for Rick Santorum...

LEMON: Yes.

JOHNS: -- because he's not a bachelor's degree, let's see, from Penn State, an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and a law degree from...

LEMON: You know what, Joe?

JOHNS: -- the Penn State Law School.

LEMON: Just to point...

JOHNS: So he had a lot of education for Rick Santorum.

LEMON: Well, just to point something out and not, you know, not agreeing with either side. But you -- we always do stories about people who go to college and get degrees. My father didn't -- my stepdad didn't have a degree. He did very well.

But when you -- people who go to college usually end up making more money over the and have better lives and more security.

So what's the issue about this?

I don't understand it.

JOHNS: Right. Well, he's obviously appealing to the common person. And the common person certainly is one of those people who's going to vote. And it's kind of a populist argument. It's interesting, also, that he has been on the campaign trail talking about how you get out of poverty. And he said there's, you know, something like three things you've got to do. You've got to go to high school. And you've got to -- you -- you've got to get married. And I think there was one more in there. I can't remember.

But there are three basic things that he says you have to do. And one of them at least is to get a high school degree. But when you talk about college, apparently, it's a different thing for Rick Santorum.

LEMON: Yes. Not everybody has to go to college, but I'm just pointing out, when we -- every time we do a story on this, we point out what happens to people and they went -- if they do get a college degree.

Thank you, Joe Johns.

Thank you, sir.

We'll be checking back with you.

JOHNS: Yes.

LEMON: Good reporting there. And speaking of poverty, I want to tell you that Tavis Smiley is going to be coming up in a little bit. And we're going to talk about that with him. He's on a poverty tour. And, of course, you can trust the best political team on television for complete coverage of the New Hampshire primary. Make sure you join Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley and John King for live coverage Tuesday, 7:00 Eastern, Tuesday night, right here on CNN.

Here's something you thought you'd never hear. The United States may be talking peace with one of its biggest enemies, the Taliban. That story in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The White House believes victory in Afghanistan won't come on the battlefield alone. And it seems shocking, but some believe the Taliban could be a partner for peace.

As Jill Dougherty explains, talks with the Taliban won't be easy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: This Wednesday here in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with the foreign minister of Qatar. That meeting comes a week after the Taliban announced that they are prepared to open an office in Qatar to have peace talks with the U.S. and its allies.

That's major news, potentially a breakthrough. But there are a lot of questions about those talks.

For example, the Taliban are not monolithic. They have a lot of factions, including Mullah Omar and the Haqqani network.

What exactly do they want?

Will they agree not to cross the red lines that the U.S. is insisting on?

Here's how State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTORIA NULAND, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: Are there individual fighters of strategic significance who are prepared to come off the battlefield and join the political process within the framework that the Afghans have discussed and that we have supported, namely that they are now ready to denounce violence, to cut ties with Al Qaeda and to work within the Afghan constitution?

So, you know, in any negotiated settlement, at the end of a conflict, there has to be a negotiation, right?

So the question is whether this office, were it to open, could play a positive role in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY: And there could be complications. The Taliban wants some of their members held in Guantanamo free. They also want to be taken off the United Nations' terrorist list. Then there's the issue of whether the U.S. and its allies can trust who really represents the Taliban. One of them is Tayyeb Agha, former secretary to the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar.

But can he deliver all the Taliban?

Most experts say no.

But talks behind-the-scenes have been going on for almost two years. And the Obama administration believes that peace cannot come just through fighting, there has to be a political settlement for long-term stability.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, Jill.

Thank you very much. Now, Syria is laying to rest the victims of a bombing that struck the capital on Friday. Twenty-six people were killed in the attack. The funerals took place in the same Damascus neighborhood struck by the explosion. It's the second suicide bombing in the capital in two weeks. The government blames terrorists for both attacks. Activists trying to unseat President Bashir Assad believe his regime staged the attack to discredit anti-government protesters.

The worst aviation accident in New Zealand in three decades has claimed 11 lives. A hot air balloon apparently clipped a power line, caught fire and crashed into the ground. Everyone on board was killed. Apparently, the weather was perfect for clear and calm at the time, perfect for ballooning, according to at least one official.

Well, just take a look at this picture. A new ad campaign in Georgia targeting childhood obesity features obese children.

