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Deep Freeze in Denver; Detecting Alzheimer's

Aired December 21, 2006 - 11:00   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're informed, I'm Tony Harris.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Developments keep coming into the newsroom on this Thursday, December 21st, here's what's on the rundown. Denver, Colorado, at a standstill after a big snowstorm. The mile-high blizzard stranding thousands of holiday travelers.

HARRIS: Detecting Alzheimer's before it damages the brain. A promising new scan may help doctors slow the disease.

WHITFIELD: And Rosie O. -- she's getting all in the Donald's hair. Literally.

HARRIS: Oh, yeah.

WHITFIELD: An ugly celebrity feud breaks out over a beauty queen's breakdown. The name calling, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And at the top of this hour, deep freeze in Denver, the city paralyzed today by a blizzard. Thousands of flyers and motorists stranded just days before Christmas. Live now to Patti Logan in Denver. Patti give us the latest on -- well, I see maybe that's the best way to get around, on a bicycle behind you. But that's not going all that well either. Good morning, Patti.

PATTI LOGAN: He has some pretty good tread there, too. It's rough going out here. We are seeing bicycles, pedestrians, some four- wheel drive as you see there, the four-wheel drive are getting around downtown Denver. But for the most part, we're pretty well deserted downtown. This is prime time business in downtown Denver, normally. What we have are pretty much deserted streets. I'm seeing more people walking around and dogs out and about, snowmobiles. That sort of thing. We're really not seeing any business going on. A lot of workers apparently are not coming to work. The city and county of Denver employees have been told not to come in, the state employees. So a lot of people I think are following the government's lead and just staying home, walking their dogs and riding their bikes.

HARRIS: Yeah, and Patti what are you hearing about conditions at the airport when air travel might begin again? And probably equally important, when folks will be able to get out of the airport and maybe get back home.

LOGAN: Well, what we've been hearing is that they're still looking at tonight to start getting some flights out of Denver. It's going to be a mess that's going to unwind for several days, I think, because we have a lot of flights booked for the holidays already. So getting these folks on flights that are already full is going to be especially difficult. As can you see, we have some really lovely, you know, soft white powder down here in Denver.

HARRIS: It's beautiful.

LOGAN: Yeah it is beautiful. We have two feet almost here in downtown and more as you get out and about, three feet or so in the foothills. So it's a pretty significant storm and they're still trying to get a lot of folks just in and out of Denver, even on the roads. It's pretty rough.

HARRIS: Ok Patti. Patti Logan for us, thanks again Patti.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Teens and drugs, some encouraging news this morning, kids are smoking less pot and drinking less booze. On the downside, growing concern about the abuse of prescription drugs. CNN's Brianna Keilar live in Washington with the findings of a major annual survey. Brianna good morning.

BRIANN KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there Tony. This report released today by the National Institute on Drug Abuse is considered one of the best snapshots of what drugs kids are using and how this year compares to past years. This is what the White House drug czar is saying about why parents should be so concerned about what their kids are doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN WALTERS, NATL. DRUG CONTROL POLICY OFFICE: Drug use correlates of course with the risk of school failure, unwanted sex and pregnancy, highway tragedy, violence, weakened physical health and psychological disorders. When we reduce use, we decrease all these social pathologies.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And fortunately, there is some good news in this year's numbers. Researchers say overall drug use is down this past year and down about 23 percent over the past five years. Some bright spots, marijuana use is down and teen use of two very dangerous drugs, methamphetamine and crack cocaine continue to drop. Also steroid use is down. However, on the flip side, drug use is still very prevalent, about 50 percent of high school seniors said they've used illegal drugs in the past year. In tenth grade, about one in three say they have, eighth grade, these are 13 and 14-year-olds mind you, and one in five of them said that they had tried at least one drug in the past year. One major area of concern, prescription drugs like Oxycontin and Vicadine, one in 10 high school seniors said they used Vicadine in the past year. And as you get into the 10th grade and even eighth grade, still quite a few kids who have used Vicadine. Tony?

