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Iraqi Violence Continues, South Carolina Missing Couple Found Dead; Oregon Climbers Still Missing; Incoming Intelligence Panel Chairman Has Intelligence Questioned

Aired December 12, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.

For the next three hours, watch events happen live on this Tuesday, the 12th of December.

Here's what's on the rundown.

A South Carolina couple missing for days. A family holiday ends before it begins, with tragedy.

HARRIS: President Bush under pressure to get American troops home. Our military expert on the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group.

COLLINS: If you're in charge, you need to know the facts. A key congressman called out on al Qaeda. The man who knew too little in THE NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Our stop story -- bodies blown apart, families left to grieve. The horror in Baghdad today. Dozens of deaths after another suicide bombing.

Today's target?

Iraqis simply looking for work.

Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson it is the Iraqi capital -- Nic, good morning to you.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

Well, there was another near miss with a potentially deadly explosion in the town of Samarra today. This is the town where the holy Shia shrine, the Golden shrine, was blown up in February.

That attack triggered massive sectarian violence.

Well, somebody planted a bomb right at the entrance to that shrine today. The Iraqi police called U.S. military EOD. They tried to defuse the bomb, removed the fuse, took out the detonator, took out one of the trigger wires, but the bomb still went off. It didn't injure anyone. It caused minimal damage at the shrine, but it was clearly aimed at trying to trigger the type of sectarian violence that was precipitated from the attack back in February.

But the targeting today of the day workers in Baghdad at 7:00 this morning killed 60 people, wounded 220. They were taken to a variety of hospitals. Police say that a suicide bomber driving a flatbed truck packed with 200 kilograms of explosives drove into this area where the day workers were waiting, looking for employment, called them over to his vehicle, detonated the explosives, killing those 60 people.

A potentially sectarian attack. Many of those workers there were Shia workers. That's what's believed -- Tony.

HARRIS: So, Nic, what are the effects of this kind of sectarian violence, this kind of episode, on the local economy?

ROBERTSON: Well, it has an effect of fear, certainly, to people living in their neighborhoods. They're afraid, in some places, to leave their neighborhoods. Front lines are opening up between some of the neighborhoods. Sunnis and Shias very fear -- increasingly fearful of leaving the areas where they feel safe. I mean it has an impact on business. Shops are closing. Some people can't get to the -- feel that they can't get to the hospital safely.

It has an impact on the markets in the center of the city. Fewer people are just venturing out. They don't do...

HARRIS: Yes.

ROBERTSON: ... they don't go out to these places when they think they might be attacked, if they don't have to -- Tony.

HARRIS: Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, for us in Baghdad.

Nic, appreciate it.

Thank you.

Never ending violence in Iraq, it seems. Here at home, a search for solutions. Right now President Bush is holding a teleconference with the military commanders in Iraq. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq is also part of that meeting.

Later today at the White House, the president meets with Iraq's vice president, a Sunni leader. And tomorrow the president will hear from senior Defense officials at the Pentagon.

It is all part of the search for solutions in Iraq.

COLLINS: A South Carolina couple found dead, their car discovered in water off Interstate 95. Wayne and Dianne Guay were traveling to New York when they disappeared last week.

Here now, CNN's Jason Carroll with reaction from the family.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MEGAN GUAY LIENDO, DAUGHTER: They were perfect people. We always said we loved each other. We gave each other hugs. And I'm thankful that god gave them to me.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A daughter's pain after learning her parents died, apparently when their car swerved off a North Carolina Interstate into a swamp.

Police discovered Wayne and Dianne Guay's white Mazda submerged Monday afternoon near Rocky Mount, North Carolina. They had left early Thursday morning from their Myrtle Beach, South Carolina home, up Interstate 95, bound to visit family in New York, a 12-hour drive they've taken many times.

Family members were active in the search, passing out fliers, checking with hospitals, even paying for the helicopter that spotted their car near the Interstate. South Carolina police say they checked by patrol vehicles and helicopter the routes the Guays may have driven.

But one daughter said she begged the local police to more actively search for her parents, and that if not for family efforts, they might still be missing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm upset but it was my brother and my uncle who found them.

