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Kidney is Key for Scott Sisters; Textbooks Filled With Errors; Best Sports Moments of 2010

Aired December 30, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up on the top of the hour here. Keeping a close eye on a situation we're watching.

Welcome back. I'm T.J. Holmes, in today for Ali Velshi.

Our affiliate KRDO is reporting that a Boeing 757 has made an emergency landing at the Colorado Springs Airport after having some kind of engine trouble. This was a Delta flight. It was on its way from Detroit to Phoenix. Some 200 passengers on board.

Now, air traffic controllers telling us a fire broke out after the plane landed, and the passengers were evacuated on the runway. A ground crew inspecting the plane, trying to figure out what caused the fire. Ambulances, always as a precaution, were sent in there after the plane landed. Two people had to be taken to the hospital.

Colorado Springs Fire telling us those people were injured on the slides while evacuating, so not actually in the fire. So, again, the plane that has landed here, engine trouble, an emergency landing. It sounds like no one injured, necessarily, in a fire that broke out, but a couple of people were injured sliding out, trying to evacuate.

We'll get more details into us. We'll pass those along as we get them.

Now I want to turn to a story that people have been watching for some time. For months, a lot of attention has been paid to it, but really, people have been fighting for years, and today they got the word that they wanted, that two sisters are actually going to be let out of prison early because of a decision by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.

Releasing these two sisters who are actually serving two life sentences each for a 1993 robbery. That robbery netted $11.

Now, that alone had a lot of people pushing for their release. But that's only part of the story.

The sisters we're talking about, one of them, Jamie Scott, you're seeing her here on the left. She is ill, desperately ill with kidney disease.

Gladys Scott, her sister, who's on the right here, wants to give Jamie one of her kidneys. Haley Barbour, the governor, he has suspended their sentences now on that condition, yes, that one sister gives the other a kidney.

The governor says a transplant "should be scheduled with urgency." The Scotts, they've got plenty of friends, family members. They've got supporters out there who have been vocal, have been pushing for their freedom for years, not just out of mercy, but fairness.

The sisters were convicted of armed robbery for luring two men into an ambush, but they and their lawyers say they're actually innocent here. Even if not, they already served more time than the teenagers did who actually robbed the two victims.

Now, the governor there, Governor Barbour, says the Scotts pose no threat now to society. And prison officials say Jamie Scott's dialysis costs taxpayers almost $200,000 a year.

I mentioned these sisters have had a lot of support over time from family and friends, and also from several organizations out there fighting to get them out of prison. The NAACP has been among the Scotts' most forceful advocates.

Ben Jealous is the CEO and president of the NAACP. He met with Governor Barbour just this morning, joins me now on the phone once again from Mississippi.

Ben, we appreciate having you on here.

As reaction continues to come in here, a lot of people are wondering, did the governor agree with a lot of people -- yes, he might have done this for humanitarian reasons, but did he also think that it was unjust for these two young women to be given double life sentences for this crime? Did he ever express that to you?

BEN JEALOUS, PRESIDENT, NAACP: You know, that's my sense. His staff and his aides and advisers, we had frank conversations with across months, were very clear that they, like us, look at the facts and came to the same co conclusion, that these women did not deserve to be in prison one day longer.

How a governor chooses to communicate that, which facts he chooses to focus on, that's a calculus that he has to make. But certainly got the sense -- and you saw it early on. We saw it this summer.

I used to be a reporter a long time ago in Jackson and I covered cases like this. And it would take months for the governor to send out somebody to actually look into one of these cases.

When we filed last summer, he sent out somebody within a week or two. And you get the sense that that only happens because they realize that this case is different because the facts are different. So, yes, that certainly seems to be part of it.

But he was -- you know, when we met behind closed doors, he said what he said to the public, which was that he was concerned about the cost, he was concerned about their health. But his staff also made it clear that we don't have to worry, that if the kidney didn't match, both sisters, no one would want to see them back in prison again.

