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Deadly Tornado Outbreak; Hostages Reported In Bank Robbery; Billy The Kid Will Not Receive Posthumous Pardon From Governor Bill Richardson; Deepak Chopra Publishes Book About Leadership; Bank Robbers Hold Hostages In Texas

Aired December 31, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Lots of breaking news this afternoon. I'm Brianna Keilar.

And, first, tornadoes hit the St. Louis area. Severe storms ravaging towns from Missouri to Arkansas.

And also, a hostage situation in Texas. SWAT teams have surrounded a Chase Bank in Pearland. We'll check in their momentarily.

And later, the wild ride on this street in Colorado. You can see car after car piling up because of the ice. We will be showing you that.

And it's a very non-joyous end to the New Year for thousands of people living anywhere near disastrous line of severe weather. This is tearing a wide path through several states today and hasn't stopped yet.

Just take a look at this. They were expecting stormy conditions in northwest Arkansas today, but nothing like what they got. Three people died here in Washington County, 12 others hurt. And meteorologists are pretty sure that this was a tornado.

Just take a look. Piles of debris that used to be homes, total destruction. This storm moved on into Missouri, hammering the massive Army post at Fort Leonard Wood, all the way to St. Louis. Behind it, wind power outages, torn-off roofs, lots of families trying to salvage something from the wrecks of their homes.

And, Chad Myers, you and the CNN weather team have been monitory this very powerful storm line.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's not something you expect December 31st. It isn't severe weather season, right? We have a gigantic cold front back out in the West. It is bringing in the coldest air of the season for the Midwest. Ahead of it, in Chicago, temperatures are in the 40s and 50s; south of there, in the 60s and the 70s.

You get that clash of hot and cold and you get tornadoes no matter what season, no matter what day of the year. We had them this morning in the dark. Those are the most dangerous. Those are the ones that don't get spotted by spotters. They're not out looking at them. The warnings may be a little bit slower.

And it has been a very, very difficult day for most of Missouri and Arkansas. And it's not over. This goes all the way until well past midnight tonight. The watches are still in effect until 7:00 p.m. right now. I suspect they will be extended.

KEILAR: Do we know positively this is a tornadoes or still in that sort of lag time that we see a lot of times before it's confirmed?

MYERS: A number of them are confirmed because they were sighted. They were looked at by trained spotters. The weather service knows that, hey, if I get a report from this guy or this series of spotters or this fire station, we trained them what to look for. If they say it's a tornado, it is. And that's been the case with a number of them, yes.

We don't have to go very far to see how much destruction was done to know that that is a tornado, especially if the fire department says, look, there it is right across the street. And that was part of the problem with the rescue in the overnight hours. One of the volunteer fire departments was actually hit right smack-dab in the middle of town.

KEILAR: Oh, my goodness. And, Chad, this obviously is continuing.

MYERS: Absolutely.

KEILAR: So, we're going to be checking back in with you over the next couple of hours. Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: Sure.

KEILAR: Was that a quick decade or what? The first 10 years of this millennium, they're just about in the books. Less than nine hours left in the East. We're looking right now there -- live images from Times Square in New York. New Year's Eve, well, it is here. And the party begins in less than three hours.

And look closely now at what you don't see there. We're talking about snow. It is gone. They worked all day and into the night and they got the place cleared. Not so, though, for the rest of the city. But Times Square ready to go.

Here's Allan Chernoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, we're getting close to the beginning of the biggest party on the planet. The festivities begin here in Times Square at 6:00. That's when the music will get going. There will certainly be lots of dancing in the streets, celebrations all over the place, lots of noisemakers, confetti, a wedding underneath the ball -- and then, of course, at midnight, the big ball coming down, followed by fireworks.

There's lots of family fun here. And it is so different from the way things used to be at Times Square not all that long ago -- maybe 15, definitely 20 years ago when there was tons of drinking and fighting here on New Year's Eve. You could say that Times Square has really cleaned up its act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They used to put up boards on all the retail stores because they would be afraid of people throwing each other through the windows. Now, it's six hours of live entertainment, there's so much broadcasting around the world. Different technologies, webcast, web stream, everything.

CHERNOFF: It's really a family event now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I mean, it's an international event, too. Really, you're like Dick Clark was the only game in town. Now, you guys are here and everybody else. They know that, you know, New York is the scene of action. They want to be there for the entire world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: That is heavily because of an intense police presence here. The police have blocked off Times Square. Everybody coming in gets checked through a metal detector. There are bomb-sniffing dogs, hundreds and hundreds of police officers and surveillance cameras everywhere to make sure this is a safe New Year's Eve in Times Square.