CARROLL: Because the Guays were traveling with a car full of gifts, family members suspect foul play. Police are still investigating that possibility. Police also say they're looking at another possibility -- a report of a traffic collision near that location Thursday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a call made to 911 in Nash County saying there was a traffic collision in that same area. EMS and fire officials got out to that scene but they weren't able to find anything.

CARROLL: In the end, it may have simply been a car accident that took their lives, little comfort for a grieving family.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COLLINS: Jason Carroll joining us now live -- Jason, such a tough story. And I know you had an opportunity to speak with the family just hours before they got the terrible news.

What did they have to say about their parents?

CARROLL: Well, at that point, Heidi, they were still very much in the search mode. So they were still fielding phone calls, still anxiously waiting for any word of the missing couple. They were obviously devastated when they heard the news. In fact, they came out this morning and said that they were just very upset. They said that it was a very tough night for them. They were especially concerned about the Guays' 5-year-old granddaughter. She's been asking where her grandparents are and they're planning to tell in some way this morning about what happened -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Oh, that's got to be the toughest part of all, certainly.

And I think, if I read this correctly, there was a little bit of frustration on the family's part with the search.

What are they upset about?

CARROLL: Well, when you're speaking to the family, they basically feel as though the authorities down in North Carolina and South Carolina should have done more sooner. They wanted North Carolina -- South Carolina police to get out there and start officially searching, getting out with helicopters, search teams early on, you know, when the family was reported missing last Thursday.

And police are basically saying look, these were, you know, two adults who -- there was no evidence initially, early on, of any sort of foul play. And so there was no need for them at that point to start a search, an official search.

In fact, they didn't have one of their helicopters go up and search the area until just yesterday. So I think that's why the family was so frustrated, so upset so early on, because they didn't feel as though authorities were doing enough.

COLLINS: All right, Jason Carroll live with us this morning.

Thank you, Jason.

And now to another desperate search in Oregon. Hopeful rescuers heading back to Mount Hood today. They are looking for three missing hikers. High winds and the threat of avalanches brought the search to a halt and the missing men were last heard from Sunday. One called his family to say he was stuck in a snow cave. The others apparently went for help.

HARRIS: Boy, we need to maybe get a check of conditions out there for those searchers.

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: Chad Myers is following that story for us in the Weather Center -- and, Chad, perhaps today is the best day for the week, maybe.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No question about it.

COLLINS: Yes.

MYERS: The winds are not as strong today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: A big security breach at UCLA and warnings today for some 800,000 current and former students, along with faculty and staff. The university says a hacker broke into the campus computer system. Social security numbers, home addresses and birth dates all exposed. The chancellor says there is no evidence the information has been misused.

Still, those affected are being urged to check in with credit reporting agencies.

COLLINS: Mistaken or misspoken -- the incoming House Intelligence Committee chairman's answer to a reporter's question prompting more questions today.

Take a look at this from CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He'll soon head the House committee that oversees U.S. intelligence agencies and authorizes their money. When he got the job as chairman, Congressman Silvestre Reyes was confident.

REP. SILVESTRE REYES (D), TEXAS: I felt that I had very strong credentials and credentials that I could -- that could stand up to anybody.

TODD: But Reyes' basic knowledge of who's waging this war is now in question. Speaking recently with the "Congressional Quarterly," Reyes is asked, "Is al Qaeda Sunni or Shia?"

"Predominately, probably, Shiite."

Analyst Derek Chollet says Reyes is a smart guy who probably just got tripped up.

But shouldn't the man who, in nearly six years on the Intelligence Committee has already gotten several classified briefings know that the world's best known terrorist group is mostly Sunni?

DEREK CHOLLET, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: We should expect all of our public officials, particularly those in positions that are responsible for overseeing and conducting the war on terror, to know as much as they possibly can about the threat that we face.

TODD: Reyes also couldn't identify Hezbollah, long considered a terrorist organization by the State Department.

The reporter, Jeff Stein, was accused of cheap shots when a previous article by him pointed out that top FBI counter-terror officials didn't know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite.

Was he ambushing them or Reyes?

JEFF STEIN, "CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY": No. I don't sneak up on them at all. I'm not there to ask them this question. I go to ask them what their policies are, what they think about certain intelligence issues, counter-terrorism issues.

