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Searchers Look for Missing Hikers; White House Proposes Increasing Troop Levels; Train Derails in Chicago; Criminals Wearing Police Uniforms in Baghdad; Mini Cars Put to Safety Test

Aired December 19, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Don Lemon.

Holding out hope. What happened to Brian Hall and Nikko Cooke? Time is running out in the rescue mission on Mt. Hood.

PHILLIPS: Tara and her tiara. Word was Miss USA would be stripped of her title. So why did Donald give her a second chance?

HOLMES: How did the Mini Cooper fair in the crash test? Itty bitty cars get great big mileage, but are they safe? We'll tell you.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Holding out for a miracle on Mt. Hood. The search for two missing climbers presses on, though it's now mostly by air, not by foot. Rescuers are concerned by what they see in newly discovered photos of the trip. But they say if there's room for doubt, there's room for hope.

CNN's Rob Marciano is there.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the search for Brian Hall and Nikko Cooke continued today. You can see we're still shrouded in a low cloud cover. But once again, the same weather pattern holds for today. Above about the 2,000-foot level, it is clear skies.

There will be fixed ring aircraft taking off like the one that is lifting off the tarmac right now. Two of those are scheduled to search around the mountain. But the Air National Guard choppers like the one you see behind me are being asked to go home and regroup in Salem and be on standby mode until they can put together an avalanche team.

And that's one of the plans for the today. They want to get together an avalanche team of experts in conjunction with the Mt. Hood ski patrol to maybe get up to the area where they think these guys are and do some more search and, hopefully, rescue.

Sheriff Wampler had a press conference earlier today. And this is how he described today's plan of attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE WAMPLER, HOOD RIVER COUNTY, OREGON: We're still looking for those little clues. So that we can move ground teams. So we can make plans to move ground teams into certain areas if we need to. And then, you know, also maintain the opportunity for Brian and Nikko to stick their head up out of that hole up there someplace and self-rescue themselves. And we want to be there to see that, if that happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: You know, the question was asked, when do you stop searching? And Sheriff Wampler's answer to that, well, when the risk outweighs the results. And they want to take advantage of at least one more day of good weather here.

That discussion has been held a number of times with the families still holding out hope. Angela Hall had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA HALL, SISTER OF BRIAN HALL: Our faith in the strengths of the minds, bodies and spirits of Nikko and Brian remain steadfast. We continue to be hopeful as we pray for their safe return.

And we ask the thousands of friends, family members and strangers around the world who have been touched by this story to continue to pray for the family of Kelly James, for their continued strength and to find support in one another and in the, now, extended family that they have in the immediate families of Nikko and Brian.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: So hope continues for the two climbers still up there.

Kelly James' body, as you know, was lifted off the mountain yesterday. With it came some clues. They said he was -- his arm was injured. Examination proved that it was a dislocated shoulder.

Also, a camera found on his body, with some pictures showing the route and the equipment that they took up. And that raised a little bit of concern, because it did confirm that they were traveling rather lightly.

Self-rescue is the term they're hoping for here, Kyra, popping their head out of a cave. They hear the propellers of the fixed wing aircraft as they circle the mountain, and maybe they find a glove or a candy wrapper that was lost along the way. But hopefully, these guys will stick their head out. And today with the good weather that is what people are hoping for.

As you know, bad weather is expected tomorrow. Precipitation in the form of snow and some freezing rain will be into this area within the next 36 hours -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And Bob, rescue -- rescue workers say it's sort of a catch-22 because they could trigger an avalanche and do some clearing, which could help them see what's underneath that fresh snow. But at the same time that could also disrupt what clues may have been left.

MARCIANO: You're right. You don't want -- you don't want to trigger an avalanche. You know, at a ski resort, you would -- you would trigger an avalanche in order to create safe conditions for the skiers. But while you create a safer environment, you're probably covering up clues. You may even be covering up the climbers themselves.