Wishing you a safe, healthy and happy New Year's -- back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And to Allan as well.

Back to the snow now -- we were the first to bring you the allegations of a city council member, the city's tepid response to the blizzard was in effect a conspiracy, he says. We will talk with that member in just a moment.

First, I want to take you back to yesterday and what Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: We went into this with the same plan; the same training if not better, the same resources if not more. The results were very different. That's what we're going to look at afterwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, joining me now by phone from New York, City Councilmember Dan Halloran. So, Mr. Halloran, I mean, it begs the question: was there a conspiracy? It seems like you're alleging this.

DAN HALLORAN, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL (via telephone): Well, look, conspiracy is a little overbroad. What I will say is that the sanitation workers and the supervisors from DOT I spoke to were clear that there was a concerted effort by the part of some of these supervisors to not stick to the plan as the mayor described.

This snowstorm was hardly the worst snowstorm we've ever gotten. We were well-prepared. We knew in advance it was coming.

Yes, there were a lot of little things that didn't turn the right way just in overall administration, and the mayor has to take the blame for that. But that doesn't change the fact that 100 supervisors were scheduled to be demoted for no fault of their own this week and the word was out that they didn't want the city to look good this time around.

KEILAR: So, the head of the union is telling CNN that his people would not have jeopardized their jobs and they would not -- the people who are there on the streets, at the street level, that they wouldn't have listened to these alleged rogue supervisors. What's your response to that?

HALLORAN: Well, first of all, he's a union president. If, in fact, his union did engage in a behavior like that, it's illegal, because it would be a violation of the Taylor Act. And he knows that. So, of course, regardless of what the facts are, that's got to be the company line.

Second of all, it's four days after the snow and we still didn't have plows on the streets in parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. That hasn't happened in the 20 years that I've been able to keep an eye on what's gone on in the city and for the 40 years almost that I've been alive.

KEILAR: Well, so, and you're -- so you're saying that that is deliberate?

HALLORAN: What I'm saying is that was one of the components that caused us five, six days out not to have the streets in the city of New York plowed. You know, regardless of what he wants to say about manpower, the reality is it takes 2,400 operators to be on the job that day to move the equipment. We had that many people on the job.

So, there was no manpower issue. That was not part of the equation. We know that 10 percent of the union workers called out sick that day. That's there. We know that they had plenty of equipment. They had support --

KEILAR: And is that unusual, 10 percent, compared to another day?

HALLORAN: Yes, absolutely. Ten percent -- when you have 500 of 5,000 workers out one particular day calling out sick -- yes, that's generally regarded as unusual.

KEILAR: OK. And so -- and let me ask you, Councilmember, what about this charge that the blame here actually lies with Mayor Bloomberg for failing to declare a snow emergency when the storm was on its way and everyone knew it was going to be a doozy?

HALLORAN: Well, look, that's -- the mayor has to share responsibility here. And, again, the workers that I spoke to didn't indicate this was a citywide or a union-sponsored thing. These were individual supervisors who took it upon themselves to go in this direction.

But the impact was felt by everybody. And clearly -- clearly, we know that the end result was for a storm that was only the sixth worse in the last 20 years, it is five days later and nothing has gotten -- and we just barely got out of snow in Queens and Staten Island and in Brooklyn. You can't get around the facts. And the facts are there.

KEILAR: All right. Dan Halloran, thanks so much for being with us.

Of course, we're going to continue to monitor this story. Times Square in the clear right now, but not everywhere else in New York.

Let's get now to Texas and the scene of that bank standoff. KPRC reporter Mary Benton joining us.

Mary, what can you tell us?

MARY BENTON, KPRC REPORTER: Well, it's been about a 2 1/2-hour ordeal, very tense inside the bank.

We're told it was about 11:30 this morning when two or three armed suspects walked inside the chase bank. Behind me you can see now surrounded by police cars.

I'm told by witnesses that the men armed ran in, started shouting at the tellers, demanded money. They then walked into the manager's office, the bank manager's office, demanded that he open up the vaults. When he told them that he could not open up the vault and they beat him up repeatedly.

We're told that bank manager was able to get out. He's at the hospital now. He is getting stitches.

Just a short time ago, about 20 or 30 minutes ago, we did several of the hostages who are described to us by police, either bank employees or customers inside that Chase Bank, they were able to walk out. Their hands were in the air.

It was overwhelming for at least one woman when she got to one of the police officers. She literally collapsed in his arms. She was crying, just thankful obviously that she was alive unharmed.

I spoke with Lieutenant Lopez with the Pearland Police Department just a short time ago. He tells me that they have been able to establish communications with the suspect inside, but they don't know at this point whether it's just one or two or three. The bank manager told his relatives he thought there were three armed suspects.