TODD: Silvestre Reyes was Speaker-Elect Nancy Pelosi's safe choice when she had a falling out with long time ranking member, Jane Harman.

(on camera): An aide to Pelosi tells CNN she does not regret choosing Reyes and still has full confidence in him.

(voice-over): Reyes' office issued us this statement: "The 'C.Q.' interview covered a wide range of topics other than the selected points published in the story. As a member of the Intelligence Committee since before 9/11, I am acutely aware of al Qaeda's desire to harm Americans. The Intelligence Committee will keep its eye on the ball and focus on the pressing security and intelligence issues facing us."

It should be pointed out, when he got the job, National Intelligence Director John Negroponte and CIA Chief Michael Hayden praised Silvestre Reyes for his grasp of intelligence issues.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HARRIS: The way forward in Iraq -- what's the right course for the U.S. military?

Retired Major General Don Shepperd weighs in on that question straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Palestinians killing Palestinians -- some say Gaza is starting to look like Iraq. We explore that live from Gaza just ahead.

HARRIS: And they're up, they're down, they're up again -- following the bouncing Christmas trees caught up in the zigzag of the culture wars.

That story in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Getting some word in here to CNN about a huge fire in New Jersey.

Betty Nguyen is in the NEWSROOM to tell us more about this -- hi, Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, huge is right.

Take a look at these pictures that we're about to show you from our affiliate, WABC.

You can see the smoke billowing into the air. You can also see firefighters are working very hard to get the flames out. Flames all over the place at this warehouse in Plainfield, New Jersey.

Let me tell you a little bit about this place. It's a metal manufacturing warehouse. And this fire that you see here that they're still working on broke out around 8:30 this morning and it quickly spread throughout the entire structure, which is why they're desperately trying to put this out as fast as they can. Flames all over the place here.

No injuries. That's the good news. Another piece of good news is that this warehouse is located next to a firehouse, the Plainfield Firehouse there in New Jersey. So, obviously, they were able to get there very quickly and they have a lot of manpower on the ground.

They're battling it, as you can see, from the ground and from the roof area. Again, no injuries. That's the good news here. This place, as I mentioned, is a metal manufacturing warehouse. It's basically an iron works design place and it specializes in building metal gates and fireplaces.

But this is a five alarm fire, so a lot of firefighters have responded to this. And, as you can see, it is still on fire. The smoke billowing into the air and firefighters are working very desperately to put this out just as quickly as they can.

No word on any evacuations or anything like that. And, as I mentioned, no one has been injured.

So we'll continue to follow this. Hopefully they can get it out very quickly. But it's been burning for about 45 minutes or so -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Betty Nguyen, thank you for that.

Meanwhile, the Taliban claiming responsibility for more deadly violence in Afghanistan. The latest attack a suicide bombing outside a governor's compound. At least eight people were killed. Officials say the governor was in his office at the time, but was not hurt. And it's the latest in a string of attacks targeting Afghan government officials.

HARRIS: Factional fighting not in Iraq. This is Gaza. Hamas security forces opened fire on demonstrators angry about the shooting deaths of three boys in front of their school.

Live now to CNN's Atika Shubert in Gaza -- good morning to you, Atika.

And I understand we're starting to get some reports of people injured and wounded.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony. Unfortunately, clashes are continuing south of here. I'm in Gaza City. But in Khan Younis, there were clashes between the Interior Ministry's executive force, which is loyal to the militant group Hamas, with the National Guard, which is a force loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas.

This comes just one day after three children were gunned down in the streets of Gaza City as they were being dropped off to school. They were the children of a senior intelligence officer and there are fears that the political fighting we've seen on the streets could escalate further.

The mourning has continued for these children. Palestinians say they are angry, that even for the violence here in Gaza, this is a new low. People are demanding that security be increased, that law and order be imposed. President Abbas has put extra forces out onto the street. But clearly they have not been able to stop the violence so far -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Atika, was the -- were the children the intended target or was the intended target this senior intelligence official?

SHUBERT: We don't know for sure yet. We actually spoke to their father. We asked him what he thought. He said he believed that the children were actually targeted. He saw them as they were put into the car, being driven to school. And he said there was no mistaking the fact he was not in the car and the killers apparently targeted his children.