And we've also got to realize, this is -- on the one hand, yes, for 16 years, their family and activists crossed the state and increasingly crossed the country to push to get them out. And at the same time, we have a governor not doing this in the last three days of his administration or, you know, not doing this when it's clear that his time in politics is over. But here he is on the eve possibly of announcing a run for president sometime next year, a year before the end of the term as governor, and this isn't the first commutation. It's like the sixth or so.

So, you know, the reality is that, yes, it's been a long time, and a lot of folks have fought hard to make this happen. There's a great vibrancy (INAUDIBLE) in Jackson, and it's also true that this is an act of courage by the governor. And it's a very good day.

HOLMES: And as you know, Ben, a lot of people question that last statement you made. They wonder if this really is about courage or if it's about politics for this governor.

I'll at least share here with you and our viewers who maybe haven't seen -- we did invite Governor Barbour to be on with us. He declined, but he did put out a statement yesterday saying, "Incarceration is no longer necessary for public safety or rehabilitation, and Jamie Scott's medical condition creates a substantial cost to the state of Mississippi. Gladys Scott's release is conditioned on her donating one of her kidneys to her sister."

And I brought it up there and you talked about politics. A lot of people believe that maybe he is thinking about a presidential run. And maybe he would have a problem with African-Americans if he was trying to win, in part because of some statements he made not long ago to a magazine where he essentially said he remembered the civil rights movement, didn't remember it being that bad. A lot of people took that wrong and now think this decision could help him with African- Americans in releasing these two young women.

Let me just ask you point blank, do you think politics had anything to do with his decision, or did he do this out of the goodness of his heart?

JEALOUS: The reality -- if we hadn't been talking for months, and if he hadn't responded as promptly as he did when we filed the request, I'd be inclined to really think that that's why this happened. Now, it's true, you know, those external comments may have impacted when it happened. But it was clear to us that this was likely to occur months ago.

This has been a good sign coming out of his office for months. I think that's -- he certainly could have talked about something else.

He certainly could have talked about what he plans to do, for instance, to mark the freedom rides, which, frankly, would be a breath of fresh air. He had ways if he wanted to kind of make good on those bad comments. And we've also got to remember that, quite frankly, we can't focus on what we don't see. And what we don't see these days, we don't see governors doing many commutations.

We had a great victory last week with Paterson. We have a great victory this week with Barbour. But, man, we have 48 other governors, and most of them either don't do it, or they wait until the last three days.

And here's a guy who's a year out, it's his fifth or sixth pardon. You know, that takes a certain amount of courage.

The ghost of Willie Horton is still with us. And folks on the left and the right run from commutations when they shouldn't.

Governors have an important role to play in getting justice. And that's what I'm talking about, is that this is a governor who realizes on some level that he can do something. In this case, he chose to do the right thing.

HOLMES: Well, Ben, that's certainly something I'd like to continue a conversation with you with down the road. I know it's something you certainly believe in, as far as governors stepping in, in times like this, and using some of the power that they do have.

Hope to continue that discussion with you down the road. But for today, I know you're very happy, excited that the governor has made this decision. So congratulations on the work you've done. I know the family is happy as well.

So I appreciate you. And I'll talk to you later.

JEALOUS: All right. Thank you, T.J. And just two words for you in Georgia: John McNeal (ph). That's the next case.

HOLMES: John McNeal (ph). We will keep an eye on that.

We appreciate you, as always, Ben.

I want to bring in now our senior legal analyst here, Jeffrey Toobin, on the line from New York.

Excuse me for the cough there, Jeffrey, but in bringing you in, can a governor -- clearly, I guess he can. But how odd or rare is this, to have some kind of condition like this that, hey, you have to give up a kidney in order to get out? Explain how that works legally for me.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think as a strictly legal matter, it may not even be enforceable. The fact is if she were to -- if the sisters were to move to Florida, and the kidney transplant somehow didn't take place, I think it's unlikely Mississippi could track them down and put them back in prison.