There's talk of, you know, maybe they fell -- they fell off a cliff or maybe they tucked themselves into a crag. And then -- you know, there's been so much snowfall since then, 8, 9, 10 feet of snow in spots due to drifts. They could still be, you know, feasibly, in some sort of crack in the mountain between some rocks and just covered up by snow. And that's one of the scenarios that they're hoping for here.

But those avalanche teams are going to be -- are highly trained. A matter of getting those bodies here and then assessing when it will be safe enough to go to the area where they think the climbers are. Because it's so high on the mountain, Kyra, and it is so steep. And as you mentioned, it is so dangerous.

PHILLIPS: Rob Marciano there at Mt. Hood. We'll keep checking in with you, Rob, thanks.

HOLMES: Policymakers on one side. Military brass on the other. It wouldn't be the first time. But this time, the issue is more troops for Iraq. And the rift reportedly pits the White House against the joint chiefs of staff.

CNN's Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon with the latest for us.

Barbara, we're hearing reportedly, I'm hearing from the press secretary Tony Snow, said moments ago, really, talking about this so- called rift. We'll listen to what he had to say and come back and talk to you about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: ... talking about the next step forward in Iraq. So the idea that there's decision and a squabble would be wrong.

I've also cautioned people that, tonally, it is incorrect to say that the president is in any sort of contretemps with the joint chiefs of staff. They work together. The president has a great deal of respect for the chain of command.

In fact, the chain of command, starting with the joint chiefs -- with the secretary of defense, the joint chiefs, the combatant commanders, all the way down to the people who are doing the fighting on the ground in Iraq, Afghanistan, and they're serving the nation in uniform. He's made it very clear -- and I think the respect also is shared up the chain of command. So without commenting on any specific ideas that may be discussed, and I won't do that, I can tell you that the notion that somehow there is -- there was some sort of feud between the president and the joint chiefs would be wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you did tell...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, he says no rift. But we go back and the president is reportedly considering an increase in troop levels in Iraq. How are military commanders on that idea?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Tony Snow is exactly right, T.J., because the joint chiefs don't squabble with the president. They don't have a feud with the president. They report to him. And they give him their best military advice.

And what they are doing now is just that: giving their best military advice. And the joint chiefs are doing this by making it clear that, in their view, that there would be considerable risk to sending more troops to Iraq, significantly larger numbers, unless they have a clear mission for those troops.

We have talked to several very high ranking commanders. And they continue to say that, in their view, sending more troops isn't necessarily the issue. They've got to have a military reason to send them.

Because if you're just going to put them on the street for more security, the risk is that you just simply put more U.S. troops out there as targets for the insurgents and the sectarian attacks.

Also, they are warning the president very clearly that the force is strained. That, you know, troops are now on rotation No. 2, rotation No. 3. They could put up to 30,000 more troops in Iraq any time they chose, but how long could they keep them there? How could they sustain the force?

Those are all the questions that the joint chiefs are bringing up right now, that they are making very clear to the president and the White House, is part of the risk, if a decision is made, indeed, to send more troops, T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Barbara Star. We'll be checking back with in -- in with you here in just a little bit. Thank you so much.

STARR: Sure.

HOLMES: We now want to turn to our Betty Nguyen, who's standing by in the NEWSROOM for us with a developing story -- Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: T.J., we have some really remarkable pictures to bring you out of Chicago where a commuter train has derailed. Here are some live pictures. You can see the emergency crews in the back of that commuter train. This is what they call the "El" in Chicago. It's actually a part of the Orange Line. It derailed at 14th Street, just south of the Roosevelt Road Station.

Now, at this point, you can see emergency crews are in there, attending to the folks inside that portion of this commuter train. But at this time, there are no reports of any injuries. That is the good news. What they're trying to do right now is get everybody out of that train just as safely and as quickly as possible.

We don't know what caused it to derail, but here's the problem here as well. Not only do they need to get people out of that train, but this could cause the other trains on the Orange Line to be either delayed or stopped for a long portion of time.