It's a very brutal murder, Tony.

HARRIS: That's insane.

All right, our Atika Shubert in Gaza.

Atika, thank you.

COLLINS: Farewell for a former dictator. A military funeral in Chile this hour for Augusto Pinochet, a polarizing figure in life and death. Pinochet seized power in a violent coup in 1973 and led for 17 years. More than 3,000 people were killed in political violence during his rule. Some 28,000 were tortured.

There's been a war of words over Pinochet's legacy. Supporters say he saved Chile from communism. Opponents vow to remember the brutality of his regime. Pinochet died Sunday after heart failure. He was 91.

HARRIS: You know, it's like a criminal investigation carried out by medical detectives, tracking the source of E. coli. The mystery, in THE NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And once considered a racist, Sundown Town, where African-Americans were not allowed out at night.

Has this town in Texas shaken that imagine? We'll have the story coming up right here in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: New developments in the E. coli outbreak in the Northeast.

Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here now with details on all of this -- so what's the very latest?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest is that we don't know exactly where this E. coli is coming from. They do know that it's coming from Taco-Bell. They've never been able to say that, I think, with some declarativeness, but not specifically green onions.

Sixty-four people between November 20th and December 2nd have been affected. Many more suspected cases. Five states. You can see them there on that map. South Carolina, there was one case, incidentally. It turns out that that person probably ate at a Taco- Bell in Pennsylvania. So really still those four states.

They are trying to pinpoint exactly from where this E. coli is coming. It is sort of a fascinating medical investigation. What they have to do, Heidi, is they actually take these people who are and first they determine if their sickness was caused by E. coli. And then they figure out what did they eat, where did they eat.

COLLINS: It's forensics.

GUPTA: Yes, it is. It's kind of like a "CSI," sort of, for E. coli, trying to figure out where they ate and what they ate and see what common denominators there were.

They realize it was Taco-Bell. The preliminary tests showed green onions. But subsequent tests showed not. Then they said white onions. White onions, those have E. coli, but guess what?

It's not the same E. coli. So it gets somewhat confusing here and a lot of work to be done.

COLLINS: Yes, and this is almost exactly what we saw when we had the bagged lettuce and the spinach issues.

GUPTA: That's right.

And this takes a while. You know, people expect instantaneous answers when it comes to something like this, and they should get answers quickly because this is a particularly severe bacteria. But it does take time to figure it out.

COLLINS: So how do they determine the source?

I mean that's the first thing you have to do, right?

As you say, the investigation is very lengthy. GUPTA: Yes. So after they determine the specific location, a place like Taco-Bell, which has several different food groups, they go and they start testing the various food groups. And what they're looking for specifically is that, in fact, the bacteria exists and that is the same strain of bacteria as the one that got people sick.

And they actually do this with a DNA match. So just like you said, Heidi, it's sort of a forensics thing, finding that DNA match like you would at a crime scene...

COLLINS: Yes.

GUPTA: They're doing this for E. coli.

COLLINS: So how can you make sure, though, that the fruits and vegetables you prepare at home -- I mean we hear about this stuff in the marketplace, if you will, or at restaurants and you think oh, you know, if I do it on my own, it'll be much, much safer.

GUPTA: Right.

Well, one thing that's important to point out here and I think is sometimes a little confusing is that most times the contamination occurs because of contaminated water that is used to irrigate the fruits, the produce. And so it's on the surface of these things as opposed to actually within the vegetable or produce itself. An important point.

So, the reason that's important is because it can be washed off. You know, we -- and sometimes we feel silly talking about washing your hands and washing your fruits all the time, but it works, and that's the reason we mention it. Washing the fruits and vegetables under running water, removing those outer leaves of the leafy vegetables. But also making sure to wash your hands after you touch the thing, because you go home, you touch your son. You know, you could touch his mouth. He could subsequently get infected. Touch a countertop, that could be a problem, as well.

So you've got to make sure you wash the produce and then wash your hands, as well, after that.

COLLINS: Now, remind me real quickly, what's the distinction?

Because when we dealt with the spinach, we said you couldn't wash it off.

