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Blizzard Aftermath; Ski Lift Accident in Maine; Bad News in a Bottle; Loaded Ski Lift Derails; Helicopter Pilot and Photographer Rescue Calf; 'On the Case'
Aired December 28, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Trapped on a broken ski lift. And you thought the airports were bad.
He says her wife cheated, but he's the one in trouble. If a husband hacks into his wife's e-mail, whose side is the law on?
LEON WALKER, ACCUSED OF HACKING WIFE'S E-MAIL: The actions being taken against me are wrong on so many levels.
LEMON: Sunny Hostin is on the case.
Clashes in the streets of Bolivia -- behind the anger, skyrocketing fuel prices. Could it spread to the U.S.?
She's famous for being a teen mom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, this is an unusual case played out in front of television cameras.
But Amber Portwood may be starting her 20s in prison.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three cases of domestic violence, battery.
LEMON: What took police so long to arrest her?
A desperate Confederate general, a mysterious glass vial and an encrypted telegram decoded nearly a century-and-a-half later. We will tell you out what it said and talk to the woman who helped uncover a Civil War mystery.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us. A lot of news happening right now. So, rapid fire, let's go.
Several people were injured and more than 200 others were trapped today after a ski lift broke down in Maine. A spokesman for the Sugarloaf ski resort says the lift malfunctioned at about 10:30 Eastern this morning. Five chairs fell 25 to 30 feet to the ground. Other chairs were suspended in midair as riders waited to be evacuated. A nearby hospital reports that it has received three patients and expects four more. Next, firefighters on the scene of a gutted, abandoned building in New Orleans. Eight people died in there, all of them believed to be homeless. It happened in the middle of the night in the Ninth Ward of the city. A couple of homeless people told a New Orleans newspaper that they were burning trash to keep warm when temperatures fell below freezing overnight.
Next: a sad scene in Chicago, family and friends saying goodbye to a fallen firefighter. Edward Stringer, along with one of his colleagues, died when a roof collapsed last week. They were searching an empty building for squatters who may have been looking for a place to stay warm.
Take a look at this. A fire truck carried Stringer's coffin through the streets. The other firefighters' funeral is scheduled later this week.
Next, paramedics removing the bodies of five teenagers from a motel room near Miami. A maid found them yesterday. No autopsy results yet, but police believe they all died from carbon monoxide poisoning because they had left their car running in a closed garage beneath the motel room.
Friends of the victims say the car had trouble starting, so that's probably why the teens left it running overnight. The five young men were all from the same Miami neighborhood. They were in Hialeah to celebrate one of their birthdays.
Next, a Georgia State Trooper is dead, shot twice during a traffic stop. It happened last night just outside of Atlanta. Trooper Chadwick LeCroy was 38 years old. The man suspected of killing LeCroy took off in his patrol car, which police found a half- a-mile away. That suspect is in custody today.
No snow down, under where it's summertime, but they have got troublesome weather just the same. Days and days of heavy monsoon rainfall has flooded out more than a dozen towns in the Australia's northeastern state of Queensland. Already, 1,000 people are out of their homes, forced to evacuate when the government declared a disaster. Some Queensland rivers are at the highest level since the 1950s with plenty more rain in the forecast.
Next, I want you to take a look at this; broken glass, smoke, and fire damage. Someone threw a firebomb, a Molotov cocktail, through a window, into this house, and set it on fire. Here's the big mystery. The only people living here are a 102-year-old woman and the lady who takes care of her. Who would firebomb a great grandmother's house? Unfortunately, her neighbors got her out safe -- fortunately, I should say, her neighbors got her out safely and took a hose to the fire. But this one has detectives stumped.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGIA TRAYNHAM, HOUSE FIREBOMBED: I was in bed asleep. And she come running in there and she said, get up, get up. You have to get up. There's a fire in the House.
JUAN VESQUEZ, GEORGIA'S NEIGHBOR: Well, I looked off to the right and there are just flames coming out of the front window. For some lady at her age to deal with something like that, that's pretty mean.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Up next, a middle school in Upstate New York is considering splitting up girls and boys. The principal says it would help kids focus on learning. Parents not in favor of the idea would be allowed to opt out. The superintendent in Syracuse says he didn't agree at first, but now feels differently about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's middle school, because that is really the toughest age between boys and girls. I don't think it would work necessarily elementary. And, in high school, they're young adults.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Here's what the school district is saying. They say the change wouldn't cost a dime. And we're told the kids would use separate doors, classrooms, and even different parts of the cafeteria.
Next: It's not your normal Easter egg hunt. The feds have arrested a passenger at the airport in Los Angeles. He's accused of trying to smuggle 14 pounds of cocaine hidden in Easter eggs. We're told he was returning from a trip from Colombia. Agents say they got suspicious because of -- it's strange that somebody to try have Easter eggs around Christmastime. That is strange. The suspect, by the way, behind bars.