There you see one person coming out of there. So they are starting to take passengers out of that commuter train. Again, you can see there that it's not on the tracks like it should be. Part of this derailment. The good news, though, T.J., is that no one is injured.

We're going to continue to follow this. If we hear of any more injuries or any more really serious circumstances, we're going to bring it to you. But really, pictures that you don't see every day and you don't want to see every day.

A commuter train, a very busy commuter train, the "El" as they call it, but this is the Orange Line of the commuter plan there in Chicago. And it has been derailed. Emergency crews are on the scene.

We'll stay on top of it for you, T.J.

HOLMES: Yes. That "El" a staple there in Chicago. Not used to seeing it off the tracks like that.

NGUYEN: No.

HOLMES: No doubt about it. But good to hear no injuries, Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes.

HOLMES: Thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: One day, it's a kidnapping, the next, a bank robbery. Today, a payroll heist. These and other daring daylight crimes of Baghdad have one more thing in common: the clothes worn by the criminals.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote has more on that -- Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, as if it wasn't enough for Iraqis to have to deal with a spiraling crime here there are -- there is another disturbing trend. That is that many of these crimes are being perpetrated by individuals wearing the uniforms of Iraq security forces.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE (voice-over): They read like a police blotter. Million dollar bank heist. A mass kidnapping of 30 humanitarian aid workers. Another mass kidnapping of at least 100 education workers.

What do they have in common? They all happened within the last month. And all went down without a hitch.

(on camera) In each one of them, the perpetrators were wearing the uniforms of Iraq security forces, meaning the crimes were either carried out by people charged with preventing them or by people pretending to be them.

(voice-over) That's what Iraq security forces say. In fact, Iraq security forces maintain the impostors look so genuine, they themselves are sometimes duped and inadvertently provide criminals with safe passage to and from the crime scene.

There is some circumstantial evidence to that. Insurgents have been caught red-handed donning Iraqi uniforms, and tailors at Baghdad's infamous Thieves Market can make one custom fit for anyone willing to pay.

To combat the freelancers, the government came out with new uniforms that they said couldn't be counterfeited. Those, too, though, are now reportedly being used by impostors.

But many Sunnis say the Shiite-dominated police are the perpetrators, accusing them of using uniformed death squads to target Sunnis.

This week, the United States added its voice to the debate in a new report claiming Iraq's police are, at a minimum, guilty of complicity in some crimes. "Shia death squads leveraged support from some elements of the Iraqi police," the report reads. "Facilitated freedom of movement and provided advance warning of upcoming operations."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE: Whether uniformed criminals are behind the mass kidnappings or bank heist, one thing is clear. They have robbed the Iraqi publics -- the Iraqi public of their confidence in their government's ability to provide for their security -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, Ryan, we also just got video in of a group of criminals that were executed today. Do you have any information on that?

CHILCOTE: Yes, this is some very harrowing video. It comes from the Iraqi government. They just confirmed that to us.

It shows the lead-up to the execution of 13 individuals, all of them inmates who had been sentenced to death, convicted of crimes like rape, murder and the burning of bodies. There are no exact figures, but we believe that it brings the number of people executed in Iraq since 2004 -- that's when the Iraqi government reinstated the death penalty -- to several dozen.

One thing that's really interesting, Kyra, is the timing of this -- this release of this video. It is only the second time that the Iraqi government has released video like this. It comes just about a month and a half after Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death.

His death sentence is under appeal right now. We expect sometime in the coming days, weeks, for the appellate court to pass down its decision. Once it's done that, then Iraqi authorities have just 30 days to carry out the execution order.

So this video has, of course, sparked speculation that perhaps this is somehow some way of preparing the Iraqi public for Saddam Hussein's eventual execution -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ryan Chilcote from Baghdad. Thanks, Ryan.

A new show of force in the Persian Gulf. Well, the Pentagon is said to be considering the deployment of a second aircraft carrier group. It would join the U.S. carrier Eisenhower. And our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, says it could be seen as a signal to Iran.