I think it's meant to be a settlement of differences. The sisters have agreed to the transplant. I don't think there's any controversy, that it's not going to happen unless there's some medical reason that they can't do it.

So, yes, it's very unusual. No, it might not be enforceable. But it clearly looks like it's going to happen in any case.

HOLMES: If we can for a second, just to get your thought on this, let's just go back for a second. People here some of the circumstances surrounding the two going to prison in the first place. They were young women, I believe 19 and 22 at the time, lured a couple of guys into a vehicle. They call it an ambush -- lured them into an ambush.

They didn't actually do the robbing. I'm sorry, our producer is in my ear here. Forgive me there, Jeffrey.

But to my question that I'm asking here, the two ladies, the conditions, they got two life sentences for an armed robbery they didn't necessarily commit themselves -- accessory to, possibly -- that netted $11, and nobody was hurt. Help us reconcile how that was possible in the first place.

TOOBIN: I'd help you reconcile it if it was possible to reconcile, T.J. You know, I think in a story like this, we may be focused too much on the feel-good aspect of the governor finally releasing them, but the real issue here is, how in America do two young women get such a monstrous and unfair sentence, and have to wait until one of them has a health crisis in order to get released?

And by the way, before we celebrate Haley Barbour too much about this, we have to ask ourselves, how much is this about saving Mississippi the cost of this operation and how much is it about his humanity or even politics? I mean, I have to say, the amount of credit Haley Barbour gets, at least for an outsider like me, not someone like Ben Jealous, who has been involved in this process for a very, very long time, I think is rather minimal.

Sure, he made the right decision to let these people out, but, you know, he's been governor for several years. He could have let them out at any earlier point. And what his motivations are, I think, as with most politicians, are likely to be mixed, to say the least.

HOLMES: All right. Jeffrey Toobin, we appreciate you hopping on the line. As always, Jeffrey, good to talk to you. You have a good one.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Virginia's Department of Education now reviewing its process for approving textbooks. That's after a panel of historians found what they called an appalling number of inaccuracies in a 4th grade history book.

Our Martin Savidge reports, it was an alert parent who brought all of this to light.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The United States entered World War I in 1916. No. It was 1917.

There were 12 Confederate states. Actually, there were 11.

In 1800, New Orleans was a U.S. port. No. It was still under Spanish control.

These and dozens of other errors can be found in the textbook handed out to thousands of Virginia fourth graders. Problems with the book "Our Virginia: Past & Present" published by Five Ponds Press first surfaced last October, as reported by "The Washington Post," when the mother of a fourth grader, a college history professor, spotted several lines on page 122.

PROF. CAROL SHERIFF, PARENT OF A VIRGINIA FOURTH GRADER: It was particularly jarring when I got to this one passage that was so at odds with what historians have been saying about who participated in the civil war.

SAVIDGE: The book says thousands of blacks fought in the confederate ranks, something not supported by mainstream Civil War scholarship, but it's the next line that's just plain wrong. "Including two black battalions under the command of Stonewall Jackson."

SHERIFF: The textbook actually does note that it wasn't until 1865 that African-Americans could legally serve in the confederate army. It also tells children that Stonewall Jackson died in 1863.

SAVIDGE: The error about black serving in the confederate army was outrageous to many in academia.

JEREMY MAYER, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: It is the equivalent of Holocaust denial being thought in the public schools, but worse, it's also the equivalent of saying that the Jews helped the Holocaust.

SAVIDGE: The textbook author who is not a historian said she found the information while researching online. The publisher defended the author saying she used real books, as well.

LOU SCOLNIK, FIVE PONDS PRESS: I don't think the author could necessarily, you know, be accused of being stupid and doing internet- only research.