But he also believed, he told his relative who told us, that at least two suspects were able to run outside before police got there. But at this point, we know at least one is inside. We're told by the police department they continue to negotiate with him.

That is the scene at the moment right now. In addition to Pearland and League City police, nearby agency helping out, the FBI is also here on the screen trying to help and make sure that no one else is injured in what has turned out to be just a 2 1/2-hour, just terrifying ordeal for everyone who was inside the bank.

KEILAR: And, Mary, let me ask you: what are authorities telling you -- and I understand they may be playing some of this very close to the vest -- with some hostages being let out of the bank, do they know how many more they're dealing with? And was the release of those hostages they think a direct result of their communications with the suspect or suspects?

BENTON: The police lieutenant I spoke with believed that the release of those hostages came about because they were able to establish communications with at least one of the suspects still inside and negotiate those hostages being released unharmed.

I spoke with one woman just a short time ago and she told me that her boyfriend was inside that bank. He went there this morning to make a deposit. The next thing she knew she was getting a phone call from her brother saying, do you know what's going on in this Chase Bank in Pearland?

She told me that her brother actually called her boyfriend's cell phone. A man on the other ends answered the phone and said, do not call this line anymore. We are using this cell phone to communicate with police.

So, you can imagine that woman was really just shaken up. But just a short time ago, she was able to confirm that her boyfriend was one of the hostages who was released unharmed from inside the Chase Bank. And, again, police do believe it is a direct result of their communications with the armed suspect, at least one, possibly two, still holed up inside the Chase Bank.

KEILAR: And, Mary, can you cover this again? Just what kinds of weapons are we talking about here that this suspect or suspects seem to have?

BENTON: I wish I knew what type of weapons. We've had unconfirmed reports either they were carrying pistols or shotguns but I have to be honest and tell you police have not been able to confirm that to us yet.

I do know from talking to people who have spoken with relatives who are inside that these, you know, suspects were armed. They had weapons. At some point, people heard shots fired but police tell us they don't believe that anybody was actually shot. They do know they have injuries but they think it's because people were beaten up or scrambling just to get out of the way of these suspects. I don't know what type of weapons they were armed with.

KEILAR: Do police have a sense of what the demands of this suspect or suspects are or that intention was obviously to rob the bank and escape long before authorities were to get there?

BENTON: I think I heard your question, having a little bit of trouble hearing out here. But we don't know -- we just know that they walked in. And when these men walked who are obviously armed, very dangerous, they started yelling at the tellers, "We want money, give us the money, give us the money." The tellers were frightened and at some point they went inside the bank manager's office -- the branch manager's office -- demanded that he'd open the vault. He was not able to do that.

But you have to imagine that these men went inside hoping they could get as much money they thought possible inside a bank on, you know, right, this is New Year's Eve. People are -- it's still the holiday season. Who knows what they were expecting once they went inside.

But obviously, we've covered these bank robberies. There's always surveillance cameras inside. Obviously, according to the bank manager, the branch manager, somebody was able to trip the silent alarm and that's why police arrived within minutes.

KEILAR: Yes. And certainly, it seems maybe caught the suspect or the suspects off guard.

Mary Benton there with our affiliate KPRC monitoring this hostage situation in Pearland, Texas. We're going to continue to watch this and bring you updates in this continuing hostage situation.

Another developing story now, though, dramatic moments at SeaWorld. We're getting word that crews had to shut down a rollercoaster while people were still on it. The details just minutes away.

But, first, we may be hours away from midnight but millions around the world already celebrating the New Year. Just take a look at the scene in Dubai, that dramatic fireworks show near the tallest building in the world.

Stay right there. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We're following breaking stories unfolding this second. Police are in a tense standoff with suspected bank robbers at a Chase Bank in Pearland, Texas. This is outside of Houston.

Two armed robbers still holed up in the bank after assaulting a bank manager. A number of hostages have been released. You can see one being released there. But an unknown number are still being held.

This is a very active crime scene at the moment. CNN is monitoring this uncertain situation and we will be bringing you new details as we get them.

This was a very tragic end to the year across parts of the nation's heartland today. Violent storms blamed for three deaths in Arkansas where a suspected tornado hit. A dozen people are injured. Scores of homes and businesses are damaged. And more heavy damage is reported near St. Louis. Parts of Missouri and Illinois are under a tornado watch still.

We'll be monitoring this breaking news. We'll bring you more details as they become available there.

And on a much lighter note, SeaWorld engineers in Orlando have fixed a glitch with the park's Manta rollercoaster. There was a sensor on the Manta that shut the ride down today. All of the riders had to be helped off the coaster and SeaWorld says the sensor did its job and the ride is now back up at full speed.