HOLMES: Well, could a blizzard be brewing for Christmas? Our Jacqui Jeras is standing by for us in the CNN weather center. She's going to have more on the severe weather moving in. That is just ahead in the NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: And mini cars, maxi crashes. Which models drive away and which are bound for the scrap heap? Brianna Keilar brings us the crash course on pint-sized safety just ahead. Fasten your seatbelts. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: More on this -- more on this developing story, as well, out of Chicago. The pictures we showed you a short time ago, the derailment on the "El."

You're watching CNN, and you're watching some live pictures there now, or taped pictures, at least, we were just showing you. No one injured here that we know of. But again, train coming off the tracks there. The "El" train in Chicago. Keeping an eye on that.

Stay here with CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to the NEWSROOM. Betty Nguyen working more details on that train derailment.

NGUYEN: Yes, these are really some remarkable pictures that are coming in from Chicago. It's the "El," as they call it there. It's a commuter train system. And the Orange Line, the last car on that line -- we're going to try to put up some of these pictures for you so you can see what I'm talking about. Well, the last car right there that you see the emergency crews working in, has derailed. We don't know exactly what caused it to jump the tracks.

But the good news here, Kyra, is the Chicago police have confirmed to CNN that there are no injuries. Again, a scary moment. This rail system is a very busy rail system. In fact, it's the third busiest mass transit rail system in the United States.

Here's another look at how it has jumped the track. It is almost perpendicular there. Again, don't know how the last car was able to just slip off. But, again, the good news is that no one's injured.

Let me just tell you where there is. This car derailed at the 14th Street and south of the Roosevelt Station, that portion of the Orange Line. And emergency crews, obviously, on the scene. They're going to be working there for sometime, just to make sure everyone gets out as safely as possible.

Again, the good news, though, despite what it looks like, really some remarkable pictures. Not something you ever want to see, especially on a busy day on the streets of Chicago. But on the "El" train it has derailed. But no injuries are reported.

We're going to stay watching this and tell you if there are more developments, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks to our affiliate there, WFLD, out of Chicago. Thanks, Betty.

HOLMES: They're small, they're cute, and easy on the gas. But are subcompact cars sub par at crunch time? The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety put the little guys to the test.

And CNN's Brianna Keilar joins us now from Washington with the results.

Hello, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, T.J. And when we talk about safe cars, we talk about side air bags. We talk about good head restraints or headrests, as we call them.

But when it comes down to it, in a car crash, your best friend could be the weight of your car. Unfortunately, for mini cars, they don't weigh much.

Mini Coopers, part of this mini car category. These are 2,500 pounds or less. And when you compare them to some of the larger cars on the road, the Chevy Suburban, for instance, this car weighs 3 1/2 tons. That is roughly three times the weight of this car here. So when you put these two cars together, it's not too difficult to see who will probably win in a crash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR (voice-over): Small cars can save you big money at the pump. But they could cost you dearly in a crash. Driver death rates in so-called mini cars are more than double that of midsize and large cars.

ADRIAN LUND, INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY: If you're in a small light-weight vehicle like those mini cars and you get hit from behind, almost everything that hits you is larger and heavier, which means, on average, your crashes are more severe than what the other people are seeing.

So it's more important that you have good safety equipment to protect you.

KEILAR: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety measures vehicle safety on a four part scale, from good to poor.

Overall, the Hyundai Accent and the Kia Rio fared the worst, with an acceptable rating for front crash tests but the worst possible rating for side and rear impacts.

(on camera) The popular Mini Cooper gets average scores overall. A top-rating for front crashes and acceptable for side impacts and the lower, marginal score for rear crashes.

(voice-over) The Scion SB earned a good score for front impacts but a poor for side crashes. The barrier used in the test penetrated far enough into the Scion to hit the dummy driver's head. The Scion also earned a marginal for the rear crash test.

The Nissan Versa earned the best score of all. It was the only car to get top ratings in all three crash tests. But there's a catch. Technically, it's not a mini car. It's a small car that's marketed with the minis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Some automakers have responded to these results. GM, which makes the Chevy Aveo. This is actually one car that we didn't show the results of, but it was sort of middle of the road. It did have a poor -- that's the lowest rating -- for the rear crash test.