SAVIDGE: Because of the outcry in November, the Virginia Board of Education hired five historians to review the textbook. They were the ones who found the dozens more mistakes or misrepresentations. Leading one to ask, quote, "How in the world did these books get approved?" He recommended they be pulled from the classroom immediately.

(on camera): As to who selected those books in the first place, that is actually done by the individual school districts in Virginia that are now using the books. To fix that problem of the wrong information regarding blacks serving in the confederacy, the publisher came up with this idea: stickers. That would be with the right information placed over the wrong information.

The problem is now there are so many errors in the textbook, everyone agrees that they don't have enough stickers. The publisher says the second edition of the book will correct everything, but those school districts with the first edition, well, they're going to be meeting after the first of the year to determine what to do.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, one school district official telling CNN the book was about $17 cheaper than its competitors, but he says it's no bargain if it's wrong.

Well, 19 minutes passed the hour now. It has been a heck of a year in sports. We're going to take a look at some of the best sports stories of 2010. Can you guess which ones they were?

Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. We've got a best shot to show you right now.

One of the best things about sports, that last-second shot to send a game into overtime or to win it. Certainly a three-pointer as well, when everything is on the line.

That's exactly what the fans in Sacramento got last night. Five seconds left, check that out. Memphis Grizzlies scored. And that's the buzzer-beater. That's not the one I'm actually talking about.

Look what happened right after. Yes, Memphis thought they were going back home to (INAUDIBLE) victorious.

Boy, Sacramento. A gorgeous shot. There it is again from beyond half court.

These guys practice this all the time, quite frankly, in practice. So it's not even a surprise they do it that much anymore. But an exciting finish to a game last night.

And on the topic of sports, it has been a heck of the year in sports. Of course, showing you that last-second shot from Sacramento. But also this year, the Giants winning their first World Series since moving to San Francisco in 1958. Also, the New Orleans Saints, how can we forget, winning their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

What are some of the other most memorable moments in the sports year, in 2010?

Joining us now from London to help us sort through all of these literally images is Hugh Pinney, vice president of News and Sports at Getty Images.

Sir, thank you for being here. A heck of a year. A lot of images for you to sort through.

So I'd like to dive right in, if I can, and start with this one picture from you guys, the World Cup, England versus U.S., Robert Green. A lot of people will remember this. He misjudged that ball. Now, tell me about this image.

HUGH PINNEY, VICE PRESIDENT, NEWS AND SPORTS, GETTY IMAGES: Ouch. Yes, a very, very painful moment. And I think one which actually seemed to sum up England's entire fortunes during the World Cup.

It probably went down better on your side of the pond than it did over here, but it ran over and over and over, that particular image.

HOLMES: You know, how is he doing these days? What is he up to?

PINNEY: You know, don't hear so much about him these days.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: He probably prefers that.

Let's stick with the World Cup. And let's go -- Spain, of course, victorious. David Villa, I haven't seen this picture in particular we're about to show our viewers, but tell me about this.

PINNEY: This one, yes, David Villa holding up the trophy at the end of the final. And, again, I like this picture.

I wear kind of a news and a sports hat. And this picture, I think, sums up the -- kind of the news chaos that goes on around the end of these things. And I like the fact that we've got the ring of photographers around, focusing everything in on the trophy being held aloft. And it just talks a little bit to the absolute chaos that happens right at the end of the -- you know, the biggest match of the tournament.

HOLMES: All right. Let's turn to Rafael Nadal now, French Open, celebrating his victory. And this is a heck of a celebration he has going on.

PINNEY: Yes. I think -- well, this is one -- you know, again, I was lucky. I was choosing from an embarrassment of riches, really, when trying to choose a picture of Nadal this year. He won on three different surfaces, three majors.

The joy of this one for me, this actual picture, is it's at the French Open, where photographers managed to get up high. So he's got that absolutely clean background, looking down on it. And this is a classic sports image, the absolute moment of victory, when he's nailed it. It just doesn't need any words to go with it, you know what's going on in that picture. HOLMES: OK. We have another one here from cross country skiing, men's individual sprint, where Russia is taking first and second here. Now, tell me what makes this image special.