HARRIS: All right Brianna. Any advice for parents in the findings of the study?

KEILAR: Yeah, the Bush administration drug czar saying first and foremost because with some of the major concerns here are these drugs that might be in your medicine cabinet at home. If you have Vicadine, Oxycontin, other drugs like that and you're not using them, a lot of us just sort of leave those pill bottles hanging around, he's saying don't do that, just throw those out.

HARRIS: Sounds good. That's good advice. Brianna Keilar for us in Washington. Brianna thank you.

WHITFIELD: And now, some answers and still a few questions following the autopsy of climber Kelly James. The Oregon medical examiner's office says hypothermia killed the 48-year-old. No surprise there. What has surprised some is that James had no broken or dislocated bones. Rescuers speculate James may have suffered a debilitating injury prompting him to take refuge in that snow cave. That's where searchers found the body. The autopsy also concludes that James died shortly after making his last cell phone call to his family.

HARRIS: Send more troops. The message from some soldiers on the front lines of the Iraq war, speaking to new Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Baghdad. Details from CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre, the only network correspondent traveling with the secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The question is, how much say should front line troops have in whether the U.S. pursues an option of surging tens of thousands of additional troops into Baghdad. That was a question that came up at a breakfast meeting between Robert Gates, the new defense secretary, and the small but representative sample of U.S. soldiers here in Baghdad. When Gates asked them the question, would you like to see more U.S. troops in Baghdad? The answer was a resounding yes. Specialist Jason Glenn's answer was typical.

SPEC. JASON GLENN, DEPLOYED TO IRAQ: I really think we need more troops here. I really think we need more troops in Iraq. I'm just thinking that maybe more presence on the ground, more troops, might be able to hold them off long enough to where we can actually be able to get some of the Iraqis trained up strong so they can hold it themselves.

MCINTYRE: Other soldiers quickly chimed in that they would also like to see more U.S. troops here. When Gates asked how the Iraqi troops are doing, one soldier said they're doing ok, but they need to get better. Another said that they thought having more troops here would give the U.S. more time to integrate troops into the Iraqi units and strengthen them as well. The attitude of the troops here is they would like to stay and succeed rather than leave. And that might require more troops. Now, Gates went on from that breakfast meeting to meet with Iraqi leaders. He's looking from them for some kind of commitment of what they would do to take advantage of a lull in the violence, if the U.S. were to surge troops in to bring the violence down. And then Gates will factor all of these decisions, the recommendations of the commanders, the sentiments of the troops, the promises of the Iraqi government, when he makes his recommendation to President Bush, likely sometime next week. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Baghdad.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Well, will this week reshape the war? A Washington veteran will weigh in. We'll get his analysis.

HARRIS: And also to come, a new technology through new images may hold all kinds of exciting new promise for handling Alzheimer's disease. And an early diagnosis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: With Rumsfeld out, his replacement is in Iraq. New Defense Secretary Robert Gates is searching for a new strategy in the war. And that path could be paved with political land mines. Joining us is veteran Washington insider David Gergen, served as an adviser to four presidents. He now serves as a professor of public service at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Good to see you, David.

DAVID GERGEN, FMR. ADVISER TO 4 PRESIDENTS: Thank you Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Let's begin with Secretary Gates. He says that he won't be shaped by politics. Is that possible when already the president is saying one thing, the generals are saying another.

GERGEN: That's -- isn't that the question of the hour. Thank you for asking that. The president has contended all along in this war that politics would not drive decisions, that his decisions on how many troops and how to deploy them in Iraq would depend upon the commanders on the ground, upon the top military officials and the government. Now he has staked out a position, at least his aides are staking out a position in favor of a strong surge of American troops into Baghdad. A decision with which the joint chiefs and the commanders on the ground disagree. So here we have not just the commander in chief but the politician in chief and the president who has to ask himself the question, does he want to override the wishes of his own generals? That's a big, tough call.