Is this going too far or is it the only way to get the message across?

We're going to talk about it next.

But first, when you think of Girl Scout badges, you probably imagine brown sashes, green shirts, camping, and, of course, cookies. But now you can add careers, mortgages, interest rates and taxes.

Millions of young women can now earn one of those famous badges for being good with money.

Christine Romans has the story in this week's Smart is the New Rich.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amelia and Eva are not saving for toys, they're not saving for games, but something much more important. AMELIA AND EVA: College.

ROMANS: So is five -and-a-half-year-old Emily.

Why?

EMILY: Because it costs a lot a lot of money.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: Meet the modern Girl Scouts, where money smarts count and will earn you a badge. The Girl Scouts are 100 years old this year and way past the days of cross stitching and sewing. As part of the first badge redesign in a quarter century, 13 new badges reward money savvy.

Amelia, Ava and Emily are daisies. Girls their age learn about saving.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Five dimes equals a half dollar.

ROMANS: Junior Girl Scouts like Abigail learn what to do with their money.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: You save it, you spend it, donate it.

ROMANS: And in the cadet troupe, it's about mortgages, property taxes and careers. Master it and nab the Financing My Dream badge.

JANNE COFFEY, REAL ESTATE BROKER: Let's hold up our dream job. Go ahead, Gabby, show us your dream job. Lawyer.

ROMANS: Twelve--year-old Gabby is exploring whether she can afford her dream home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you take your, say, $2.5 million house that you want.

GABBY: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you put 20 percent down, that means...

GABBY: Well, I (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- you're going for a $2 million loan.

ROMANS: A real estate broker helps this cadet realize.

GABBY: I really couldn't afford it. It was a bit too much money.

COFFEY: Well, it's so important because, you know, the largest purchase they're ever going to make is going to be their home. And, you know, to learn that at a very young age, that you really need to save your money to purchase that dream home, is so important.

ROMANS: Of course, if you've ever bought a box of cookies from an aggressive entrepreneur in a green or a brown sash, it's pretty clear these girls know money. Just ask Girl Scouts CEO Anna Maria Chaves.

(on camera): I mean there are these stereotypes of women and money. But girls have been handling money for quite...

ANNA MARIA CHAVEZ, CEO, GIRL SCOUTS OF THE USA: For a very long time.

ROMANS: -- girls (INAUDIBLE).

(voice-over): And consider that by the time these girls graduate from college, they'll have, on average, $22,900 in student debt. (on camera): You can't get around it, they have to learn about money.

CHAVEZ: Absolutely. It's so important. It touches everybody's lives. And, again, we're hoping that the girls not only learn those -- those issues for themselves, they understand how to invest their money, but they teach other kids around them and they bring them along the path with them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's my girl.

ROMANS (voice-over): Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: One of the quickest ways to study human behavior might be a few hours of watching YouTube.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY YOUTUBE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Occupy, occupy, occupy.

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You're -- you're taking a look now at something called cyber- baiting. One kid provokes a teacher while another films it. The teacher flips out and it's put up on YouTube.

For teachers, you know, it's more than just humiliating. It could cost them their jobs.

Wendy Walsh is a doctor of psychology and a co-host of the -- the TV show, "The Doctors." Wendy, it seems these kids are taunting teachers for entertainment purposes.

What the heck is going on here?

WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: Well, I think we have a couple of things going on here. First of all, kids have learned very early on that the Internet can be a great place to shame people. We've had parents -- or children shame drunken parents. We've had children shame abusive parents. And then sometimes this giant soapbox is good, because children have gotten out of terrible situations. Now what I'm seeing here, of course, is taunting a -- potentially -- a substitute teacher and trying to just get them going off for their entertainment. And this needs to be disciplined, of course, Don. This is absolutely wrong.

LEMON: It makes the teacher look bad. And context is everything, especially if they're taunting. But you don't get the context.

And, as you know, you're a public figure...

WALSH: Yes.

LEMON: There's video -- people take cell phone video and they take it out of context. They don't put the full thing up, to make you look bad, right?

It's happened to me a number of times.

WALSH: Yes.

LEMON: And you can't really explain it.