GM saying, quote, "The Aveo meets or exceeds safety standards in the more than 120 countries in which it is sold," not announcing any changes to make this car more safe.

Also, T.J., we should also mention the Mini Cooper. The test results in this particular slew of tests were for the '06 Mini Cooper through the '06 year. They are going to be making improvements in the '07. And when that model is available, the IIHS is going to go ahead and test it.

HOLMES: All right. Brianna, if somebody is just -- and a lot of people still love these cars, no matter what. If they're just determined that they're going to get one of these little bitty cute little cars, what should be something they definitely consider and maybe the ultimate deciding factor?

KEILAR: Well, in all car sizes, these IIHS tests show that very good head restraints that cushion your head in perhaps a rear impact are a must. Also, side impact air bags. These are a must. They can mean the difference between life or death.

However, one caveat when we're talking about these mini cars: the lowest performing car on this list, well, two of them actually, the Kia Rio, the Hyundai Accent, they have standard side air bags, and yet they still received that lowest rating, that poor on the side crash test.

They protected the head of the dummy, but the dummy did sustain some injuries that, in a human being, could be likened to broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and even injury to internal organs.

HOLMES: That does not sound good. Brianna Keilar for us in Washington. Thank you so much, Brianna.

PHILLIPS: After the runway, reality, and it's a tough trip in a tiara. So doesn't Miss Universe (sic) deserve a second chance?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: I believe after speaking with Tara, I believe that she can do a tremendous service to young people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Can a pageant queen turned party girl make things right? Miss Behavin', next.

HOLMES: Oh, that's rude. No.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes, in today for Don Lemon.

An "El" train derailed in Chicago just south of the Loop. Emergency crews are helping passengers get out of harm's way. That story, that developing story right now in the NEWSROOM.

And we're keeping an eye on that developing story out of Chicago. Betty Nguyen is watching that for us in the NEWSROOM.

Betty, what do you have?

NGUYEN: Yes, these pictures, you want to take a look at them, because rescue crews are using those cherry pickers that you see right there, trying to get the passengers out of these last two cars on this "El" train that had derailed.

The last one obviously has derailed, but the one in front of it as well is off of the tracks a little bit, too.

Now right now there are no immediate word of any serious injuries. But let me tell you a little bit about what the Chicago Transit Authority spokeswoman had to say.

This is the Orange Line of the "El" train, and it was headed northbound into the Loop, essentially heading into downtown, when it derailed south of Roosevelt Road.

Now, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman says that, as I was just mentioning, those last two cars right there are the ones that have the most damage here, from jumping the tracks. But here's what he says may have caused it.

He said that two cars may have bumped and then causing some minor injuries. Don't know why they bumped or what caused that to happen. But again, they're thinking that some minor injuries may have occurred. But at this point, no serious injuries have been reported to us just yet.

In the meantime, as we're trying to get all these people off of these last two cars, the Chicago Transit Authority is putting shuttle buses into place to get passengers to the different stops along the affected route.

As you can imagine, this is a busy "El" train, gets people in and out of downtown Chicago, takes them all the way, the Orange Line, specifically takes them all the way downtown into Midway Airport, which is a very busy airport there in the Chicago area.

So a lot of people, considering the time of day as well, could have been on that train. You see an emergency crew coming out of the back there. We've been watching it for a while, and You do see every now and then passengers very carefully loaded off that car and onto the tracks and back to an area of safety.

So we're staying on top of this for you. Again, T.J. the pictures are quite remarkable. It's something you don't see every day, something that you don't want to see every day, especially out of the el train, because this commuter train in Chicago is the third busiest mass-transit rail system in the United States. It's also the second oldest mass-transit system.

And just a little history here, the el got its nickname because a large part of this system is elevated. So there you go, makes a little sense there.