WHITFIELD: And even before yesterday's press conference, the president already had to know because a lot of other folks already knew what the generals were thinking and feeling. So why take the chance, why publicly make this kind of statement? And then say that I'm going to be consulting with these generals and other great advisers? Are you able to hear me, David?

GERGEN: I was having trouble hearing you. If you could summarize that briefly. I'm sorry I lost sound for a second.

WHITFIELD: Well yeah, I'm just wondering, why would the president come out publicly and say what he said yesterday knowing, like a whole lot of folks already knew, what the generals are thinking about this planned surge of U.S. troops. Why take that kind of chance?

GERGEN: I don't understand it. He may be able to reach some sort of agreement with the head of the joint chiefs, that they will agree on a mission and that they'll have some -- you know, what the joint chiefs are saying is, Mr. President, we're not necessarily opposing more troops but we're on a mission. And we don't want to just throw more troops in there without having assurances that there's going to be progress on the political side, the economic side. Otherwise, we just put our troops in more danger and we get more deaths with no results.

WHITFIELD: And the president said he's going to be consulting these experts, generals and otherwise, about trying to clarify a mission. So it's kind of like the cart before the horse. I mean it's very difficult to understand, you know what's directing the direction.

GERGEN: I agree with that. And, you know, the process has become extremely messy from his point of view. The White House's point of view. When you're in the White House, you want to convince people you have things sort of under control. You have a thoughtful, logical, coherent process of making decisions. That people sort of reach a consensus and then you go. And here we've got a process that started 15 days ago when the Baker Hamilton Commission report came out. This had gotten extremely messy, lots of leaks, lots of disagreement within the administration. I think it makes it much, much tougher for the president to go forward in January with people having confidence that what he's saying represents a consensus. If there's so much disagreement right now, this is going to be very, very difficult to bring coherence within his own government before he goes to the public.

WHITFIELD: General Abizaid officially announcing retirement, yet, at the same time, being very outspoken that he does not like the idea of more U.S. troops being built up in Iraq. So was his retirement and his point of view in any way coinciding, did they kind of, you know, have a collision here and that's why we're seeing this announced retirement or was it already planned?

GERGEN: Well in fairness to General Abizaid, he had asked to leave earlier. He's been there a long time. And Secretary Rumsfeld asked him to extend. His extension was actually going to go a few more months beyond March. But he did extend. There's -- I think that reading between the lines, it's pretty clear that with General Abizaid saying he does not want a surge in troops, and the president leaning heavily in that direction, that it was obvious it was better for everyone concerned. I don't think he got fired or anything like that. I think it was obvious to everyone concerned that it would be better to have somebody else be the commander.

WHITFIELD: Actually let me ask you to hold that thought because we have some other breaking news that I need to break away to go to Tony real quick.

GERGEN: Sure.

HARRIS: Chad Meyers is following some breaking weather news for us. Chad, what do you have for us?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I got (INAUDIBLE) Parish and St. Bernard Parish under a tornado warning now Tony. This was just a few minutes ago, literally two minutes ago from the Weather Service out of New Orleans here. Now it is to the south and southeast of New Orleans where the rotation of the storm is. And the storm should pass to the east of New Orleans but obviously this area hit hard because earlier we had rainfall causing flooding all the way through the area. And DOT had completely closed northbound Clearview Parkway between (INAUDIBLE) Boulevard and Earhardt(ph) Expressway. Now, that whole area has seen shower, rain shower after rain shower after rain shower over the same areas. So there is flooding going on. You can see that there are more storms lined up like freight cars on a train track. Planes coming into La Guardia. But there is the storm, it is rotating, it should pass just to the south and southeast of (INAUDIBE) and if you're in that area, you need to be taking cover now. We'll keep you advised of what's going on too. Also, the ice storm developing now for Minneapolis, we'll get you that in about 10 minutes.

HARRIS: Ok Chad, appreciate it. We want to get you back now to Fred's interview with David Gergen.