You know, usually, we see guns in robbery surveillance videos but not this one. Just wait up. There you go. See what happens when a big stick goes up against a hammer. That is ahead.

Plus, we have some fascinating video out of Colorado. Drivers -- the sound just hurts your ears -- losing control of their cars, slipping and sliding into each other. You've got to hear and see this story. We've got that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We are following breaking news out of Missouri -- a very severe line of weather there.

And joining me now is Sergeant Jim Heldmann from Ballwin, Missouri.

Sergeant, just tell me -- what's the damage there in your town?

SGT. JIM HELDMANN, BALLWIN, MISSOURI POLICE (via telephone): Well, we have multiple houses that have been damaged both structurally and roof damage as well, mostly confined to the Danbury Subdivision near the intersection of (INAUDIBLE) roads. Trees are down. Wires are down. There's structural damage to the homes. No injuries reported, though.

KEILAR: No injuries reported. And is there any information that continues to come in?

HELDMANN: We have the subdivision blocked off. There are some emergency crews that are going through assessing the damage to see if the homes are safe. But, for this point, the storm is over and we're just assessing the damage.

KEILAR: Is this pretty unusual for you, Sergeant, to be seeing this kind of damage at this point in the year?

HELDMANN: Yes. I think it is. I'm not a meteorologist, but certainly these storms don't usually come this time of year.

KEILAR: And, also, you know what I want to do, if I can bring in our meteorologist Chad Myers. He's standing here next to me wanting to get some more information from you, Sergeant.

MYERS: Sergeant, what did you see? Or what did you hear? What did it smell like? Give me the entire sense of this storm.

HELDMANN: I mean, it was -- it was a pretty severe storm. I mean, there was -- we don't believe that it was a tornado that touched down. More likely straight-line wind is what we're seeing. But it was a very intense storm. I mean, we were pretty busy. So, I didn't have a lot of time to assess.

MYERS: Do you think this is the same storm we have crews on in Fenton or was this a different part of the cell?

HELDMANN: Truthfully, I don't know. I mean, there is -- there is damage reported all through the area. So, whether it was different parts of the same storm or the same line of storms, I'm not sure.

MYERS: I know you're busy -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Sergeant Jim Heldmann, thank you so much for joining us with information there from Ballwin, Missouri.

This is a wide-reaching line of storms that we're going to be continuing to monitor.

MYERS: Like he said, it was a line. It was almost 60 miles long.

KEILAR: How does that happen though? But does that happen? He said it was straight-line winds. I mean, just for someone who doesn't live in an area that's tornado-prone, that damage looked -- I mean, it was awesome. It's awesome in a way.

MYERS: I think the damage we're seeing from our crews was honestly a tornado. I do know that there was a tornado on part of the storm that we're seeing the damage on.

Now, maybe where the sergeant is, the damage that he is seeing was not part of that same line. It would appear that where Ballwin is and how that cell would have traveled to the Northeast, it may have gone up just to the south like a town and country and alike.

And I think that part of the storm only did have winds on it. The only true circulation that I know of that rolled through St. Louis proper, what I would call the metro area, was the storm that we have the tornado damage and you're seeing that video right there. That's from MOV.

There has been and there were lines of cells that all rotated all morning long. And the one that as it spun up literally -- it wasn't spinning before it got to Fenton. And then, all of a sudden, five minutes before that, on one Doppler radar sweep, it spun. I knew there was a tornado on it and we put the warnings out. The service did as well. And people battened down the hatches.

And he said no one was hurt. That's amazing.

KEILAR: Yes, thankfully. All right, Chad, we'll continue to monitor this. Thank you very much.

Now, take a look at this.

(VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: A dramatic shoot-out caught on video. The feds taking on a member of the Outlaws Biker Club and this turns deadly. You will see this coming up.

Plus, a bizarre robbery -- the crook decides to use some kind of stick, a rather large one as you can see in the holdup, but the clerk fights back with what? A hammer. The video -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: I want to keep you updated. We're continuing to monitor two breaking news stories.

First off, a bank robbery in Pearland, Texas. This is an ongoing hostage situation. The suspects still in this Chase Bank where police are trying to negotiate with them. Some hostages have been released. There are still others as I said inside the bank.

And the other thing we're keeping our eye on, deadly storms in the Midwest -- a line of severe weather and tornadoes stretching from Arkansas through Missouri into Illinois. There is a large swath of damage at a time of year that it's kind of unusual to even be seeing this. We are going to be monitoring both of these stories.