But today what they're trying to make sense of is why this thing jumped the tracks. So we're going to stay on top of it and bring you latest just as soon as we get it.

HOLMES: All right, we sure do appreciate you, Betty. Thank you so much. We'll see you soon.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES) PHILLIPS: From hope to heartbreak to healing. The family of Kelly James confronts his death on Mt. Hood. We'll talk with their pastor about the man of faith that he knew.

HOLMES: And we'll have more on this developing story out of Chicago, a derailment on the el train. You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We continue to follow that Chicago derailment story. Back to Betty Nguyen in the NEWSROOM -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes, let's take you to some live pictures coming out of Chicago right now. This is the el train, the commuter train that runs through the heart of Chicago there. You can see this is a very good vantage point coming from our affiliate, WLS, how the last two cars on the train, which is on the orange line, have derailed. You see emergency crews all over the place. Let's get some more information on exactly what happened.

We have on the phone with us Chicago Transit Authority spokesperson Sheila Gregory.

Can you hear us, Sheila?

SHEILA GREGORY, CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY: Yes, I can.

NGUYEN: Well, first of all, do you know what caused these two cars to jump the track?

GREGORY: No, not at this time. Right now we're pretty early on into this incident. We do know, as you said, the last two cars of the northbound orange line train did derail. All of the customers who were on the train have been evacuated safely to ground level and have been taken on buses to continue. We don't have any reports preliminarily of any injuries, so we're happy to hear about that. And currently we're providing alternate service to customers as we've got power shutdown in both directions along that section of the track.

NGUYEN: So they can do the work and not worry about other trains coming into play there.

GREGORY: Correct.

NGUYEN: Let me ask you, it is only these last two car, indeed?

GREGORY: That's right, it's only these last two cars. They still are on the structure, and as I'm sure you can see, so there's no impending danger there. What we need to focus on now is getting those re-railed and getting power restored to that area.

NGUYEN: Yes, we've been watching this for quite sometime now, and we've noticed that the emergency crews took the folks off the last two cars first, and then they moved up the commuter train. Let me ask you this, though, so that people who aren't in the Chicago area and watching right now can get a better idea of the el train and where it goes. This is the orange line. Now, it is a big connector between downtown and the airport.

Here's a better view of it. You see the orange line there that runs through here. They highlighted the Roosevelt Station.

How many people travel on this orange line everyday, did you know?

GREGORY: I don't have those figures offhand. I mean, as you said, it does serve midway airport, one of the two airports we have here in Chicago. It serves largely the southwest side of Chicago and connects downtown into the loop. So it is a popular line. It does get good ridership, particularly during rush hour. This actually happened during off-hours so it wouldn't be as heavy as it would be normally during a rush-hour period.

NGUYEN: Although, still kind of close to the noon hour. And also this was going northbound, which means it was going into the city and away from the airport.

How frequent are accidents on the el train?

GREGORY: Actually, they're very infrequent. We don't have a lot of instances. But when we do, we work closely with the Chicago Fire Department, who was there very quickly to assist us, and our first course of action is to make sure that we have all the customers off the train when we do have incidents like this.

NGUYEN: And I want to confirm, just once again, we have not been told of any serious injuries, although there is word from the Chicago fire department that possibly two cars that we see derailed there might have bumped each other, causing some minor injuries.

GREGORY: The status that I have right now is nothing major, as you've reported, initially. I don't have any status on whether there are minor injuries. There were ambulances that were dispatched to the scene as a precaution, just in case somebody should need medical attention.

NGUYEN: All right. Sheila Gregory, who is a spokesperson for the Chicago Transit Authority, we appreciate the information that you can provide for us at this time.

But pretty much, T.J., what you see is right there, the last two cars on this El Train have jumped the tracks. They've gotten everybody off, just as far as we can see, at least in those last two cars. The last check that we had of the front portion of this train, they were still getting those passengers out of there, but no serious injuries and that is the good news in all of this.

HOLMES: All right, even though it looks as bad as it does, no injuries.