WHITFIELD: All right David Gergen, thanks so much for hanging out with us here. All right, let's talk about one hypothetical. You have the president saying one thing, the generals saying another and then what if the president retreats from this plan that he just expressed yesterday? What if he says, you know what, I guess you're right. We're not going to build up more troops. You know, how defeating is this for him? It sounds like a lose/lose situation no matter which way you look at it.

GERGEN: You're right. It does sound like a lose/lose situation. If he retreats -- he basically has said, he said as late as yesterday, victory is still achievable. If he now retreats from the idea of a surge, it will look like he's given up the idea of a victory, that he is going to disengage and do the best he can with it. Many, many people in the country will breathe a sigh of relief. But as a political matter, it will look like -- he will slink way with his tail between his legs and be will badly wounded for that. And the right will go apoplectic. I mean his strong, let's go for victory supporters. And they are a minority but they're vocal. And they are part of his base. They will be extraordinarily angry if that's the case. So I think his better course right now is to see if he can work with the joint chiefs to see if they can hammer out a plan that the joint chief would support. Maybe there's a plan like that available, maybe there's not. I'm not sure we know. But it seems to me, that's what he has to do. But it's going to take more time and he's right on top of the holiday season. You know, I think there's an expectation in the press that he's going to go in the first week of January. What if this thing extends on the second, third week of January. That is a process. It's going tot be extraordinarily messy and meanwhile, Iraq itself, it continues the violence just continues to escalate.

WHITFIELD: David Gergen, thanks so much for your time.

GERGEN: Thank you very much.

HARRIS: And still to come, pictures of progress. New technology lets doctors see Alzheimer's disease before it harms the brain. What that means to you. Next, in the NEWSROOM.

A strong view and a not so subtle threat. Rosie and the Donald blast away at each other. Have you seen this? Have you heard this war of wards?

WHITFIELD: I think everyone has heard it by now.

HARRIS: It's coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right, let's get to the severe weather center now and Chad Meyers. Chad give us an update on this tornado warning.

MYERS: You know, we've been talking about Denver for so long and all that stuff. You know and we had this severe weather on the south end of the same storm, this is the warm core, the warm side of the same storm, WDSU, our affiliate in New Orleans now bringing us those pictures of a gray and rainy sky. Tornado warning now for Placaman's(ph) and St. Bernard Parish. The storm was about 7 miles north of Myrtle Grove, about 8 minutes ago. And it's moving to the Northeast at 15 miles per hour. The storm is rotating, we've been finding it on Doppler radar. It is spinning. It also could put down significant wind damage as well. There's New Orleans downtown, Metteri(ph), the storm right here, the one that's rotating, it will eventually get all the way and it will go offshore but for now, folks down there need to be taking cover here in the path of that storm. (INAUDIBLE) St. Bernard Parish, take cover now, you are in the path of a storm that is rotating that could be putting down a tornado.

HARRIS: Ok. We know you're following it for us. Thanks Chad.

MYERS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Detecting Alzheimer's. New research could lead to better diagnosis of the disease. Earlier in the NEWSROOM I talked with medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen about the encouraging results.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is just out in the "New England Journal of Medicine" scientists at UCLA have managed to do something very interesting, they have managed to actually get an image of what a brain of someone with Alzheimer's looks like. And this is very important. It could down the road lead to better diagnosis and eventually better treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Let's take a look at these images that these UCLA scientists did. What you see on the left is a healthy brain and what you see on the right is a brain of someone with Alzheimer's disease. And so what you're seeing in those yellow and red colors, is the plaques and the tangles that actually appear on the brain when someone develops Alzheimer's disease. Now what's really going to be important here is that middle group, those are folks who have what's called mild cognitive impairment. So they're having some problems, they're having problems. For example, you give them a list of numbers, they can't repeat it back to you. They can still function in life but they're memory issues. And you can see that they are starting to get some of those plaques and tangles that you see in the Alzheimer's group. And so the reason why this is important, is that scientists would love to be able to tell people earlier rather than later if it looks like they're on their way to developing Alzheimer's.