WALSH: Don, I had an 8-year-old in the CNN parking lot yesterday taking a tantrum and throwing her DVDs around. And I was just like, OK, I hope no cameras are rolling. Come on. We've got to go.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: I've had it and I know it -- it's frustrating. But then you go, oh, you know, you -- you have to blow it off. But it's -- it's not...

WALSH: It's life.

LEMON: -- it's not a good feeling. Yes.

Let's move on and talk about...

WALSH: OK.

LEMON: -- this new study which says that marriage is at an all-time low, Wendy. Just 51 percent of adults are married right now. In 1960, it was 72 percent.

What's going on?

WALSH: Well, the big drop, of course, are in younger people, the age group 18 to 29. So first of all, it does indicate that we're delaying marriage.

LEMON: Yes.

WALSH: That's an important thing.

The other thing is the recession, of course, in that marriage is expensive. And during down times, we tend to have lower rates of marriage.

But overall, we're talking about generations of people who are children of divorce now. So they're not so much in a hurry to get to the altar. And for at least 15 years, more than 40 percent of American babies have been born out of wedlock. People are separating the idea of marriage from the idea of parenthood. It's shifting.

LEMON: Oh, interesting. OK. We can talk more about that.

But I want to get to this next subject, too, because I think it deserves some dialogue between us.

I want you to take a look at this campaign, Wendy, popping up in Georgia right now. It's showing kids who are overweight with slogans like this. It says, "It's hard to be a little girl -- a little girl when you're not."

Wendy, so is this extreme?

Is this going too far?

Is this really the only way as, I don't know, to do this?

WALSH: Well, it's -- it's shaming the wrong person. It's not shaming the parents and it's not shaming the food industry that's feeding a lot of junk to our kids.

First of all, overeating and obesity is a -- has many, many factors. It's emotional. It's behavioral. It's social. It's environmental. So to sort of try to put the blame on kids my and basically my heart goes out to these poor children -- models, who were used in the billboards.

I think something more effective, Don, would be something that I've seen out here in California, a great campaign that empowers mothers. It shows a very smart looking, confident mother standing in her kitchen. And it says, "My kitchen, my rules." And that's empowering. It says you're in charge and you can control this, rather than shaming children?

LEMON: Yes.

Dr. Wendy, always a pleasure.

Thank you.

I spoke with you over the holidays.

WALSH: Yes.

LEMON: But I want to tell you Happy New Year. We had a great conversation, didn't we, over Christmas?

WALSH: Thank you.

LEMON: Wasn't that fun? WALSH: We did. We had a long telephone chat. And I think I delayed your dinner. You had house guests coming over.

LEMON: I know. I missed you. I was like, I'm not on TV. I don't get a chance to talk to Wendy.

Thank you. But Happy New Year to you and yours, all right?

WALSH: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Thank you.

WALSH: Take care.

LEMON: Just ahead, police in Maine changing their tune about the case of a missing little girl. CNN has exclusive new information about this case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We have exclusive new details today in the case of a toddler missing in Maine. It's been three weeks since 21-month-old Ayla Reynolds vanished from her home. Police are calling it a criminal investigation.

Now, for the first time on television, her paternal grandmother is speaking out to our CNN national correspondent, Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In her first television interview, the missing child's grandmother, Phoebe DiPietro, says she's living a nightmare.

PHOEBE DIPIETRO, GRANDMOTHER OF AYLA: You're waiting for a phone call, hoping to police have your granddaughter.

CANDIOTTI: But so far, that phone call hasn't come. Not a single word about what happened to Ayla Reynolds.

(MUSIC)

CANDIOTTI: The toddler, who now would be 21 months old, seen in this home video shot last fall, disappeared in the middle of the night a week before Christmas.

DIPIETRO: She's quiet, very sweet. Her eyes -- she's got the bluest eyes and the longest eyelashes.

CANDIOTTI: Dipietro says her father put her to bed around 8:00. The next morning before 9:00 a.m., he called police to report her gone.

(on camera): There's no accident that could have happened that night?

DIPIETRO: No.

CANDIOTTI: Among anyone here?

DIPIETRO: No.

CANDIOTTI: You? Justin?

DIPIETRO: No.

CANDIOTTI: The other people that were here?

DIPIETRO: No. No.