Up next, Hello Kitty is getting smart. The car company is introducing more than two dozen Kitty designs aimed at boosting sales. Well, smart is trying to make cars as custom as possible. Some colors are also available, plus a variety of plaids and polka dots for your cars.
Power customers in Florida paying to keep hundreds of manatees alive. Take a look at this. The endangered sea cows are crowding a section of the Indian River Lagoon. Here's why. Last summer, a power company destroyed a plant that helped heat the waters. So now the state is forcing the company to spend more than $500 an hour to keep the manatees warm.
Up next, tonight marks the first Tuesday night game of the NFL since 1946. The Vikings and the Eagles will battle in Philadelphia two days after a blizzard forced the league to reschedule a game. The league said it wanted to protect the public's safety. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell apparently didn't agree with the decision. He says the U.S. has become a nation of wusses.
Have you ever looked at someone else's e-mails Well, be careful. One guy is in big trouble for allegedly snooping on his wife. Is it a felony? We will try to answer that for you straight ahead.
Plus: hosting a political convention means big-time exposure and big-time bucks. So which city will host the Democrats in 2012? I will tell you about the possible front-runner. Brianna Keilar is standing by. She's got the "Political Pop" up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time now for the "Political Pop."
Brianna Keilar standing by in Washington for us with the very latest.
What's up first, Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, soon, Don, we're expecting that Democrats are going to announce where their convention is going to be ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
And while we sort of bite our nails and wonder what they're going to say, CNN/Opinion Research Corporation did a poll and asked rank- and-file Democrats what they should think. Now, there are four finalist cities. And here's how it actually broke down -- 29 percent said that Cleveland should get the convention -- 22 percent said Charlotte, North Carolina -- 21 percent said Minneapolis, Minnesota, 17 percent saying that it should be Saint Louis, Missouri.
And, of course, you know, rank-and-file Democrats don't get to pick exactly where it's going to be. It's really up to the Democratic Party. It's up to the White House. So, we're waiting to see. But I don't know. If you were going to cover this, where would you pick?
LEMON: I don't know. Can we put the cities back up, again, Roger? Let's take a look at them. All right, there we go, Cleveland, Charlotte, Minneapolis, Saint Louis. Oh, wow.
KEILAR: I know what I would pick.
LEMON: I would have to say probably Charlotte, because it's closer for us. But I don't know. Saint Louis is sort of in the middle of the country. I like Saint Louis. I used to live there. So, I -- those two.
KEILAR: Yes. Saint Louis is great. I would like to go to Charlotte, because then, you know, if you get your half-hour of free time covering it, then you can go to the NASCAR Museum.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: I should have known.
KEILAR: I know you would love --
LEMON: I should have known.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: You are, by the way, if you don't know, NASCAR freak -- OK, fan, superfan. Let's put it that way.
KEILAR: Kind of.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: OK. Let's -- we were talking about this earlier, Brianna. Let's talk about the president's statement on Michael Vick. It's creating a little bit of controversy. What are you hearing there in Washington?
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: Yes.
So, President Obama, actually, he spoke with the owner of the Eagles, Jeff Lurie. And this is really interesting, because they were talking, of course, football. And they started talking about Michael Vick.
And according to SI.com, President Obama did say that he spoke passionately about prisoners getting a fair second chance. Of course, we all know about Michael Vick. He spent 18 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring.
He was suspended by the NFL, then reinstated. And the Eagles picked him up. And so you have President Obama talking about how it's good that he got a second chance. We actually have a statement from the White House.
Bill Burton, White House deputy press secretary, saying that he, of course, condemns the crimes that Michael Vick was convicted of, but, as he's said previously, he does think that individuals who have paid for their crimes should have an opportunity to contribute to society again.
And this just has a lot of people wondering, of course, because this is just such a firestorm in a way, Michael Vick doing very well, the Eagles doing very well. And he's a possible MVP contender, along with Tom Brady. And a lot of people are wondering, really, is this the guy that should get that?
LEMON: Hmm. OK. All right.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: I don't know. What do you think, Don? You think he's -- second chances?
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: You know, we're not supposed to share our own opinion here, but I think I did in the segment earlier with Jamal Anderson, because it's -- it's kind of -- (LAUGHTER)
LEMON: For me, this is a sports story. And, as I have said, I don't agree with what he did, but I believe in redemption for everyone. And I think that's what our legal system in our country is about.
So, if he has paid his time, has paid his dues and he's done what he's supposed to do, then move on. If you don't like him, don't go to the games, don't watch him on television.
KEILAR: Yes. And I really see it from two different perspectives too as a dog owner. And I think so many people are dog lovers.
LEMON: Absolutely.