WHITFIELD: So does this mean if I'm feeling a little fuzzy or feeling a little forgetful, that it's time for me to run to a neurologist to see if it's time to look at my brain.

COHEN: Unfortunately, they can't do this right now. If you went to a neurologist right now, they would say, they can't give you this test because it's experimental, it's only being used at UCLA right now. And so you can't even get it. But it's also important to remember that people have what we jokingly call senior moments all the time. And it doesn't mean by any stretch of the imagination that you're going to go on to get Alzheimer's. But that's why this test could be very important, because eventually, it would be great if you could go to your doctor and they could say, you know what, you're stressed out, you're just tired. Or you know what, we're seeing some of these brain developments that are a little worrisome.

WHITFIELD: Right. So there is potential that if this does end up being used, you know quite readily, that they would be able to make a forecast, so to speak.

COHEN: Right, and that's important because first of all, it would give you warning and you would know. Now some people might not want to know but some people would want to know. Plus, there are some drugs that are now used to treat people with Alzheimer's and other memory issues that it doesn't stop Alzheimer's but it is in some people helpful. It does give some modest benefit, it does help them a bit, to varying degrees depending upon the person, to slow down the progression of the Alzheimer's. So your doctor could potentially, if this all works out, start you on some of those drugs.

WHITFIELD: All right, that's encouraging news. Thanks.

COHEN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: And to get your of Daily Dose of health news, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet on fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Greg Nieto of CNN affiliate KWGN. If you were watching earlier today, he kind of showed us how much fun he's able to have in the snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GREG NIETO, KWGN REPORTER: As for the snow levels, we're here, standing ordinarily behind me here on the banks of this pond, right about now you're seeing about, I'd say, about four feet of snow. I'm trying to think of a good way to show you exactly how deep it is so maybe I will just kind of ...

HARRIS: What are you doing?

NIETO: Jump in a little bit to give you an effect of how soft it is, and how much padding there actually is. So I can tell you I'm not hurt.

WHITFIELD: I want to see instant replay. Come on, do it again.

NIETO: There are a few -- maybe later. I'm not a young man anymore.

(LAUGHTER)

NIETO: We -- are seeing a few folks walking around here, including, we have Don here with his dog Joe. Are you OK there sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it is deep out here.

NIETO: Let's just make it a little bit easier on all of us. Talk about -- you finally got out this morning and obviously Joe is enjoying Mother Nature

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she just loves the snow. In fact, she loves it when it's deep like this because she gets to dolphin through it. Comes up to just about shoulder height for her, and, you know, she goes and tries to find her ball. She doesn't have a real good sense of smell so she has to dig through everything.

NIETO: Sure

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And she loves that.

NIETO: You were saying yesterday she wanted to go out swimming while everybody else was holed up in their homes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She loves the outside, she loves it when it's cold. In fact, every night she wants to sleep outside. She wanted to sleep outside last night and I wouldn't let her. It was just too cold.

But with this coat, you can see it's nice and thick. A good lab, chessie (ph) coat, it's so thick she could sleep in the snow. And no one would know the -- she wouldn't know the difference.

NIETO: Sure and I hear that, you know, I see she's actually -- she can hear some of the geese are behind us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, she's not that much of a geese girl. She really likes the squirrels. So she's not finding much squirrel action today. WHITFIELD: No squirrels today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're all holed up in whatever tree they are in.

NIETO: Of course, for a lot of us this is one reason why we moved here for days like today or yesterday. Anything else you want to say to the rest of the country?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I come from Cleveland originally about 30 years ago. This is really nice, and in two days, three days, it will be all gone. And to my sister who's in Australia, you are missing this, but guess what. You're going to come home from winter there to winter here, so you will get two doses of it.