But moving on, you know, it was President Theodore Roosevelt who coined the phrase "Speak softly and carry a big stick." You've heard this phrase. Now, the man in this video chose half of that advice at least when robbing a D.C. area convenience store. Take a look.

(VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Yes, this man armed himself with a big stick all right. He probably didn't expect the clerk to grab a hammer to defend himself and the store. The robber here at one point coming up leaps over the counter -- definite standoff going on there. He leaps over the counter and he actually smacks this 58-year-old clerk with the stick. He grabs some cash, takes off, takes his stick with him.

Police at this hour are still looking for this suspect.

And Oprah says she's not planning a vacation until 2014. Why? Because she's about to launch her own TV network and it starts tomorrow. We've got a preview ahead.

Also, the drama played out until the last second, but the outgoing governor of New Mexico has finally made a decision on Billy the Kid. Did the outlaw get a pardon? I'll talk to someone who knows all about Billy the Kid's life, legacy and what this all means. Bob Bell is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: One of American history's most famous outlaws, his fans and admirers were hoping for an official action today that would clear his name. As it turns out, that is not going to happen.

Legend has it that Billy the Kid was promised a pardon by the governor of New Mexico at the height of his notoriety. And the current governor on his last day in office has spoken. So I asked the perfect guy to join me to talk all about Billy the Kid.

Bob Boze Bell, which is a pretty cool wild west name. He owns the magazine "True West" and he also wrote a book about Billy the Kid. Thanks so much for being with us.

Mr. Bell, can you hear me?

BOB BOZE BELL, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "TRUE WEST" MAGAZINE: Yes, I can.

KEILAR: OK, great. Thank you for being with us. First off, I want to play some sound of what governor Richardson said in his decision, how he was explaining his decision. This is from "Good Morning America." here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON, (D) NEW MEXICO: When Billy the Kid killed two deputies, two deputies, two law enforcement officers escaping from the Lincoln County jail, I have to include that in my decision. Accordingly I've decided not to pardon Billy the Kid because the lack of conclusiveness and also the historical ambiguity as to why Governor Wallace reneged on his pardon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So, Bob, Billy the Kid struck this deal with the then governor. But he went on eventually -- some events played out of course. He testified in a murder that he had seen. And ultimately, events went on. He broke out of jail. He killed two -- I believe it was deputies, if that's right.

BELL: That is correct.

KEILAR: But before we talk about whether he should or shouldn't have been pardoned, at this point so much time has passed. Why does this even matter? BELL: Well, it matters because, as Americans, we always want to right a wrong or we want to get resolution. And in the case of Billy the Kid, he's arguably one of the most famous people that came out of our territory. There's over 1,000 books written on him, 40 movies. So his legend has some clout. And I think the governor was very smart to address this and get us talking about it.

KEILAR: So you are intimately familiar with all of the details of how this played out. You told me in the break that you've been "Kid crazy" now for going on 40 years. What do you think, should he have been pardoned or not?

BELL: Well, you know, it's -- I can look at it from a couple different ways. One is if you look at it rationally like the governor just spoke your rational mind has to go, no way, you can't pardon someone who in our parlance is a cop killer.

But if I have look at it from my heart I go, you know what, maybe we could see a way to pardon him and forgive. And he did really get a raw deal if you look at the facts. The third way from my wallet --

KEILAR: You say he got a raw deal because he struck a bargain with the governor, and then what happened?

BELL: Well, he struck a deal with the governor he would testify and get a pardon. But I think the raw deal was he was involved in the Lincoln County war. This was really a brutal war in which hundreds probably were killed on both sides and the kid was operating sometimes as a deputy, deputized and serving warrants and the other side was doing the same. A lot of people think there was not enough law in the west and in this case there was actually too much law.

And so -- but the raw deal is that Billy the Kid was the only one who was tried and prosecuted for killing someone in the Lincoln County war and other people did just as bad and they ended up to be solid citizens and powerful politicians. And as the Kid himself put it, he said, "Think it hard that I am the only one to suffer the full measure of the law," end of quote. And I think he' right.

KEILAR: You said, and I interrupted you, but you said there's another way to look at this about whether he should be pardoned.

BELL: Three ways and the third way is my wallet which is I'm going to make a lot of money on all this attention on the sale of books. When I look at that, I go absolutely, pardon the guy.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: Very interesting. Let me ask you this. Everyone knows about Billy the Kid. As you said, there are all of these books, all of these movies. He's been so romanticized over time. Should he be held up as a folk hero? This is a guy who murdered a lot of people.

BELL: Well, yes. But it's complicated. And here's basically the rub, as I see it, is you have these two contradictory facts, OK? He's a cold blooded killer. He's the all-American boy. He was resourceful, brave. Everyone agreed he was a great dancer, OK?