KEILAR: And that's just something that they can't get over. And then it brings into question the whole thing about just what kind of role models sports figures are. They inevitably end up being role models.
And so you can see how people are just going to go back and forth about this and how controversial this could be if it turns out for Michael Vick.
LEMON: Yes. Well, you know, I will see people who will, you know, for a dog or whatever, will kiss a dog on the mouth and they will walk by a person who is starving on the street. So, priorities, right?
Thank you very much, Brianna.
KEILAR: Yes. No, it's true.
LEMON: Yes, appreciate it. All right, we will see you in a bit.
A teen mom is behind bars. One of the stars of a popular MTV show is facing serious charges for something that happened on the show. You will see the incident next.
Plus, 147 years ago, during the Civil War, somebody put a message in a corked bottle. Now we're finally learning what it says. A manager at the Confederacy Museum walked -- walks us through all of this. Make sure you stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time now for what's "Trending" today. First up, we have big baby news for the entertainment world. Sir Elton John and his partner, David Furnish, are now dads. Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish- John was born Christmas Day in California via a surrogate. The baby weighed seven pounds, fifteen ounces.
Again, here's his name: Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John. He was seven pounds and fifteen ounces. In a joint statement, John and Furnish had this to say, "We are overwhelmed with happiness and joy at this very moment. Zachary is healthy and doing really well, and we are very proud and happy parents."
Elton John is 62 and David Furnish is 48. They have been together for 12 years and this is their first child.
Also, "Trending" today, the star of the MTV reality show "Teen Mom," Amber Portwood, is behind bars for allegedly attacking ex-fiance Gary Shirley. As seen in this clip from the show, she's no stranger to violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Then stay here.
AMBER PORTWOOD: Let me (EXPLETIVE DELETED) tell you something, you don't talk to my (EXPLETIVE DELETED Dad like that. Do you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) hear me? You apologize to him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amber, Amber.
PORTWOOD: No. You apologize right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amber, let him go.
PORTWOOD: You don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED)talk to him like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amber, let him go.
You can get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED)out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. In September, Portwood expressed her concern that one day their daughter, Lea (ph), who too -- who is two, would see her slapping the child's father.
Portwood was arrested on Monday. She is charged with three felonies, they are one count of neglect of dependent and two counts of domestic battery.
A very cool piece of American history emerged just a few days ago, and I'm about to find out if it's more significant than that. If it's more than just, gee whiz, kind of interesting.
Take a look at this. It's a glass bottle. It's two inches long, a cork stopper, a tiny piece of string. This odd little artifact sat in a Civil War museum untouched for more than 100 years. Well, curiosity got the best of the woman who oversees the museum and she arranged to have the thing popped open to see what was inside of it.
Well, show the next picture. There you go, this is what was in there. A rolled up piece of paper with some nonsense looking handwriting and a lead bullet. Sounds a little weird.
OK, I am no historian. But Catherine Wright is and she's the lady who had to find out what was in the little bottle. She's a collections manager at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.
Catherine, thanks for joining us. What on Earth are we looking at in those pictures?
CATHERINE WRIGHT, COLLECTIONS MANAGER, MUSEUM OF THE CONFEDERACY: Well, what you are looking at is a secret message that was unopened for 147 years. It was a coded message that was intended to be sent to a city under siege, and by the time the message was about to be delivered, the city had already fallen into the hands of the enemy and the message really no longer mattered.
LEMON: So, then some people --
WRIGHT: So it was brought back.
LEMON: -- some people would say, OK, what took you so long to open it?
WRIGHT: Well, I think there's a lot of different museum curators who have the philosophy that you should never change any artifact which comes into your museum. And while I certainly ascribe to that, I do believe that museums and other institutions need to continue to do research on the items in their collection. And as long as they can do so without causing any physical harm or damage to the artifact, then they should certainly do whatever research they can.
So I was sort of the head of a team of people at the museum who just decided that curiosity finally got the better of us.
LEMON: All right, so, Catherine, how did you decode the message? Was it high-tech computer software?
WRIGHT: Well, you could certainly use that today, but back in the Civil War, people would either use a metal decoder ring that would bear some resemblance to the one that folks might have seen on "A Christmas Story" movie, or they could use a table that basically is a bunch of alphabets that are slightly staggered. And it is a little bit complicated, but you can sit down and figure it out with just a paper and pencil.
LEMON: OK, so tell me, who do you think sent this message and what does this tell you about the state of the war on that day?
WRIGHT: OK. Well, if you imagine the city of Vicksburg, which is perched on the east side of the Mississippi river, is a very important stronghold in the Civil War because it basically would control who had access to -- to the river, which was a main route of transportation.