NIETO: There you go. Again, that was Don and this is Joey. Thanks for your time this morning. We appreciate it

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And still to come, Rosie and the Donald blast away at each other. A high-profile, low-brow war of words, next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: I love that. I love the story, too. You want to talk about longshots for a moment. Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro continues to beat the odds. His doctors say they are relatively pleased with his recovery -- relatively pleased. Barbaro shattered his hind ankle last May in the Preakness, you might recall. An equine podiatrist examined and treated the limb yesterday. The doctor is somewhat concerned about the long-term management of that foot, but otherwise, veterinarians say Barbaros leg is on the mend, and overall, the horse is in excellent condition.

WHITFIELD: A little bit of a limp, that's understandable.

HARRIS: But making progress.

WHITFIELD: That's great improvement.

HARRIS: You ready for this story.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. Roll up your sleeves.

HARRIS: What is better, is the question here, than a smackdown. How about a tantalizing celebrity smackdown.

WHITFIELD: And who would be on the fight card? You know it, Rosie O'Donnell versus The Donald. The origin of the dustup, Donald Trump's news conference to publicly give a second chance to Miss USA, Tara Conner.

HARRIS: Well, Rosie used her spot as co-host of "The View" to poke fun at Trump. Have a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSIE O'DONNELL: Apparently, this young girl, Tara Conner, how old is she 20?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty-one.

O'DONNELL: Twenty one. She went out and she was partying. She's from Kentucky. She went to New York and she was hanging out at all the parties, doing what Paris and Lindsay do, you know, dancing, whatever. So he held a press conference to announce whether or not she was going to retain her crown. And then she started to cry. I just want to thank Donald for giving me a second chance.

I thought it was brilliant.

O'DONNELL: And there he is with his hair looping, going, it's just a circumstance. I'm going to give her a second chance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your hair is perfect for that.

O'DONNELL: He annoys me on a multitude of levels. He's the moral authority. Left the first wife, had an affair, left the second wife, had an affair, had kids both times. But he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America. Donald sit and spin, my friend. I don't enjoy him. No. He inherited a lot of money. Wait a minute. And he's been bankrupt so many times where he didn't have to pay.

He paid all the people he owed.

O'DONNELL: Get ready, this is going to be good.

Get on a payment plan. He sued. I can imagine.

O'DONNELL: He's going to sue me but he'll be bankrupt by that time, so I won't have to worry. But I don't know, I just think that this man is like sort of one of those, you know, snake oil salesmen in little house on the prairie.

DONALD TRUMP: Rosie O'Donnell is disgusting both inside and out. You take a look at her, she's a slob. She talks like a truck driver. She doesn't have her facts. She'll say anything that comes to her mind. And, you know, her show failed when it was a talk show. She failed on that. The ratings went very, very low and very bad and she got essentially thrown off television. Her magazine was a total catastrophe, she got sued. And I mean she's basically a disaster. She called me a snake oil salesman. You know coming from Rosie, that's pretty low. Because when you look at her and when you see the mind, the mind is weak. I don't see it. I don't get it. I never understood, how does she even get on television?

I'll probably sue Rosie, because she doesn't tell the facts. As an example, I'm worth many billions of dollars. Now, it's not to brag about, I'm worth many billions of dollars. It's very simple. She said I was bankrupt. Now, I never went bankrupt. She said I filed bankruptcy three times. I never filed bankruptcy. I never went bankrupt. But she said I went bankrupt. So probably I'll sue her, because it would be fun. I'd like to take some money out of her fat- ass pockets.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wow.

WHITFIELD: That's a stunner, every time I hear it.

HARRIS: I'm doing Joe Pesci here, okay, okay, okay. So here's the thing, a couple of things. Moving the story forward, because we just can't help stirring the pot here. Donald Trump, ready for this, a guest tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE."

WHITFIELD: It's going to be a sizzling episode.

HARRIS: Just to stir the pot.

WHITFIELD: yes.

HARRIS: Rosie O'Donnell had more to say about this feud.

WHITFIELD: Of course.

HARRIS: This morning on "The View," so we're getting that ready for you. And that's coming up after the break.