GUPTA: So the thing with the spinach was that that typically is triple washed spinach in bags. And the concern that they specially had wasn't so much that you could wash it off -- or couldn't wash it off -- it's that just handling it possibly got your own hands infected.

COLLINS: OK.

GUPTA: And there you touched the countertops, you touched your kid's mouth, something like that. That's why I point the actual thing. So even after washing the vegetables...

COLLINS: And it was all, we knew it was already tainted or contaminated?

GUPTA: Exactly.

COLLINS: OK.

GUPTA: In that case you knew. Always wash your hands after you touch the produce. Assume that it's contaminated and you have a better chance of not getting it.

COLLINS: Excellent.

All right, we're all going to be very, very careful with everything we eat, I guess.

GUPTA: Absolutely.

COLLINS: That's the best way to be.

All right.

GUPTA: Always.

COLLINS: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

HARRIS: And still to come this morning, a couple heading for a happy holiday with family -- today investigators try to figure out how their trip ended in tragedy. That story in THE NEWSROOM.

The way forward -- in Iraq, what's the right course for the U.S. military?

Retired Major General Don Shepperd weighs in. Wait until you hear what he has to say coming up next.

And in the line of fire -- residents forced to flee. Massive flames kick up a dangerous and potentially deadly situation straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

HARRIS: To other news we are following this morning -- out of Iraq, a suicide bomber takes aim in the heart of Baghdad. His target, Iraqis looking for work. 60 deaths are reported in today's explosion in a main square in the Iraqi capital. More than 200 people were injured. Authorities say most of the victims were Shiites from the poor areas of the capital.

In Samarra, another troubling development, there is word police discovered a bomb near the entrance to the golden mosque, one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites. While the device was being moved it exploded, causing some minor damage to the entrance. The Shiite holy site was bombed you'll remember in February. That attack triggered major sectarian violence across Iraq.

Never ending violence, it seems, in Iraq. Here at home, a search for solutions. Right now President Bush is holding a tele-conference with top military commanders in Iraq. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq is also part of that meeting. Later today at the White House, the president meets with Iraq's vice president, a Sunni leader and tomorrow President Bush will hear from senior defense officials at the Pentagon.

It is all part of this search for solutions in that country. We go live to the White House and Elaine Quijano next hour for the very latest.

COLLINS: The military angle, a key part of the way forward in Iraq. CNN military analyst retired Major General Don Shepperd got a personal briefing from members of the Iraq Study Group. He is with us now from the Pentagon this morning.

General Shepperd, always nice to see you. I want to go straight to this commentary that you wrote that can be found on CNN.com and I want to put up on the screen, the beginning sentence, the opening line. You wrote: "I would immediately call a press conference and say, 'I accept the commission report in its entirety and will begin to implement it immediately.'"

This is you speaking if you were the president of the United States. Why would you accept all 79 recommendations?

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Heidi, basically we're in deep trouble in Iraq. We need to find a way out of there. We need to manage our departure. Victory is no longer possible.

And so basically what I would do. This Iraqi Study's Group is not a plan. It is deeply flawed, it's overly simplistic in many, many areas, but I would use it as a political document to change course in many areas, diplomatically, militarily, because the American people need to see progress. The Iraqi people need to see us leaving. That's the reason I would do it, Heidi.

COLLINS: So, let me make sure I understand you correctly. It's not that you think the ISG is a brilliant plan that has -- we've been talking for a long time before it came out about some sort of magic plan. It's not that you think that. You think the politics of it are much more important.

SHEPPERD: Absolutely I do. It is not a plan at all, it is a political statement of a bunch of broad things, some of which are simply not do-able. It makes demands upon the Iraqi government -- suggests making demands on the Iraqi government that the Iraqi government simply can't deliver. But it's broad enough to change directions and give the impression that we are doing something different, something that is desperately needed over there Heidi. COLLINS: All right. As you probably know, there's been a lot of talk about troop reduction. Is that something that you think is a good idea?

SHEPPERD: I think it's a good idea over time. I do not endorse the idea of cutting and running or setting dates. What I would do, though, is I would start to change the role as the report recommends of the military forces over there from combat operations to training. Training the Iraqi forces.

When you do that, you can send some of our combat troops home. We've got about 140,000 in Iraq right now. About 70,000 of them are really combat troops that are going out on patrol daily. I would send some of those people home, withdraw others to surrounding areas.