And the person who sent a message was a Confederate general who was stationed on the opposite side of the river. So he was sending the message to the general who had basically set up a series of defenses around the city of Vicksburg, trying to hold off all of the Federals. And, of course, that fellow -- all of his poor soldiers were starving.
And so the message, apparently, was a response to the general who was under siege in the city. And the message, as it was decoded reads, "General Pemberton, you can expect no help from this side of the river. Let General Johnston know, if possible, when you can attack the same point on the enemy's line. Inform me also and I will endeavor to make a diversion. I subjoin a dispatch from General Johnston," end quote.
LEMON: OK, and so, that little piece of paper, that's what that says right in there.
WRIGHT: Exactly.
LEMON: So listen, does this change the course of history in any way? Does it change anything about the Civil War? What we've learned, what we're going to be teaching about it or should be teaching?
WRIGHT: It probably doesn't revolutionize our studies of the war. I think it certainly helps to energize them.
It also, it's sort of a punctuation mark to just how extremely dire the circumstances were for the Confederates at that time.
LEMON: I got you on that, Catherine. So listen, why the bullet?
WRIGHT: The bullet was probably placed in the bottle in case that the bottle was about to be captured by the enemy so they could throw it in to the Mississippi River and have it sink and not be captured.
LEMON: OK. So can I call you detective or you still want to be an historian?
WRIGHT: You can absolutely call me detective.
LEMON: Catherine Wright, thank you. Happy new year to you.
WRIGHT: Thanks, same to you.
LEMON: All right, what are all of these people -- there they are -- what are they all fired up about? Would you believe, it has to do with gas prices? That's up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time to go "Globe Trekking," looking closely at news around the world.
This is Hala Gorani, anchor and correspondent from CNN International, our "Globe Trekking" tour guide here today.
So why don't we start with, talk about West Africa, very real and violent crisis there an something happened just a little while ago, Hala. HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Right. There was an election on November 28, and two men say they're president of Ivory Coast. The United States very early on came out and supported Alassane Ouattara, who is the rival to the incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo.
Very important country you can see by its size, by its population. There's been postelection violence there. The Obama administration is saying it's looking in to increasing the U.N. force to pacify things.
But listen, Don, this is why Ivory Coast is important. It's the largest producer in cocoa, it's a commodity used in many things consumed in the West. And also anything that happens there, if it's -- the Civil War-type of situation like the one we saw in '03 and '04 will infect the rest of the region.
LEMON: OK, so listen, it's still in dispute here actually who is?
GORANI: The entire international community -- and when I say entire, I mean the entire international community is supporting Alassane Outtara, the rival to the incumbent. And the incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, is saying, look, there have been irregularities, I am not leaving. Despite the fact that foreign leaders have visited him, the U.N. has said leave, the IMF is choking funding to the country, he is not vacating.
LEMON: So what happens now?
GORANI: That's a very good question, and the biggest fear is another Civil War. And if there's a Civil War in Ivory Coast, you can bet there are going to be tens of thousands of refugees and it's going to have an effect on the rest of the region.
LEMON: We've been talking a lot about perspective here when you look at that, a Civil War, and we thought hanging chads were bad, right?
GORANI: Right. Well, let me tell you, Ivory Coast, what happens there, France, the U.S., all of the western countries looking at this, want to make sure that it doesn't get out of control.
LEMON: OK, can we move onto Bolivia now? Angry public protests over gas prices throughout the country?
GORANI: Here's what happened. The Bolivian government has been subsidizing gas in the last several years. They ended the subsidies. So overnight, gas prices shot up 70 percent to 80 percent and, of course, people were angry about it.
The government saying the reason we're doing this is because -- I'm going to go all metric on you, Don.
LEMON: OK. GORANI: It was 50 cents a liter in Bolivia, and more than about $2 a liter in neighboring Peru and people were smuggling the gas over the border on donkeys sometimes.
But Bolivia is a very poor country and many people say they just can't afford it and it's going to affect prices for food, for instance.
LEMON: Oh my gosh. So we worry about that -- we see those protests, the Greek protests and then we worry, can this ever happen in this country? Of course it could, but probably not.
GORANI: I think if gas prices go up 80 percent overnight, you might see a few unhappy folks in the U.S.
LEMON: You'd see some unhappy folks, I doubt you would see people, you know, beating each other on the street maybe to get on the subway.
GORANI: These were pockets, though. I mean, you had truckers, you had other kind of trades people who depend on gas who were unhappy about it.
LEMON: Who depend on it, got you. Makes sense, makes sense.
Pompeii, that ancient site, beautiful -- falling apart and people are blaming it on the government.
GORANI: Absolutely. Five structures have been damage over the last few weeks. There's been heavy rain in -- near Naples there in Pompeii. Of course, we're talking about the city famously destroyed by Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago.