WHITFIELD: Because the smackdown continues.

HARRIS: I hate loving this as much as I do.

WHITFIELD: All right. Also, straight ahead here in the NEWSROOM, Jesus gets around. And we've got the pictures to prove it. A nativity figure returns to the manger, and just in time, right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Another one of our favorite stories of the day. Jesus returns. After a year on the road, a stolen baby Jesus is back at the scene of the crime.

WHITFIELD: Lo and behold, the beloved plastic figure is at home in the manger, where else, but in Buffalo, New York.

Scott Brown of affiliate WGRZ has this rather bizarre tale.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT BROWN, WGRZ REPORTER (voice-over): 10-year-old Julia Leising was one of the kids performing at the annual Christmas program St. Marks in north Buffalo.

Julia and her family love this time of year. And they're beautifully lit home shows it, complete with a manger set. But last year at this time, something was missing from the manger -- the baby Jesus. It had been stolen two days before Christmas.

JOHN LEISING, BABY JESUS OWNER: Kind of felt like Jesus would be off limits to any kind of pranks or mischief. But he was gone.

JULIA LEISING, BABY JESUS OWNER: I felt sad.

BROWN: Although it was just made of plastic, the statute had been part of the family's Christmases for years and now they figured it was gone forever.

JOHN LEISING: Christmas was over, the stuff was packed away.

BROWN: And so you can imagine the family's surprise when the statue showed up on their door step eight months later. Along with, it a small book entitled the Baby Jesus Chronicles. The booklet contained pictures of a road trip that the statue had been on all across New York State.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They took good care of him. There were pictures of him wearing a seat belt, there's pictures of him in the shower. They kept him clean. There's pictures of him camping. There's a drink, so he's well hydrated.

JOHN LEISING: He was in a house making brownies.

JOAN LEISING, BABY JESUS OWNER: They didn't go anywhere real expensive and spend a lot of money on Jesus, but they showed him a really good time.

BROWN: Along with the booklet there was a note from the kidnappers.

JULIA LEISING: We have done the best possible job we could do to keep baby Jesus safe in our loving arms.

JOAN LEISING: We meant the for this adventure to be in any way either blasphemous or disrespectful.

BROWN: The season is about forgiveness. Do you guys forgive?

JOHN LEISING: Sure, sure. He had a nice time, they didn't harm him and we have him back for this Christmas.

BROWN: And so the baby Jesus was back where he belonged. Julia was singing about the joys of the season and all was right with the world once more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: That's good stuff.

All right. "YOUR WORLD TODAY" coming up at the top of the hour. Jim Clancy is standing by with a preview for us. Jim, good morning.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Tony and Fredricka. Well, coming up at the top of the hour, a terminally ill patient died very quietly in Italy. But the doctor who pulled the plug has switched on a national debate about euthanasia. Some lawmakers are demanding that the doctor face murder charges.

Another aging patient is quietly out of public view. We're going to take you to Havana and ask Cubans if they know where Fidel Castro is and what that means for their country and for them.

Plus, anything but quiet, India faces an aggressive mob of monkeys but some religious beliefs, sensitivities if you will, have been trampled on in a rush to rid the monkeys from the streets. We'll have a report. Al the news with an international perspective. YOUR WORLD TODAY at 12:00.

HARRIS: All right Jim.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Jim.

All right, this holiday season -- where is the cheer?

HARRIS: If we can't find it at least in two locations, that's for sure.

WHITFIELD: Not on the airwaves coming out of New York in some parts because some serious feuding going on. They haven't finished their feuding, Rosie and the Donald. There's more. Rosie had more to say earlier today. And we'll be bringing that to you.

And then the Donald, we understand he's had a few things to say and has more to say tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE." In fact, let's listen to what Rosie had to say ...

HARRIS: Can we do it now? We have it ready now

WHITFIELD: today on "The View."

HARRIS: Oh no.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'DONNELL: Look who's here today. Kelly, I was was afraid to leave her at home in case someone with a combover came and stole her from me.