PINNEY: Well, I think this -- as a sports image, this is absolutely -- this is the quintessential what sports and sports imagery is all about. It is absolutely the split second that decides between winning and losing.

You've got the Russian, Kreikov (ph), I think it was, on the left, who actually won gold. The clock couldn't separate these two when it came to actually putting a time on it. The expressions on their faces, again, tell you the whole story. And it is the defining moment of that particular gold medal race.

HOLMES: Well, Hugh, as we've looked at some of these -- and like you said, you had an embarrassment of riches -- I guess, what takes a picture from being, OK, that's a nice shot, or even a cool picture, to being iconic and something that stands out in your mind as you look through so many images?

PINNEY: I think it's tough. I think in a sports environment, you know, first of all, you're up against the opposition.

Most major events, you've got, you know, tens, maybe hundreds of other photographers competing for that great picture. You're looking for a picture that sums up, that encapsulates the entire event. You're looking for something that actually captures it just one split second, captures the essence of the event, the emotion of the event, it captures the atmosphere. Essentially, I said before, a picture -- a really, really great picture -- doesn't need any words with it. It tells the whole story in that one split second.

HOLMES: Well, an embarrassment of riches, as you said. It's been a great year for sports, a great year for pictures. And I know that's something you all are proud of.

Is there somewhere where people can see more of you guys' images, by the way?

PINNEY: Sorry. Could you say that again?

HOLMES: Is there somewhere people can see more of you guys' images? We only show four here.

PINNEY: Oh, sure. I mean, yes, if you look on gettyimages.com, there is a very neat little "Year in Focus" which puts the very best of the year in news, sports, and entertainment all in one place. A great place to browse.

HOLMES: Well, I'll go check that out myself here.

Hugh Pinney, we appreciate you spending some time with us. And you enjoy your new year.

PINNEY: Thank you very much. HOLMES: All right. One more image here to show you that's getting some people's attention.

Check this kid out. Maybe he'll show up in one of our images down the road.

This is Jordan -- not that one. Jordan McCabe (ph) is his name, 12 years old. He can handle the rock, as we say.

This is a young man putting on a little display. He's gotten some buzz.

He's from Seattle, but a lot of people see these pictures, and this kid is quite impressive. However, I'll have you know, you can go to a lot of basketball camps and see a whole bunch of kids doing these drills and doing just about the same thing. But no doubt, this young fella has the skills, getting some attention.

We'll see where he ends up in a few years.

Want to turn now to some news we were just getting a short time ago about a Delta jetliner. It had to make an emergency landing at the Colorado Springs Airport after reporting some engine problems.

It's flight 1921, 225 people on board. It was going from Detroit to Phoenix.

Now, the plane slides were deployed and passengers evacuated as a precaution. Two passengers suffered minor injuries while going down the slides, however, had to be taken to a hospital. Emergency crews inspected the Boeing 757, determined it had hot brakes. Officials said passengers would be put on another flight.

Also just in to us, we're now learning that five city workers have admitted to a New York City councilman their supervisors ordered a slowdown in snow removal. According to the councilman, they say the supervisors told them, "The mayor will see how much he needs us," and that "There will be plenty of overtime."

This new development comes just hours after Mayor Bloomberg and a union official denied anything like this was possible. The mayor says now he will investigate.

Also, winter woes still causing problems on both coasts. Going to be checking in with our Chad Myers for the latest on the cleanup efforts following the snow, rain and, yes, mud as well, right after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEROLOGIST: Hey, welcome back. We'll give T.J.'s voice a little rest here and I'll take you through what weather looks like for the next couple of days.

(WEATHER REPORT) MYERS: Twenty below zero, sitting on the lift for 15, 20 minutes, riding up a hill, waiting to ski back down. I'm staying in the lodge.