But what critics are saying is, look, this site gets millions of tourists every year, $25 million in revenue every year. But instead of spending it on conservation, critics are saying that authorities are spending it on other types of things. That they should be worried more about preserving what we have rather than uncovering other sites.
LEMON: It would seem just natural. Over time, anything is going to decay. That's what time does. So they were -- is it corruption or did they just not think about it?
GORANI: Well, in this case, there have been no accusations of corruption, it's more how the funds are used, how they're potentially used for big flashy events, critics are saying, rather than making sure you spend the tens of millions of dollars a year it takes to preserve Pompeii and other UNESCO world heritage.
LEMON: And the thing that gets people to go to Pompeii, it's not the flashy events, it's to see the ruins.
GORANI: Right, no. It's seeing the ruins. And some very important structures in November was damaged by neglect, some people say. So really, it's a -- it's kind of an urgent situation in Italy to make sure that Pompeii and other sites are not -- don't continue to suffer from neglect and lack of funding.
LEMON: And we hear about, you know, when the Vatican needs to be improved, they go in and they do it. When the pyramids, same thing. The pyramids had the same issue not long ago.
GORANI: Well, again, these big --
LEMON: A similar issue.
GORANI: Yes, these big sites where it takes millions of dollars and experts from all over the world to make sure that the sites are preserved, you know, if there is any funding that is missing, you see it. You end up seeing it decade after decade. But the pyramids -- I was there a few years ago. They're still standing.
LEMON: They're still standing.
GORANI: They're still there.
LEMON: Nothing lasts forever, but we can try to preserve it for as long as we can.
GORANI: Absolutely.
LEMON: Thank you very much, Hala Gorani. Appreciate it.
GORANI: Thank you, Don.
LEMON: Some passengers say they were stuck on the tarmac for hours and hours, one passenger says people were crying on board, and now airlines and airports are speaking out. That is ahead.
Plus, the U.S. reportedly launching more drone attacks at Pakistan and these strikes are very significant. A report from if ground next in "Reporter Roulette."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Digging out, difficult and deplaning, and drones over Pakistan, time to play "Reporter Roulette."
We begin with CNN's Chad Myers in the weather center.
So, Chad, can we put a punctuation on the great blizzard of 2010 yet?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, considerable now, 10,000 flights have been cancelled. You multiply that by an average of 150 people. You're talking now 1.5 million people not where they thought they were going to be last night. And now you try to get them on other planes, other planes that are already very slow, Don. Most of these planes are well over three and five hours delayed, even some planes in to Newark, eight-hour delays right now.
And you say, why can't they clean this stuff off? Why can't they get all of these planes in here? Well, let me show you what this iReport looks like. This is a scene from Staten Island. Especially that and I love number eight here. Guess what happened when the snowplow, when by on that road, it picked up the manhole cover and took it with him. I don't want to be behind that snow plow. You'd be driving yourself right in, you'd buying some new rims on your car.
That's what Staten Island looked like during the height of the storm, 20 inches of snow on the ground. It takes a long time to get the people and the dogs unburied from all of this snow. And, of course, the airports are going to be slow until the snow is completely out of the way, Don.
LEMON: Careful, Chad Myers, you could start a new trend -- manhole cover rims. Thanks, Chad Myers.
Next up on "Reporter Roulette": Allan Chernoff in New York's LaGuardia Airport.
Allan, did you sleep there last night? Or, hopefully you didn't. So, tell us the tally on the cancellations. Everyone back on the plane who needs to be?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Don, an answer to the first question -- the question might be, did you sleep last night?
LEMON: Right.
CHERNOFF: I did get a couple of hours. But it was actually, I had a hotel not too far away. So, I was not as unfortunate as some of these stranded travelers.
In terms of the cancellations, there are still plenty. Over here at LaGuardia for the day, we're talking at least 200 cancellations thus far. Right now, the airport is operating at about 2/3 of the normal capacity -- much, much better than early this morning.
LEMON: All right. Thank you, Allan Chernoff.
Next on "Reporter Roulette": two suspected U.S. drone strikes have killed 10 alleged militants in North Waziristan, near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is in Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Don, U.S. drones have hit hard again in North Waziristan, that's the tribal area of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan and where U.S. commanders believe a lot of the insurgent leadership is based. Today's death toll has now risen to about 17 people. Add that to the 18 who were killed in several drone strikes yesterday, one on a militant vehicle, the other on a militant hideout, and the single record-breaking day from last week in which 57 people were killed. What does it all mean? It means the Obama administration is taking the use of unmanned drones to an unprecedented level. By our count, there have been about 110 drone strikes in Pakistan so far this year. Compare that to only 52 of all last year.
Again, U.S. commanders believe that a lot of the Taliban leadership is based in Pakistan, in areas like North Waziristan. That's what they say a lot of the attacks are planned and supplied and then the fighters crossed over the border into Afghanistan to fight Afghan forces and NATO troops.