CANDIOTTI: Something covered up?

DIPIETRO: No, no.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): What other adults were there, exactly what happened that night or whether anyone checked on Ayla, police won't say, nor will Dipietro. She says investigators warned her against jeopardizing the case.

DIPIETRO: I can tell you there was not a party here at the house.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): People had dinner, watched television, eventually went to bed?

DIPIETRO: Pretty much, yes. I really have to avoid that question.

CANDIOTTI: You didn't hear any noise?

DIPIETRO: I did not hear anything.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Steps away from Phoebe Dipietro's living room, seen here, is Ayla's bedroom, she shared with her cousin, who was untouched that night. Her face is blurred.

Justin told his mother Ayla was missing.

(on camera): When you found out that she wasn't there, what did you think?

DIPIETRO: I thought that I didn't want my son to go get any of his friends and go kicking in doors looking for her.

CANDIOTTI: I take it you don't think some stranger walked in off the street and did this?

DIPIETRO: It is a very creepy feeling to think that somebody had been casing your house, that they had been watching the family's activities.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): After Ayla vanished, her grandmother told detectives some things around the house didn't look the same.

DIPIETRO: Some oddities that I had noticed and we told the law enforcement what those were. CANDIOTTI: She would not reveal them to us. Without a search warrant, Ayla's grandmother allowed police to turn her house upside down for about two weeks because, she says, she has nothing to hide.

DIPIETRO: I would give everything I own if we could have her back.

CANDIOTTI: Ayla's parents never married and live apart. The child's mother, who spent time in rehab, her family says, questions whether Justin mistreated Ayla, suspicious about a soft cast she had on her left arm the night she went missing.

Justin's mother says she was home when her son tripped while carrying Ayla into the house. In other words, an accident.

DIPIETRO: Justin is a great dad. He truly, truly is. And I know he loves Ayla.

CANDIOTTI: This sparkling red dress and books are among Ayla's Christmas gifts, never wrapped.

DIPIETRO: I have to believe she's OK.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Do you have anything to say for whoever took Ayla?

DIPIETRO: Please bring her back. Please, just bring her back.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): So she can see her dancing again.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Waterville, Maine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Coming up tonight at 7:00 p.m. here on CNN, I'll be talking with the parents of a missing woman who disappeared right here in Atlanta. Stacey Nicole English was last seen around Christmas. Her car was found later, abandoned and it was running. Police want to question a man who is in St. Louis now, and who told them that he stayed with her. Her parents turned to social media to get her case out. And we're going to talk about that and speak with them tonight.

A young widow shoots and kills someone breaking into her home. She's not charged but the dead man's accomplice is charged with his murder. Legal expert, Holly Hughes, weighs in. Plus, hear the 911 call the woman made to place as the intruders entered the house. That's two minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Time to talk law and justice. Holly Hughes is here. You know her. She is a criminal defense attorney.

Holly, we're going to start with Joran van der Sloot. What can you say? Did you see him in court yesterday?

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: He's a sociopath, Don. What do you expect?

LEMON: He is the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba. Now he's charged in Peru with the murder of a woman in 2010 --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Yes. That was 2010. Friday, he's expected to plead guilty. Instead, he asked the judge for more time to reflect on his potential plea. Basically saying -- look at him.

HUGHES: He's playing games.

LEMON: Basically saying, I'm going to plead to this but I want to negotiate it. What?

HUGHES: Right. Because he doesn't like what he's charged with is what he told the court. I'm not happy with the murder charge. I don't care if you're happy with the murder charge. Either you're going to plead or you're not. This would not fly in a U.S. courtroom, Don.

LEMON: Yes. How do you do that?

HUGHES: They would have said to him, either enter your plea right now, or we're calling for a jury. You can get a jury down here, and you can go to trial and see if they convict you with the top count. He's a sociopath. This is just another example of that behavior, it's all about me.

LEMON: What about Natalee Holloway? Does this affect that case at all?

HUGHES: It won't have any affect on the Holloway case, unfortunately, because that case was so badly bungled in the first place. And remember, Don, he gave, between him and the brothers, it was 28 different versions of that story. So even if you brought a prosecutor in right now who was gung-ho and said, I'm going to get justice for Natalee Holloway, it's not going to matter. You can't get a conviction with 28 different stories.