When you put those two together and they don't go together, OK? They are a contradiction. And that's what any good legends needs. You need to have this un-resolvable fact. And that's why we're still talking about him 130 years later.

KEILAR: And he is certainly a fascinating character and one that has fascinated you going on four decades now. Bob Bell, thanks for being with us.

BELL: My pleasure.

KEILAR: So I want to know, rough making a new year's resolution? Well, before you do, there is a warning that you have to hear. And it comes from Deepak Chopra, the self-help expert. He's going to join me live ahead. There he is right now. He's taking your question. So send me a tweet at "Bre Keilar CNN."

KEILAR: First, a man takes on deadly cancer but refused to let it slow him down. Now he's a successful businessman opening luxury hometowns around the world. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Horst Schulze remembers what it was like to be hungry.

HORST SCHULZE, CEO, WEST PACES HOTEL GROUP: We actually moved for days in the forest picking mushrooms and beach nuts and things like that to survive.

GUPTA: Growing up during the war in Germany, he had one goal, a warm meal, which for him meant leaving home at a very young age.

SCHULZE: At 14 I left. I went and worked in a hotel. I was a busboy.

GUPTA (on camera): At some point, working in a hotel was more than just having a place where you could actually get food.

SCHULZE: And the Mater D I could see if you're excellent at what you do, you will be recognized and get rewards. We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. I wrote an essay when I was 15 in the hotel school about it and it's been my motto sense.

GUPTA (voice-over): He worked in hotel around Europe and eventually landed a job in the United States but there were always challenges.

GUPTA (on camera): What was the biggest obstacle to getting to this challenge?

SCHULZE: The reality that I don't speak the language. The reality that the people I competed with, if you will, came from Cornell and different universities and I came from eighth grade.

GUPTA: At some point in your life you had another obstacle. This one a much more personal one.

SCHULZE: They discovered a large tumor. That was the greatest shock. At a time my children were young. Look at them and being told this is a very serious cancer. It's not easy.

GUPTA: How do you overcome it?

SCHULZE: I make the decision that I won't accept it, that I will live.

GUPTA (voice-over): He empowered himself through extensive research.

GUPTA (on camera): You have were told by very respected cancer doctors that you would be dead within a year. How many years ago was that?

SCHULZE: Sixteen.

GUPTA (voice-over): After overcoming cancer, Schulze went on to open his own line of boutique luxury hotels all over the world, still guiding his employees with the same principles he learned at just 15.

SCHULZE: You are ladies and gentlemen just like they are.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Want to keep you in the loop. We're monitoring two breaking news stories here. First we're getting our first live aerial pictures of the damage in Missouri. There is a wide swath of damage not just in Missouri, also in Arkansas, stretching into Illinois, a very severe line of storms there at a very unusual time during the year to be seeing this kind of severe weather. We'll be keeping an eye on that.

And also, we should mention just in now that two deaths have been reported in Missouri. This is a developing story. We're continuing to get more details, and we'll continue to keep an eye on it.

The other story we're keeping an eye one, a hostage situation in Texas. This is going on right now. This is in Pearland, Texas. This is at a Chase bank where a suspect, at least one suspect, possibly multiple suspects are inside of this bank. Some hostages have been released but there are still some inside and police continue to negotiate. We'll follow that and bring you details as the story develops.

But it is of course New York Eve. And as we prepare to ring in the new year many of you may be reflecting on resolutions for 2011. But what if you have didn't make any. I don't know if I did. Did you? Self-help guru and author Deepak Chopra says you don't need to, and that's what's trending now..

Chopra's new book "The Soul of Leadership, Unlocking your Potential for Greatness" is described as "an action plan for becoming a better you," and who doesn't need that. Deepak Chopra joining us now from San Diego.

So I find it really intriguing because you say something is wrong with our fixation on having is this annual resolution, this one time where we say I have to get better at this, this and that.

DEEPAK CHOPRA, FOUNDER, THE CHOPRA CENTER FOR WELLBEING: What happens is most people who make New Year's resolutions don't actually keep them. So by the 15th of the month if you've decided to join a gym, you're not going to the gym anymore and they're going to make a lot of money on you. If you decide to go on a diet within three weeks you break it.

And then you start to feel guilty. Rather than making New Year's resolutions, I suggest you do a little reflection and ask yourself what do I want? What is going to make me happy? What's my purpose? What do I want in my relationships? And if you do that kind of reflection, then it's very interesting. Life has a way of moving you into the answers. Ultimately --

KEILAR: I was going to say. One of the ways you suggest doing this is to kind of take a moment to yourself every day or so, just have a little quiet and kind of -- reflect on it and ask yourself these simple questions. So if you're asking yourself what kind of person do I want to be, what do I need to be happy, what are my goals in life, what are my values? So how does that translate to change?