So, again, 17 dead in this latest round of drone strikes -- Don.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Chris. Thank you very much.
And that's today's "Reporter Roulette."
Hundreds of people trapped when a ski lift breaks down in Maine. Several skiers fell to the ground. A CNN employee was on -- was one of the people trapped there. He walked us through it -- the entire rescue as it played out live. He's going to join me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I want to update you now on that ski lift accident in Maine, really, the malfunction there. It suddenly broke down today, fully loaded with people, causing several skiers to drop 25 to 30 feet to the ground. People are hurt. People were trapped. And they were scared, of course.
And we're learning a bit more about what happened now. On the phone with us is a guy who broke the story. He was actually on that ski lift when it derailed. He saw several people fall. And get this -- he works here at CNN.
Robb Atkinson, talk to me. What's the news?
ROBB ATKINSON, CNN NEWSOURCE (via telephone): Well, it was kind of scary, I have to say that. You know, it was a windy day here at Sugarloaf, beautiful snow conditions. It snowed 22 inches here last night. So, we were excited to do some skiing. But it was windy.
So, some of the lifts were put on a wind hold due to the high winds but we are happy to see that this one spillway lift was still open.
When we got there, it was a -- it was kind of a start and stop situation where they were stopping it. I'm not sure why. About, oh, about halfway up the mountain, we were stopped for several minutes. And then it started again. There was a large gust of wind, a bump, and screams.
LEMON: Wow. ATKINSON: I heard people screaming on the ground. And on the corner of my eye, I saw several chairs fall to the ground with people on them. And other people down below were racing to help them. And it was quite a scene.
But I have to say that the folks at Sugarloaf who work on the ski patrol and work at the mountain did an incredible job. They quickly got to the people who were wounded and seriously injured and then they quickly went about the business of communicating with us stranded on the chair lifts and told us exactly how we're going to get off. And, you know, it was about an hour later, in eight-degree temperatures with a serious wind. But we all got off OK. And --
LEMON: Hey
ATKINSON: -- I'm happy to -- I'm happy to be here.
LEMON: Yes, I'm happy that you're here -- you know, in good enough condition to talk to us and that nothing happened to you. Are you an avid skier, Robb?
ATKINSON: Yes. We come up here every year. You know, before I joined CNN, I lived in Maine. And we have a ski cabin up here. And, you know, Sugarloaf is one of the best places, the jewel of the northeast. It's just beautiful snow, wonderful people. It's just terrible that this accident happened.
LEMON: Yes. The reason I asked you that is because from time to time, if you've been skiing, you know, the lift will stop. Sometimes it's because there was a malfunction. Sometimes someone loses a ski or what-have-you. So, it's not out of the ordinary to have a malfunction. But something to this magnitude is quite another matter.
ATKINSON: Yes, I've never -- I've never heard of this happening before of actual chairs going --
LEMON: Right.
ATKINSON: -- off of the cable down the ground. It was really -- it was really scary, you know? I mean, five minutes sooner, that would have been me. I mean, we were just about -- I don't know, about 100 feet back right before the tire where it derailed. And so, it was -- it was some tense moments for sure.
LEMON: Are you going up again?
ATKINSON: Yes, I'm going tomorrow.
LEMON: So, it didn't stop you, right? It didn't stop you.
ATKINSON: Twenty-two inches of snow, I've got to go. You're kidding me. It's fantastic skiing. But yes, I won't be taking that lift.
LEMON: Yes.
ATKINSON: I can promise you that.
LEMON: Well, listen, we're glad you're OK and we're glad that so many others are OK and for those who are juried, we're thinking about them as well. Robb Atkinson, if you get new information, you know where to call, don't you?
ATKINSON: I sure do.
LEMON: All right. Thank you, sir.
ATKINSON: All right. Take care.
LEMON: All right. So, remember when we showed you this video yesterday and it was like, oh, so cute? An amazing little calf rescued with the help of a news chopper? We decided we had to meet these guys, the back story from KWTV's Sky 9 News crew. There they are, guys.
But don't say anything. So, we've got to tell something else first.
But, first, Times Square isn't the only place drawing a crowd for the midnight ball drop. Check out the list of the top five New Year's Eve destinations. These are based on the online car and hotel bookings over at Hotwire.
Number five: Los Angeles, California. Number four: it's actually Atlanta. But we actually drop a peach here. You know, the peach state and all that. Number three: Toronto, Canada.
Which cities had the most visitors coming for New Year's Eve? Probably guess -- see if you can guess. Send me a message on Twitter during the break. The top two shortly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. So what are the top two destinations for New Year's Eve? According to reservations stats from hotwire.com, number two is Vegas. They were a Lonely Planet's list yesterday of best value destinations. We did that for you.