(LAUGHTER)

O'DONNELL: Yes, she's here now.

JOY BEHAR, "THE VIEW," HOST: Wait, do the thing. I love when you do the hair. Do the hair. Come on, do it, do it.

O'DONNELL: I'm not doing it again. Listen, It's a live show. You get me while I'm in the mood. Frankly here's my comment to him -- (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, not in the mood. Well, we'll find out if -- on Larry King tonight, the Donald is in the mood to comment any further. Something tells me he is.

HARRIS: All right. And still to come in the NEWSROOM, some security issues to tell you about on the Northern border. That is coming up in the NEWSROOM. But first, a quick break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So here in the U.S., police officers can't strike, nor can firefighters, the reason: public safety. But in Canada, new concerns about a recent protest by airport screeners.

HARRIS: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports security workers may have turned a blind eye to thousands of passengers. The details from CBC's Ron Charles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RON CHARLES, CBC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Airline passengers heading into one of the busiest travel seasons of the year remain ever-mindful of security.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't want to be on the plane knowing someone has brought something they shouldn't have on there.

CHARLES: And yet CBC News learned after soon after the last busy travel season for almost four days following Thanksgiving, security took a back seat to expediency at Toronto's Pearson Airport.

Airport screeners working for the private security company Guarda (ph) were on a work to rule campaign, hand searching all carry-on luggage creating long line-ups of passengers. The screeners say their managers took over to clear the lines allowing about 250,000 passengers to rush through with minimal or no screening.

In a letter to Transport Canada obtained by CBC News, several workers quote their managers asking why are you searching bags? Their complaint went on to say, managers wanted us to rush through the screening procedures.

An investigation by Transport Canada confirmed this. The resulting report concludes the security screening process was circumvented, in some cases it was abandoned altogether. For example, October 10th, no bags were searched and X-Ray images were ignored.

October 11, strollers were allowed through the screening point without being searched.

It goes on to say that managers speeding up lines constituted a gross violation of pertinent legislation and severely compromised the traveling public.

All of this in spite of regulations that stipulate at least 25 percent of carry-on luggage must be hand searched.

Officials from Guarda (ph) declined to comment.

This security expert says it was only by chance that a disaster was averted.

If terrorists had known that in those three days their baggage wasn't be searched, that would have been bad. But fortunately, it looks like, you know, people lucked out and no one happened to be testing the system at that moment.

CHARLES (on camera): A spokeswoman for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the federal organization that oversees airport screening, maintains that all passenger luggage was properly screened during that October work slowdown. However, she does say that she has never seen the Transport Canada report.

Sources say transport minister Lawrence Cannon is aware of the situation. But he, too, is not commenting.

Ron Charles, CBC News, Toronto.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: You are back in THE NEWSROOM one hour from now -- 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. T.J. Holmes is here with a preview for us.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How's it going, guys?

Denver doesn't look fun, does it?

HARRIS: No.

HOLMES: Yeah, it's not good.

WHITFIELD: Unless you have snow shoes on.

HOLMES: Those grounded planes, the stranded travelers, undelivered mail, even -- yeah. We've been hearing about what a big, fat mess Denver is today. We'll check in for some status reports and make aware that nasty front is headed next, maybe to your front door.

Plus, who else is having problem with the weather? Space shuttle. Yeah. It's not necessarily the snow, but it's the wind that has NASA's hackles up.

The shuttle crew hopes to return tomorrow and has to land by Saturday. But we have got some iffy forecasts. That means engineers have to pick the lesser of a couple of evils when it comes to landing sites. We will talk to the Discovery crew so hopefully they can be home on time.

But they'd got some issues. They've got to be home by Saturday. WHITFIELD: I always love it when we can connect with them.

HARRIS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: So many miles away.

HARRIS: We're going to talk to them in a little bit. Going to get to chat with them.

WHITFIELD: Well, the CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now as T.J. just explained.

HARRIS: And "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home. Have a great day, everyone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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