LEMON: Yes. You're right. That wouldn't fly here in the U.S.

HUGHES: Uh-huh.

LEMON: He's back in court on Wednesday, by the way. We'll follow it.

I want to turn now to another story. This is incredible. It's here in the U.S. An Oklahoma woman shoots and kills a man that she says was breaking into her home and the whole thing is recorded when she asked a 911 operator what to do. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH MCKINLEY, SHOTS INTRUDER: I've got two guns in my hand. Is it OK to shoot him if he comes in this door? DISPATCHER: Well, you have to do whatever you can do to protect yourself. I can't tell you that you can do that. But you do what you have to do to protect your baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So she did shoot him and he died. I want you to get this now. A second man who was with the intruder is facing felony murder charges. So walk us through this. First, the woman shoots the intruder but she's not being charged. What's the legal -- what's going on?

HUGHES: Right. OK, a couple of different principles working here.

LEMON: She's safe, too, on legal grounds.

HUGHES: Oh, she is absolutely -- that is called self-defense.

LEMON: All right.

HUGHES: You are allowed to defend -- it's called the Castle Doctrine. The old expression that a man's home is his castle? That's where it comes from, the Castle Doctrine. You have every right to protect yourself, your home and your loved ones. So she's protecting that home and that baby. So she is on solid legal ground, self-defense.

LEMON: The intruder, the accomplice -- but he wasn't even there, right? Didn't he run away?

HUGHES: He doesn't have to be, Don. He doesn't have to be. Here's the thing. Very simplest explanation. Let's break it down for the viewers. If you are committing a felony, somebody dies during the course of that felony, whether you did the killing or not, you are guilty of felony murder. So he's committing a burglary, that's a felony. No question about it. During that burglary, someone died. The person who was committing the felony in the first place is responsible. Just like, say, for example, you're robbing a bank, right? The guard shoots one of your buddies, who is also robbing the bank. The guard is not going to be charged with felony murder but the rest of the bank robbers are. Same principle.

LEMON: There you go? I like that. Did you say the Castle rule?

HUGHES: Castle Doctrine, yes.

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: Yes. Man's home is his castle, and a woman's home apparently is her castle, too.

LEMON: There you go.

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you, Holly Hughes. Happy New Year.

HUGHES: Yes. You, too.

LEMON: Thank you for the LSU Snuggie that you got me.

(LAUGHTER)

HUGHES: Oh, I'm so glad you love it.

LEMON: I just booked my trip. I'm going to the game.

HUGHES: Yeh. Excellent. Have fun.

LEMON: Thank you.

Some on the right have labeled the Obama presidency a monarchy. My next guest says, given where the president came from, that's just Chicago-style politics. We break it down, two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: President Obama says he is tired of the gridlock, so he's going it alone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When Congress refuses to act and, as a result, hurts our economy and puts our people at risk, then I have an obligation as president to do what I can without them.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So it is that stated goal -- as we look at live pictures of the White House now -- along with this week's recess appointments and other extensions of his executive powers that have critics accusing him of acting like a monarch. And they point to his Chicago background as one inspiration for power politics.

So the next person I'm going to talk to -- you want to watch this interview, because he calls it like it is. I asked long-time Chicago political writer, John Kass, is the president acting like a monarch?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KASS, CHICAGO TRIBUNE POLITICAL REPORTER: He's not acting like a monarch. We don't have monarchs in Chicago. We have bosses.

(LAUGHTER)

We have political bosses. You know this.

LEMON: Yes.

KASS: You were here. You know what politics is all about. This is the epicenter of politics. Here's where it's played. (CROSSTALK)

KASS: And it's all about leverage.

LEMON: Go ahead. It's all about leverage. But this is a criticism that he is playing Chicago-style politics. He's taken a chapter from the Mayor Daley book where he can do whatever he wants with these recess appointments.

(LAUGHTER)

He can do this, he can do that, and he doesn't really need to get anyone's approval.