HOLMES: People do that.

MYERS: They do.

HOLMES: They love it.

MYERS: When I was younger.

HOLMES: Chad, we appreciate you, as always, buddy. Thank you so much.

Well, here we are at about 34 minutes past the hour now. Coming up, tell you about the victims who had the courage to testify and as the result, a former Israeli president now a convicted rapist. Live report from Jerusalem coming next as we go "Globe Trekking."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: A story is just coming to us this hour. A Delta flight -- these are new pictures we are seeing of that actual plane - this Delta flight had to make an emergency landing at the Colorado Springs airport after it reported some engine trouble. This is flight 1921 headed to Phoenix from Detroit. Some 200 passengers on board. Emergency slides had to be deployed. Passengers evacuated as a precaution.

Two people were injured, had to be taken to the hospital. Apparently injured as they were going down the emergency slides getting off the plane. Rescue personnel did determine the plane had hot brakes.

Also this just coming in to us here at CNN. Five city workers have admitted to a New York City councilman their supervisors ordered a slowdown in snow removal. According to the councilman, they say the supervisors told them, quote, "The mayor will see how much he needs us." Also, quote, "There will be plenty of overtime." This new development comes just hours after Mayor Bloomberg and another union official denied anything like this was possible. We'll continue to keep a close eye. That will certainly get the attention of a lot of people who were complaining about the slow response of the city of New York to this latest blizzard.

We're going to go "Globe Trekking" now. Our first stop is going to be Israel, where former president Moshe Katsav today was convicted of rape and other sex crimes. A three-judge panel said his testimony was riddled with lies.

CNN's Paula Hancock has been following this trial for us. She joins us now from Jerusalem. What is the reaction so far, Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., you would struggle to find anyone in Israel who is not talking about this today. It is huge news here. Of course, it is a spectacular fall from grace into disgrace for this former Israeli president.

And it took just over four years from the initial accusation to today's conviction for Moshe Katsav.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (voice-over): A former Israeli president walks out of court a convicted rapist. Moshe Katzav made no comment after being found guilty of multiple charges of rape and sexual harassment.

Prosecutors say the crimes took place during Katzav's time as tourism minister, a post he held in the late '90s and during his time as president from the year 2000 to 2007. He resigned the presidency because of the allegations made by three women who'd worked with him. The three judges rebuffed Katzav's defense, saying his testimony was riddled with lies, manipulation, and his credibility was problematic.

In a statement the prime minister said this is a sad day for the state of Israel and its residents. The court today stated two clear and unequivocal messages about the equality of all before the law and about a woman's right concerning her own body.

Prosecutor Ronit Amiel praised the three women for coming forward. She said, we saw you act with courage, with steadfastness, with the ability to go back and deal with difficult events that hurt you. She said, we salute you and we believe that the message that is going to come out of the court to victims who have experienced such things: don't remain silent.

A similar message for women's rights groups protesting outside the Tel-Aviv court. Katzav's son who cried out in court during the verdict insists his father innocent.

He says, Isarelis, for generations, will know that this trial is not moral, the judges make convictions according to the way we feel and we will continue to walk upright and the whole nation will know my father, the eighth president of the state of Israel is innocent.

It's been four years since the allegations first emerged, but the case is far from closed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS: Now, Katsav's lawyers have actually recommended that Katsav appeal, but we haven't actually heard from the man himself. Hopefully tomorrow we'll hear his decision on that.

Meanwhile, the court hasn't actually set a date for sentencing, but bear in mind the minimum prison term for a rape conviction here in Israel is four years in prison. The maximum is 16 years. T.J.?

HOLMES: All right, Paula Hancocks for us on the story in Jerusalem. Paula, we appreciate you as always.