NGUYEN: It looks terrible. But, yes, when you step back from it, thank goodness no one was seriously injured.

HOLMES: All right. Thank you so much, Betty.

PHILLIPS: Well, here's what we know in the ever more desperate search for two missing climbers on Mt. Hood. The county sheriff says that the big search is probably over and still considered a rescue effort, not a recovery operation, though it's been greatly scaled back and more bad weather is coming.

We also know that Kelly James, the climber found dead on Sunday, apparently had a dislocated shoulder. Rescuers are poring over photos that he took, photos indicating that he and his companions were traveling light. That only adds to the fears about how long the other men could last on that mountain.

The family of Kelly James says he died doing what he loved. His brother even recalls James saying that he was closest to God when he was on top of that mountain.

Joining me now from Dallas, James' pastor, Gary Brandenburg, of the Fellowship Bible Church.

And, Gary, that's one of the first things that I noticed when we heard Frank, his brother, speak before everybody. He had a spiritual sense about him. He talked about God. He talked about how the family was bonding and how they believed that the faith of Kelly would sustain him. You knew him that well.

PASTOR GARY BRANDENBURG, FELLOWSHIP BIBLE CHURCH: Yes, Kelly -- he was really a unique kind of individual. He was really sort of a renaissance man, very creative, very talented, artistic. But he was a man of great conviction and deep faith, so we take great comfort in that.

We know that he didn't go up that mountain prepared to spend a week, but he didn't go up that mountain unprepared. And so he was prepared for whatever would happen, and he knew that at some point in all of our lives, we face this kind of a situation, whether it's on the side a mountain or in a hospital bed, and he was prepared for that.

PHILLIPS: Did he ever talk to you about climbing and the risks involved?

BRANDENBURG: He did. We had lunch. About four of us guys were talking just a couple months ago, and we were sort of sharing our stories about our pastimes and our hobbies. And we realized pretty quickly that Kelly passed us all up when he went to telling about his stories of reaching summits and being places where we've never been.

And he was passionate about that. He loved being up there. He loved the sense of accomplishment. He loved the struggle to get there. So he had to be on that mountain. That's just who he was.

PHILLIPS: That sounds like a personal relationship with God, the challenges, the struggle. Did he compare his faith many a times with the faith that he had to have on the mountain?

BRANDENBURG: Exactly. And I think that' --, again, it puts things in a bigger perspective. We've been saying that he could see past the summit, that even he knew that when the time would come for him to pass from this life to the next, he had already seen that.

And so his faith in Christ, his belief in the scriptures, just helped us to put all of this in a broader perspective that this is the short, unhappy part of life. He's now enjoying the eternal part.

PHILLIPS: So let's say that you were able to be with him in that cave, possibly in those final hours, minutes. What do you think his prayers would be like?

BRANDENBURG: Well, I know that his prayers, first and foremost, would have been for his family. But, you know, he often -- when he would go on an adventure and his wife Karen would be a little concerned, he'd say, Karen, you know, God can take care of the sparrows, I think he can take care of me. And then he would use scripture when he would get in a tough spot.

I just know in those final days, final hours, he would quote "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." So I think, you know, we have reminded folks that when he was in that cave, he was not there alone.

He had great faith and I'm sure that he was receiving comfort from the promises of scripture, and I think that he was having a communion with the God he loved and in the place where he enjoyed the creation that God gave him to enjoy.

PHILLIPS: Have you had a chance to talk with Karen, counsel her?

BRANDENBURG: I have. And she's, understandably, going through all the range of emotions that anybody would who loses a loved one. But, again, she's awfully strong in her faith as well and has received great encouragement and support from coverage like this. And I just want to say thanks for the generous coverage that has led to so many people praying for this family and the other two families.

PHILLIPS: What type of support, not only you, but will the church offer the four kids and Karen?

BRANDENBURG: We have a strong support network. They have a strong support network individually with a lot of friends that love them dearly, and they will not lack for anything. We'll provide whatever they need to get through this difficult time.