KASS: First of all, let's give the president some credit here. He doesn't -- he shouldn't have to run his appointment list past Sally Quinn or some -- Georgetown matron. It really doesn't matter what they think. He's from Chicago. He's going to put people around him that are his people that he trusts. All that's nonsense, right, that's part of the criticism. The myth of Barack Obama was -- and you know the difference between the man and the myth. The myth was sold by David Axelrod, who is Rich Daley's mouthpiece. And he sold it to the national media that Barack Obama was transcending politics as if he was floating in some plastic bubble across the United States with a wand like Glenda the Good Witch. I'll transcend here, I'll transcend there.

But reality, OK? Reality is that he's from Chicago. And we have bosses. And they take control. And they do what they want. And that's the reality.

(CROSSTALK)

KASS: That's not transcending politics. That is playing politics.

LEMON: You know it better than anyone else because as you were talking about, I'm sure people say, oh, the guy's from Chicago, of course, he's going to be in love with what the president --

KASS: Right --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: You're very critical of Mayor Daley and you're very critical of politicians. And as you have said here and in your columns, you're very critical of the president. And you call it like you see it.

(CROSSTALK)

KASS: Listen, I like -- I like President Obama personally, right? But I cannot -- see, I wear -- in Chicago, a few of us, we wear the tinfoil hats -- that they don't wear in the "Washington post" and "The New York Times," I don't think. They should get them. Because when you wear them, when David Axelrod starts sending his channeling, you can kind of keep your mind clear when you're writing your column. And basically politics is politics, no matter where it's played. In Chicago, it's kind of a little bit more -- as you know, because you were here and you covered it.

LEMON: Yes.

KASS: There's a little bit more honesty to it in the sense that it's all about the money and about the power.

LEMON: Yes.

KASS: And it's not about transcending. It's not about hope and change and all that nonsense. It's about breaking people to your will and getting what you want done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: John Kass calls it like it is.

Thank you very much.

The president's spokesman, when asked about the monarch criticism, said the president wants to work with Congress. But that gridlock is not an excuse for inaction.

Again, my thanks to John Kass for his insight. We'll have him back again.

As a child, he almost drowned. As an adult, he is a world record holder for this -- swimming. Imagine that. Next, the lessons learned by Cullen Jones that he's passing along to save lives in the pool.

But first, it is time already to begin our annual search for "CNN Heroes," honoring everyday people who are changing the world. You can nominate someone special at CNNheroes.com and give them a chance to expand their work helping others, and also give them the recognition they so deserve.

Here's Anderson Cooper to show you how.

(CNN HEROES)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Each year, more than 3,000 Americans drown in the U.S. Did you know that? As a child, Cullen Jones almost did. But now, Jones is the first African-American to hold a world record for swimming. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has tonight's "Human Factor."

(HUMAN FACTOR)

LEMON: Very nice. Congratulations, Cullen.

With the NFL playoff games under way this weekend, Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be talking with a former Pro Bowl running back who is suing the league over health and safety issues. Don't miss it, 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

One city in need one very frozen body of water and two nations coming together to help out. A first-of-its-kind mission and a race against time, really. The story right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I just quickly want to let you know what's going on, give you some headlines.

An American teen wrongly deported to Columbia, now back on U.S. soil. 15-year-old Jakadrien Turner back with the family she hasn't seen since she ran away from their Dallas home in February of 2010. Turner got arrested in Houston and gave police a fake name, claiming to be 21 years old and from Colombia. That set off a chain of events that led to her being deported in May. Her family plans to sue immigration authorities.

A new head coach steps up to lead the scandalized Penn State football program. The school announced that Bill O'Brien, the Patriots offensive coordinator, will try to fill the shoes of Joe Paterno. In November, Penn State fired Paterno is the fallout of the child sex abuse scandal involving his assistant defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky.

A two-ship convoy is making a first-of-its-kind journey to Nome, Alaska, right now. Look at this video. The U.S. Coast Guard ice- breaking ship leading the way for a Russian fuel tanker on an emergency mission. Nome has been blocked in by ice. Diesel fuel for the police department and heavy equipment ran out a week ago and gasoline is expected to run out in early February. If all goes well, if it goes well, the two ships will arrive in Nome on Sunday or Monday. Wow, great video. We wish them the best. Emergency situation there.

Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I'll see you back here one hour from now. In the meantime, make sure you tune in to "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Mr. Wolf Blitzer that begins right now.