Coming up, it's the terror plot that brought parts of the airline industry to a halt. We're looking back at just what happened and the man allegedly behind the foiled attack.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, several stories this year dealt with the terror threat posed by homegrown groups. But many of their paths led back to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our Nic Robertson looks at one name from the headlines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the biggest stories this year, the ongoing al Qaeda terror threat. The roots coming back here to Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. More homegrown terrorists being found in the United States and Europe.

One man, Akman Sadiqqian (ph), an Afghan German, who came here from Hamburg, picked up here in Kabul in the summer. in U.S. detention, provided information about Mumbai-style attacks across Europe. That led to a U.S. travel warning for Germany, for Britain, for France. A major impact. That and al Qaeda now developing hidden printer-type bombs, explosives hidden in packages, shipped, sent out on aircraft, flying into the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, as of now, American authorities are still holding Akman Sadiqqian Bakram(ph) in Afghanistan.

Also, we are following breaking news out of Colorado. A Delta flight made an emergency landing just a short time ago in Colorado Springs after reporting engine problems. Our CNN affilate KRDO reporting air traffic controllers, saying a fire broke out after the plane landed. Delta says two passengers were slightly injured during the evacuation. They have been taken to a hospital. The 757 plane was on its way to Phoenix from Detroit when it ran into some problems.

Investigators are trying to determine if two bombing in two different places, two different continents are linked. One powerful explosion. This one here happened today at the main courthouse building in Athens, Greece. Everyone got out in time after a caller gave police an advanced warning. Another bomb exploded in the Greek embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. No one was injured there.

Not as many people filing for jobless benefits. The Labor Department says for the first time since the summer of 2008, first- time jobless claims have dropped below 400,000. 388,000 initial applications were filed last week. That, to a lot of people, is some good news right now to wrap up this year.

Coming up, we're going to be going camping. But not a vacation necessarily. And it is no where near the wilderness.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, when most people go camping, heading for the wilderness, right? The mountains, the national park. But rough economic times have more people roughing it in RVs and buses right in the middle of urban areas. As part of CNN's "In Focus" series, one of our photojournalists now introduces us to some urban campers at L.A.'s Venice beach.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE HOPKINS, LIVES IN HIPPIE BUS: If I lived anywhere in L.A., I would want to live in Venice just because I love the water, I love the beach. I wouldn't live anywhere else.

My name is Steve Hopkins. Welcome, come on inside. It's a 1975 crown decommissioned school bus. I've been living in a bus for just over two years now. This is my home. I live on the streets of Venice, California.

I take it to different festivals, events. It's powered by recycled veggie oil. I didn't grow up wanting to live in a hippie bus. There's no keys, actually. All you have to do is push a button, and it starts right away.

At the time, I couldn't afford it. Soon afterwards, I did get a pretty decent job. I worked tech support for graveyard. It's great when you have absolutely no bills, no debts.

I don't need a lot. This is what I have. I could actually afford my own apartment but I just refuse to do it. I guess you could say I'm almost homeless. But this is a lifestyle that I choose.

When the economy actually did implode, I was fortunate, you know, because I had already adapted to this lifestyle so it really never affected me as much as it did to other people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Terry Hendrickson. We've been in this situation since 2006, when we lost the apartment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She lives with her son, who lives in an RV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Brandon Mahoney, 16 years old, an inhabitant of an RV. I would much rather have a house and be able to take showers when I wake up in the morning and have electricity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not working right now. I have a Social Security check. One of the important things to me is education, especially during recession we have now, because when the recession's over, you never know what job you might like to take.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were hit hard, and it's sad. They have seen other people that have been laid off. It's not a pretty scene. You have ten RVs and they're really old, usually from the '60s, '70s, all beat up. They have things all over them, attached to them, tied to them. All their belongings are on the sidewalk. It's not a pretty sight.

We are what Venice is. There's all walks of life here in Venice. And who wouldn't want to live in Venice?