CHOPRA: You know, this is a very ancient principle. It's in all the religions. You ask and you shall receive. So when you ask yourselves questions, the questions have a way of answering themselves, either through situations or through circumstances or through coincidences or through insights.

And this is part of every inspiration. Take a little time, reflect, ask yourself fundamental questions, who am I, what do I want, what's my purpose, what makes me happy? Then you find that life will move you have into the answers.

Ultimately, everyone wants only one thing. They want happiness. Happiness is the goal of all other goals. Every desire we have is in some way an expression of that longing for happiness. Ask yourself what will make me happy.

KEILAR: That brings me to the next question. This is what someone tweeted when we said send in your questions for New Year's resolutions. Ronald Ortiz asks "In your experience what is the simplest thing that we can do in the new year that will bring about happiness?" Is there one answer, do you think? Is it different for all of us?

CHOPRA: Yes. No. There's the fastest way to be happy, the quickest way to be happy is to make someone else happy. So just decide that you're going to make one person happy by giving them attention, noticing their strengths, appreciating them and caring about them. And you'll be a happy person. KEILAR: Now, let's say that -- I mean, one of the things you point out is ask yourselves these questions. As you move through your year, in a way you should almost be having resolutions or trying to be a better person. Obviously, trying to be a better person is an admirable thing.

So in terms of calling those things resolutions, if we can, what do you think the key is to keeping them, to staying motivated and becoming a better version of yourself?

CHOPRA: See, motivation can actually cause a lot of stress. When you try to motivate yourself, you're trying to convince yourself in the mind that you ought to do something. It's almost like a guilt trip. Whereas inspiration, which means to be in touch with the spirit, is totally different. It's irreversible.

So instead of focusing on motivation, think of inspiration. And inspiration comes when you take time to be quiet, when you take time to be in touch with your feelings, when you take time to be in touch with other people's feelings, when you're a little more mindful of the consequences of your speech and your actions.

So that's a different thing. And that takes time. That requires a little sobriety, a little patience, but it's much more rewarding than forcing yourself to make a resolution using willpower and getting all stressed about it.

KEILAR: That is very stressful and certainly Deepak, I think you end up being disappointed somewhere around the end of January. This new book you have, "The Soul of Leadership" out now, let me ask you have because I cover Congress, and we're looking at a new Congress next week. We've seen some bipartisan cooperation between President Obama and incoming Republicans and Republicans are going to be in charge of the House of Representatives. This is going to be sort of a different time in Washington. What kind of advice do you have for leaders there?

CHOPRA: I would say, and I'm a senior scientist at Gallup and we have only actually done polls that say that people want from their leaders -- they want hope, they want trust, they want stability, and they want compassion. So pay attention to those four things.

Can you be trusted? Are you hopeful? Are you stable or fickle? And can you actually come from a place of compassion? In my book "leaders" I use an acronym, "L-E-A-D-E-R-S". "L" stands for "listen," listen very carefully with the mind, with the heart, with the soul, "E," engage emotionally with all the people in Washington and in the country and in the world, "A," be aware of what people are looking for and come up with the right responses, "D," be action oriented, doing, "E," have power but don't misuse it, empower your people, empower the public, "R," responsibility. The buck stands with you. And if you win, then give credit to the people who helped you when -- and if something goes wrong take the blame and admit to it.

Finally, all great leaders have experience called good luck, being in the right place at the right time. I think good luck is just opportunity meeting preparedness. This is a time when there's lots of unemployment, where there are a lot of troubles. This is the time for leaders to actually use their creativity to harness their collective creativity, which means the Democrats and the Republicans have to come together and think of the country and not about themselves.

KEILAR: Some good advice for the leaders in Washington, and also for a lot of us. Deepak, thank you for being with us.

CHOPRA: Thank you.

KEILAR: And we will be right back. New developments on that hostage situation that we are watching in Texas. We will have that next.

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KEILAR: Breaking news now. We are monitoring a hostage situation in Texas. This is in Pearland, Texas, continuing to go on, hostages inside of this bank where there is a suspect, possibly multiple suspects that police are communicating with. We just learned from a police spokesman who just held a news conference that the reason police were able to get though to this Chase bank so quick sly because there was a passer-by who saw inside of the bank there were masked men there, and this passer-by called 911 even before that silent alarm was triggered from within the bank.