And the number one spot for New Year's Eve is Chicago, which is my town. Very interesting. New York City, what happened to London? This must be North America -- New York City, London, Hong Kong, Paris. Wow, that would be nice for New Year's, right? A great destination.
OK. Sometimes if your approach isn't working, the best thing to do is to stop, breathe, and reassess. Well, few things illustrate that point better than the following clip. "You Gotta See This!"
This story starts with irony and ends in disaster, as a matter of fact. The irony, a New York snow plow gets stuck in the powdery white. The disaster, sanitation workers try to tow it out.
They succeed, but not before smashing a parked car over and over and over again. The commentary by the guy behind the camera pretty much says it all here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe it, that they're that stupid. Dude, is that stupid?
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. That is insane. That is absolutely insane.
What geniuses! How about lifting it up and putting the chains on the tires right where you are?
Oh, you're going to need more than a supervisor. Send a supervisor? Tell your supervisor to come with a lawyer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is ridiculous!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Wow. Imagine what the car's owner is thinking right now. Probably not very good.
OK. Severe pain in the land down under. Actually, this can be called down under, down under pain.
Actor Hugh Jackman wasn't acting when he doubled over in agony. The "X Men" star took a pitch below the belt while filming for TV during a cricket series in Melbourne.
Luckily, Jackman was wearing protective gear and laughed off the incident. See that, pain down under, down under? You get it? OK.
OK. I know we showed you this video yesterday, but it's just so good, that we had to play it for you again. A calf stuck on an icy pond, rescued when a news helicopter uses its rotors to propel the little calf to safety.
You remember that was our "Just In" video yesterday and we played it over and over? So cute.
OK. So this was so good that we had to talk to the guys who made all of this possible.
Mason Dunn, nationally recognized news chopper pilot, joins me now.
Mason, tell me, who do you have with you? Who is that?
MASON DUNN, SKYNEWS9 PILOT: That's my photographer, Ken Kilbourn.
LEMON: What is it, Ken Kilbourn?
DUNN: Ken Kilbourn. He's the photographer that went with me.
LEMON: Hi, Ken. I didn't know you were going to be there. But great, Ken.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Yes, good to talk to you. Good to talk to you.
OK. So, listen, tell me about how you got the call about the calf.
DUNN: It was about 10:30. A lady called me in distress saying that she had seen the deer rescued about three years ago and told me their 2-year-old calf that was born on Christmas was out in the middle of a frozen pond and wanted to know if there was anything we could do.
I took down her information and ran it by a couple of people. And Ken and I hopped in the helicopter and we headed that way.
And when we arrived -- the whole flight there I was wondering what kind of situation I was going to be looking at when I get there. And of course when I get there, I notice it's a huge pond, there's no trees, there's no wires, the calf is right out in the middle.
It took me about, I don't know, two seconds to make a decision. I told Ken -- I circled the pond once, and I said, "Let's go do this." And we just made it happen.
LEMON: Ken, as you're looking through your view finder, what are you thinking?
Not sure what to think, really. Like he said, literally, we showed up. I got the camera turned around. And he said, "We're going in." And the only thing I could think was, don't lose the calf out of the picture frame.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: And you were probably telling him, Mason, don't lose the calf.
KILBOURN: Yes. Yes.
And he didn't. And we get down there, and it took all of about 30 seconds. And just kind of blew the calf over, and up and away it went.
LEMON: OK.
So, Ken, I don't know if you were a part of this, but Mason, this isn't the first time that you helped animals from your perch in the sky. So I want you to remind our viewers about this video, which they may have seen before.
DUNN: The video you're looking at is probably the deer rescue from three years ago. We were actually called out to Lake Thunderbird to actually film rescuers, other people rescuing the deer.
I found out later that the deer had been out there all day for, like, six, seven hours. They asked me just to go down and scare it.
And so when we flew down there, I noticed the closer I got, I was starting to scoot the deer. And it just dawned on me that, you know, we could scoot this deer all the way to the shore. And that's what we did. And that's why the lady called us.
LEMON: Hey, listen, in the short time we have left, the lower you get to the ground, isn't it a bit dangerous?
DUNN: Well, no, because you're closer to the ground, you know?
LEMON: Well, I mean, isn't it a bit dangerous --
DUNN: You don't have far to fall.
LEMON: -- if you end up in that lake, is what I mean, if something happens. The closer you get to the ground --
(CROSSTALK)
DUNN: Well, yes. I knew what you were talking about.
Once you get over the water, you know, I'm looking to see how thick the ice is. I'm worried about if I can scoot this little guy all the way to the shore. That's really all I was worried about.
For maybe one second I thought -- you know, you always think you're over the water, if the engine quits, you're going to be in there with the calf. So I'm thinking about emergency procedures as I'm doing this just in case that happens. But it doesn't, and it was successful. So, you know, it all worked out.