COLLINS: Right, in fact, you say send them home immediately just to send a message. And next you say embed at least a platoon with every Iraqi battalion. We have heard an awful lot about shifting this role from combat to training. What will be different? What is the key here?

SHEPPERD: The key is that the war in Iraq will be run -- won by the Iraqis and will be won over time, not by U.S. forces. So, we have to bring them up to speed as rapidly as possible and let them take over the combat operations, having us embedded with them will give them additional expertise, additional muscle, additional heart, if you will, so the idea of training as opposed to us doing the combat to me is very, very important.

COLLINS: It's seems like there's an awful lot of dissension, we know there was a meeting yesterday between the president and some retired military leaders, some of them saying more troops, some of them saying we don't need more troops. Do you or do you not need more troops in order to pull off this sort of stepped up level, if you will, of training of the Iraqi troops?

SHEPPERD: You would need more troops if you -- you do not need more troops to train Iraqis. You can do it with fewer of the troops we've got there right now. If you were going to take on major combat roles, if you, the U.S., were going to provide the security, if you, the U.S., were going to take on the militias, you would need more troops than are there right now, a lot more troops than are there right now. In my opinion, we should not be doing that. We should be training the Iraqis to take over for themselves.

COLLINS: What about air power, General Shepperd? You as a retired Air Force general, is that something that could actually make a difference in Iraq?

SHEPPERD: Well, air power makes a difference in the standpoint of it can do certain things. It can hit precision targets where you don't want to send people in on the ground to clear those targets. There's no magic about air power. It provides logistics, it provides airlift, it provides medivac, it does provide close air support and attack when required. But again, what we need to do is have air power in the area to be used by Iraqis combat forces when it's appropriate and when our embedded people in there say it's appropriate. But air power in itself won't do anything and ground power alone won't do anything. We have to train the Iraqis the do it.

COLLINS: All right. I have also mentioned this meeting that happened yesterday with the president and military experts. Those people also, according to the "Washington Post" advised him to shake up his national security team and replace Peter Pace as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Your thoughts on that?

SHEPPERD: I'm not into recommending who should be fired but let me tell you, just firing a general or firing somebody on the national security staff is not going to make things better in Iraq. What you want to do is make things better. You need to change policies over there.

But again, the idea of firing General Casey, firing General Abizaid, firing General Pace, no magic solution is going to come out of that. These are good, dedicated men that are trying to find a solution to some very difficult problems that's been handed to them by the national command authority, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Air Force retired Major General Don Shepperd, nice to see you. We always appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: A family's worst fears come true. This South Carolina couple missing since last week found dead in their car. Wayne and Diane Guay were traveling from their Myrtle Beach home to visit family in New York. Car tracks led investigators to vehicle their vehicle in a swampy area off Interstate 95 North Carolina. The Guays daughter thanked those who had prayed for her parents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGAN GUAY LIENDO, DAUGHTER: They were a perfect people. We always said we loved each other and we gave each other hugs. And I'm thankful that God gave them to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The Obama effect. His rock star popularity already having an effect on the presidential race. That is straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

A relic from racist times. Sundown towns. Has Vidor, Texas shaken that image? We'll have that story coming up. Keep it here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: You could call it a holiday miracle, or you could call it a happy ending, brought on by a bunch of bad publicity. Whatever you call it, the Christmas trees are back up at Seattle's airport.

Derek Ring of our affiliate KPCQ has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX FISKEN, PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSIONER: It's something we've really got to resolve immediately.

DEREK RING, KPCQ REPORTER: And resolve it, they did. Late Monday night, the port of Seattle put the Christmas trees back up at the airport.

RABBI ELAZAR BOGOMILSKY, CHABAD LUBAVITCH OF SEATTLE: My request and the request of anyone that is involved with the Chabad Lubavitch movement is that things should be removed -- should be returned, and they should have never been removed in the first place.

RING: No one is happier with the decision than Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky, who's been a lightning rod for criticism ever since the public found out he considered suing the port if a Jewish holiday symbol wasn't placed in the airport next to the Christmas trees.

BOGOMILSKY: The issue was never about the trees; the issue was about simply placing a Menorah among the different holiday displays at the port.