The other story we are covering, this is new, these details just in. The FAA confirming to CNN two people were killed in a mid air collision at Shenandoah Valley airport in Virginia today. According to Jim Peters of the FAA, this accident involved a single-engine Cessna 172 and Medevac chopper. The dead were on the Cessna and the chopper managed to land safely without injuries.

Again, this is at Shenandoah Valley airport in Virginia. We will continue to bring you details on that story. We are monitoring both of these breaking stories. Stay right here and we will be right back with more.

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KEILAR: We are following breaking news now. These are live pictures in Missouri. We have been telling you about this severe weather and tornadoes stretching from Arkansas and Missouri, into Illinois. We can now tell you authorities are confirming that there are three dead in Dent County, Missouri. This is about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis. This is in addition to confirmed reports of three dead in Arkansas.

So these are very deadly, very serious storms. You can see just from the damage there as they go through as they have been going though the Midwest in what's really a very unusual time of year to be seeing this kind of damage. We have details still coming in on this. We will monitor the story and bring you any new information.

The other story we are monitoring is a hostage situation in Texas. This is in Pearland, Texas. This played out this afternoon and it is continuing, a Chase bank where it appears armed suspects, a suspect, possibly multiple suspects, went in and all coming from different reports, some from family members, people who are hostages or were hostages of these suspects, who went into this bank and demanding money, and at least one suspect is still inside communicating with police.

Some hostages have been released. No reports of injuries at this time except for a bank manager who earlier was injured by the suspects, we have heard from police. But this continues. Police talking to the suspects, obviously trying to bring this to a peaceful resolution, and we will bring you more details on this story as they become available.

It is time, of course, for the Political Ticker. Let's head to Ed Henry. Ed Henry, because I can say your name because I work with you every day.

(LAUGHTER)

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Maybe the music screwed up.

KEILAR: What is that music?

HENRY: I don't know. I think we have friends in Atlanta who just can't get over the "Hawaii 5-0" music because, a fun little fact, it's Ali Velshi's ring tone. And I'm back in D.C., but Ali Velshi has his ring tone as "Hawaii 5-0" and it became sort of my theme music on Honolulu. But sadly I had to come back to anchor "JKUSA" so I left my aloha shirts and suntan lotion back in Honolulu.

KEILAR: What's the temperature there in D.C., Ed?

HENRY: You know, it is probably -- I have been working indoors all day, so I'm not that I'm bitter but it is probably in the 40s or maybe 50 at best. When on a bad day in Honolulu and rain, it was 68, 70 degrees and breezy and beautiful. And did I mention how much I loved it?

(LAUGHTER)

Anyway, I probably should move on to the Political Ticker headlines. We are awaiting a news conference from Joe Miller, the Republican Senate candidate in Alaska. We are expecting he may announce his future plans. He said he is not going to try to block the certification of Lisa Murkowski as the winner in the Senate contest in Alaska but he has left the door open to a lawsuit and appeals challenge or something like that.

So he will be having a news conference shortly and then he is going to do an interview, his very first after the news conference. It will be the first post news conference interview he will be doing with me right there on "JKUSA" at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. Will he run for Senate or governor? We'll have that.

HENRY: Meanwhile, big storm in New Jersey. I'm not talking about the snow. They got hit with that snow a few days back while I was in Hawaii. Now there is a political storm brewing for Governor Chris Christie. He addressed all of these reports, he criticism he faced and addressed it today because of the fact he was at Disneyworld when the snow came down, his lieutenant governor was on a cruise.

He pointed out his lieutenant governor was with her ill father, and Governor Christie said, look, I'm a father and husband first. He was pushing back and, saying he's going to take the criticism and flack. He believes there was a place in New Jersey and moved forward without him. He deserved to be in Disneyworld. He had a vacation planned and he's glad he kept it.

Finally, a lot of governors leaving office in the next couple of weeks in the new year, specifically, three of them this weekend. Richardson in New Mexico, David Paterson in New York, Jennifer Granholm in Michigan. They'll all have successors sworn in on Saturday.

Governor Richardson says he's going to stay in Santa Fe, for example, and start some sort of foreign policy institute and stay active in national and international affairs. And we're also going to be losing -- Governor Schwarzenegger is going to be stepping down next couple of weeks, the California; Governor Crist there in Florida.

A lot of colorful characters we've been covering for a long time there, Brianna, exiting the stage. At least important now, maybe they'll be back in other positions.

KEILAR: Yes, maybe we will continue to monitor them and whatever they do in the future. Ed, thank you so much for that.

HENRY: Good to see you. Happy New Year.

KEILAR: Love the music. Happy New Year.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: And you can get the latest political news at CNNPolitics.com and Twitter @PoliticalTickernow, pardon me, @PoliticalTicker.