PHILLIPS: Gary, final question. Do you find meaning in all this?

BRANDENBURG: You know, Kyra, it's -- you know, it's Christmas time. And one of the things that I said yesterday was that God doesn't always give us what we ask for, but we can have what we never imagined. And the Christmas story is such a good example. People wanted some sort of warrior king to help them out of their bondage, and what they got was a baby in a barn and they would have never expected that. But when we look in the rearview mirror of history, we see that God's fingerprints were all over that.

So there's great meaning in it and we're praying and trusting that God will help the family and the family of these other two folks look back on this and see good things and believe that God is too good to ever be cruel and too wise to ever make a mistake.

PHILLIPS: Gary Brandenburg, appreciate your time, pastor.

BRANDENBURG: Thank you, Kyra.

HOLMES: Could a blizzard be brewing for Christmas? Jacqui Jeras working on the forecast at the CNN Weather Center. There she is, working oh so hard over there. We're going to have more on the severe weather that is moving in. That's straight ahead.

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PHILLIPS: Back to the NEWSROOM. Betty Nguyen working details on another story developing out of Chicago.

What's this one, Betty?

NGUYEN: Well, this one actually -- I'm sorry, Kyra -- is out of Missouri, a story that we brought you a few weeks ago about a group home that was burned down. Ten people were killed in that, dozens injured.

Well we are learning today in documents that have just been released that hours before this deadly fire at this Missouri group home, a maintenance man trying to fix the furnace shorted the electrical wiring running through the attic, where investigators believe this blaze started.

Again, this happened on November 27th. It's a fire at a group home that killed 10, injured dozens. The name of the group home is the Anderson Guest House. And let me tell you a little bit about that. It's a facility that housed 32 mentally ill patients, many of them elderly.

And a husband and wife team of caretakers. The husband was among the dead while his wife was among the 19 people injured in that fire. Today, we are learning that a repair man caused an electrical short that investigators believe is to blame for that deadly fire.

And last Friday, on December 15th, state regulators ordered the owners of this group home to shut down all four of the facilities for the mentally ill and disabled. So we are finally getting a cause for that deadly fire just a few weeks ago -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Betty, we'll track it, thanks. HOLMES: Well, from Albuquerque to Denver and points north, get ready to welcome winter with snow and ice. Jacqui Jeras, we could have a white Christmas around here, a lot of people could?

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: All right, a lot going on in that map of yours back there Jacqui, all right, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a cancer scare for Laura Bush. How her skin cancer was spotted and how you can protect yourself. We'll have that up next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: T.J.'s favorite story, big city life leads a small town girl astray. And it turns out into rehab.

HOLMES: That's not the best part that I like really. But underage drinking won't, however, end the reign of Miss USA. You may have seen this earlier live here on CNN. The pageant's co-owner Donald Trump says Tara Conner was caught up in the whirlwind that is New York City. So instead of firing her one day after her 21st birthday, he's giving her a chance to clean up her act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TARA CONNER, MISS USA: I've had a very big blessing bestowed upon me. And you'll never know how much I appreciate Mr. Trump for saving me on this one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, you can see that entire...

PHILLIPS: Sorry.

HOLMES: ... Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Probably the freeze frame, too.

HOLMES: Stop. You can see that entire news conference at CNN.com. We'll have much more on that as well in the next hour. I was a big fan of the runner-up, Miss California, Tamiko Nash. But still, I'm glad she's getting a second chance. Don't laugh.

PHILLIPS: I know you're in big support of her and that's great. We'll stay on top of it. We all believe in second chances.

All right, message in a battleship. As tensions rise over Iran's nuclear activities, will more U.S. naval forces ship out to the Persian Gulf? We'll have details ahead from the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, mom, dad, family, the Dorno (ph) family, everybody, Eddie, Rita, Rachelle, everybody, I just wanted to say merry Christmas. I'm in Mazul (ph), Iraq. My name is Sergeant Jeffrey Deordono (ph) and just want to say hi to everybody in Florida.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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