LEMON: OK. You don't get to --
KILBOURN: We were happy about that.
LEMON: We've got run. But you don't get to meet then -- did you get to meet the family or see the deer up close -- or the calf up close?
DUNN: Yes, we sure did. We landed right there and met the family, and they told us all about the calf and thanked us. And we took pictures, and they were on the shore taking pictures as it was happening.
LEMON: Yes. These are some of the pictures right here, Mason.
DUNN: Yes. A really nice family.
LEMON: OK. We'll try to get them up, but the cattle farmer's granddaughter took some pictures, so it was a happy reunion.
Hey, listen, Mason Dunn, thank you.
Ken Kilbourn, thank you.
You guys are heroes. I guess you think so as well. Happy New Year.
DUNN: Thank you. You too.
LEMON: All right.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Maybe you've heard this stat. Just in case you haven't, 81 percent of divorce attorneys say they have seen an increase in the amount of cases that involved evidence from social networking Web sites. Get it? Your activity online can affect your marriage.
But this story we're going to talk about may just take the cake here.
Sonny Hostin is on the case for us.
So, Sunny, a man in Michigan is facing felony charges and prison time for checking his wife's e-mail?
SUNNY HOSTIN, "IN SESSION," TRUTV: He really is. It's a case of first impression here. It's the first time this type of case has been filed.
He suspected that his wife was cheating on him with her second husband. He is her third husband.
They shared a laptop. They lived together. He knew that she kept her passwords near the computer in a notebook, and he got into her Gmail account.
Well, he is not being prosecuted in Michigan as basically a computer hacker, and he could be sentenced to five years in prison if found guilty.
LEMON: OK. So they were married at the time this alleged hacking -- right? That's what he's accused of. That's what he's accusing him of.
They were married at the time. And were they still sharing a home? Not to mention they had children together. How can this be a crime?
HOSTIN: It's really fascinating. I mean, it can be a crime because Michigan does, interestingly enough, criminalize this type of behavior.
But this is the first time that the statute was use in this way. Typically, the statute is used for identity theft, that sort of thing, real computer hacking.
I think it's shocking, actually, that this type of behavior is being criminalized in Michigan, because the bottom line is, Don, half of my friends would be in jail if this type of behavior was criminalized. People do snoop in their spouse's e-mails. They snoop in their girlfriend and boyfriend's e-mails. This is something that happens all the time.
LEMON: But that doesn't make it right, Sunny. That doesn't make it right.
HOSTIN: It doesn't make it right.
LEMON: And I always say, if you go in there and you find something, then you deserve it because you shouldn't be looking at my stuff, right?
So, listen, let's listen to the man real quickly. His name is Leon Walker. He defends his actions. Take a listen, Sunny, and we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON WALKER, ACCUSED OF HACKING WIFE'S E-MAIL: He took action with the courts to have his son protected, and I took action with the courts to have my daughter protected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So he said he was trying to protect himself and his children, really, and that's why he was snooping. And then he was suspicious, and thus found out that his suspicions were correct.
HOSTIN: Well, that's right. His position, Don, is that the second husband that she was having an affair with had been arrested for beating her in front of her son. And so he felt that he needed to protect that child and also protect himself because she was having this affair. And she was having the affair.
And so, again, while this is a case that the prosecution is bringing, I think it's going to be a very difficult case. Does she really have an expectation of privacy? And what jury is going to convict this man of a crime? I'm going to be watching. The trial is supposedly February 7th.
LEMON: It's a different case if someone leaves their e-mail open and you find it, or if you go in it. Would that have made a difference?
HOSTIN: Not necessarily. And again, it's a case-by-case basis depending on the statute in the particular state. And so the laws are all over the place.
But, again, in this particular case, he is accused of hacking, breaking into her e-mail, even though they shared this laptop and he knew where she kept her password. So it was no secret. No expectation of privacy there.
LEMON: Hey, listen, we're going to have to run because we don't want to make "THE SITUATION ROOM" wait any longer. But five years he could get. What's the lesson here for couples?
HOSTIN: I guess the lesson is, trust each other. Trust each other.
HOSTIN: And if this happens, guess what? This is going to set a precedence, Sunny. And who knows? There could be many cases like this popping up all over the country.
HOSTIN: That's right. Very possible.
LEMON: All right.
Always Sunny Hostin.
Thanks for joining us.
HOSTIN: Thank you, Don.
LEMON: Sunny is "On the Case."
Happy New Year to you.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I hope you've enjoyed the last two hours.
I learned a lot, especially from the last segment. So, couples, trust each other, as Sunny Hostin would say.
In the meantime, I'm going to toss it over to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Ms. Suzanne Malveaux.