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HOLMES: You can see more of the year's best stories from CNN's award winning "In Focus" from our photojournalism day in an hour-long special on New Year's Day, 2:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

You remember, she appeared in a campaign ad and said she was not a witch. But now apparently she is the target of a federal investigation. That and more in our political update, next.

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HOLMES; Apparently, Jim Acosta, that's our song. They play it for us just now. Bringing in Jim Acosta, he's standing by for our political update.

Jim, good to see you as always. I know we're talking about Christine O'Donnell. Who can forget? She now may be in a bit of legal trouble here, some might argue.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. She's singing the blues a little bit today, T.J. She's apparently discovered that she's the subject of a federal investigation. She went on to the Monday -- or the morning talk show circuit today to talk about some of this. All of this stems from some allegations that are being made by two of her former campaign staffers who say O'Donnell, who ran for the Senate up in Delaware, didn't work out so well. At one point, she ran an ad saying she wasn't a witch when all of that became big headlines.

Those staffers are saying she used some of her campaign money for her own personal use. Part of the problem here is that she used a townhouse of hers as a campaign office, so there might have been co- mingling of funds. She says everything was appropriate. And she says a lot of this is basically political harassment. Here's what she had to say earlier today.

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CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), FORMER DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: Keep in mind that we upset the Delaware political establishment, and we beat their so-called untouchable incumbent. There's a vendetta to stop the movement in its tracks because if the citizen politicians continue to rise up and put the career politicians on notice, we are going to continue to political establishment on notice.

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ACOSTA: Now, another person who is putting the establishment on notice is the governor of New York, David Paterson. He is going to be leaving that job soon, but because of all of that cry over the blizzard up in New York and whether or not the city did a good job of removing the snow in the streets, this is now becoming a very big political hot potato up there. And there are some allegations that street and sanitation workers in that city sort of slow-rolled the snow response, clearing of the streets and so forth, in protest over budget cuts inside the department of streets and sanitation.

Earlier this morning, David Paterson, the outgoing governor of New York, told a radio program, quote, "I would have to look through the criminal law to find exactly which one to prosecute people under, but criminality is a heightened sense of wrongdoing, and there are people whose lives were threatened severely because of their inability to leave the vicinity they were in." So, that is apparently heating up there. Perhaps not fast enough to melt the snow in New York City, but there is a lot of controversy around the way this blizzard went down, T.J.

As you know, whether or not the city did a good enough job to remove all of that snow. And now there are questions as to whether city workers were intentionally going slow because they were upset over these budget cuts.

HOLMES: All right. Jim Acosta with our political update for us. Jim, we appreciate you as always.

Coming up, my "XYZ." I don't know if you've seen Coach K., Duke's men's basketball coach. Just passed a milestone with 880 wins. But that is not the number I'd like to congratulate him on.

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HOLMES: The Duke men's basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski, just moved into number two on the all-time wins list. He went past legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith and now only trails Bobby Knight on the list of most wins. Coach K. now at 880 wins after he won last night. 880. That's the number that most people will be focusing on.

I'd like to focus on the number 92. That's another number Coach K. can be proud of. That's the graduation rate for his players. Every year, the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida put out a list is put out during the NCAA tournament of the top teams in terms of graduation rates. Duke's graduation rate was at 92 percent. Among the number one-seeded teams in the tournament, Kansas was at 73 percent, Syracuse, 55 percent, Kentucky, 31 percent. Only one of the four teams, West Virginia, its rate was at 44 percent.

Another team in the final four, Michigan State, was at 58 percent. And only six teams in the tournament had a higher graduation rate than Duke. All of those teams' rates were at 100 percent.

So, four national championships for Coach K. Now 880 wins. Those are numbers that any coach would envy. But 92 percent, that might really be the number worth envying as well.

That's it for me. Brooke Baldwin, the air waves belong to you.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: No love for my Tar Heels, T.J.?

HOLMES: Nah! You don't want to hear about their rate.

BALDWIN: T.J., thank you.