RING: Instead, the port took the trees down, and since then, the rabbi's been all over the news explaining his side of the story and insisting that there won't be a lawsuit filed. Because of that, the port is doing this.

FISKEN: Sometimes government makes mistakes, but the trick is to correct them quickly.

RING: Now both sides can breathe a little easier and move forward.

BOGOMILSKY: People are more educated today. People realize the sensitivity to it, and people are hopefully will be more welcoming.

FISKEN: I would like to see us put up a Menorah, put up a little Kwanzaa symbol and put the tree back up, end of story.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: So are the trees up or are the trees down?

COLLINS: My understanding is the trees are back up.

HARRIS: So, the trees -- so you can't make the -- the moral of the story, you can't make everyone happy.

COLLINS: You can never make everyone happy.

That's true. But what we will attempt to do is show so that people can decide whether they are happy or not all by themselves these live pictures coming to us from our affiliate, KCPQ. We're going to the airport. We're going to take a look at these decorations, and maybe, just maybe, if there's time, find out what travelers think.

HARRIS: Can we fire up an e-mail question or something?

COLLINS: I don't know.

HARRIS: Heidi, you can make these...

COLLINS: That's not my decision. That's way above me.

HARRIS: The pay grade question again. All right.

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: Thanks.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: Private moments of a princess. Were U.S. spies listening in on Diana's calls the note she died? We'll talk about that story in the NEWSROOM.

And lost on Mount Hood, three hikers missing, search crews battle dangerous weather conditions. See that story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS; Well, tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," a full hour devoted to the subject of racism.

One of the stories is about sundown towns. It's about places where African-Americans were not welcome at night.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim traveled to one Texas town that had that reputation to find out if things have changed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Take a ride to Vidor, Texas, and you'll find a town that looks like many others in America, but just below the surface you'll soon find this small city of 11,000 people carries a dark past.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were trying to live down something from 40 to 50 years ago.

OPPENHEIM: Forty to 50 years ago, Vidor had a reputation as a sundown town, where it was said African-Americans were warned not to be caught after dark. Charles Jones lives in Beaumont, the bigger city 10 minutes from Vidor. He told us when he was 19, a Vidor policeman intimidated him and his friends when their car broke down at night.

CHARLES JONES, BEAUMONT, TEXAS: He said, "Well, let me tell you something. You boys better hurry up and get out of here, because I'm going to go to that next exit and come down and come back around. And you'd better be gone."

OPPENHEIM: Vidor also had a reputation as a haven for the Ku Klux Klan. To this day, many African-Americans in the area keep their distance from Vidor.

WALTER DIGGLES, DEEP EAST TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS: They think that that's a racist town and when you go through Vidor, you'd better be very careful. And most blacks still refuse to stop.

OPPENHEIM (on camera): Is this a racist community?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely not.

OPPENHEIM (voice over): Orange County commissioner Beamon Minton and Vidor mayor Joe Hopkins spoke to me about perceptions of Vidor.

MAYOR JOE HOPKINS, VIDOR, TEXAS: The vast majority of our citizens are not racist, would welcome anybody here who's a good solid citizen.

BEAMON MINTON, ORANGE COUNTY, TEXAS, COMMISSIONER: We don't have a klan. We haven't had a klan here in about 30 years.

OPPENHEIM: Several Vidor residents told me they'd welcome blacks, as did this woman. Then she added...

PEGGY FRUGE, VIDOR, TEXAS, RESIDENT: I don't mind being friends with them, you know, talking and stuff like that. But as far as mingling and eating with them and all that kind of stuff, I mean, that's where I draw the line.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: You may be surprised by the findings of our poll tied into tonight's "PAULA ZAHN NOW" special on race. On the question, do you know someone you consider a racist? Forty-three percent of whites and 48 percent of blacks said yes. And do people you know sometimes use the 'n' word? Forty-six percent of whites and 67 percent of blacks said yes.

You can see the rest of Keith's story on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." That's tonight. It includes some of the things Vidor city officials have tried to do to change their community's image.

HARRIS: A hole in the ground, imprints of a death trap, dozens of men blown up while looking for jobs. Another Baghdad attack. That story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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