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Remembering Female Soldiers Lost In Iraq; A Soldier's Surprise Homecoming For Christmas; Christmas Eve On Saturday Is A Bonus For Retailers. Shoppers Beware: Pickpockets Love The Holiday Crowds

Aired December 23, 2005 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Once again, a mosque has been the target of Iraq's bloody insurgency. Ten people killed in a suicide bombing during noon prayers in a town of Belarus just east of Baquba. Four others were hurt when the bomber, on a bicycle, set off his weapon in the courtyard of that Shiite holy place. Earlier today a fire fight at a highway checkpoint north of Baquba killed nine Iraqis and wounded 20. Back in Baghdad two U.S. soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.
More than a million U.S. troops have rotated through Iraq and of that number, 115,000 have been women. They serve in all branches of the military. They fight and they die there. Our Randi Kaye filed this report for CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the scene six months ago, June 23rd in Fallujah; a seven-ton truck in a ball of fire. Lives inside incinerated before anyone knew what was happening.

LANCE CPL. ERIN LIBERTY, U.S. MARINE CORPS: It was just the loudest, hottest, you know, brightest-colored boom that I've ever seen and heard. I remember thinking, wow, we just got hit, you know, with a suicide bomber.

KAYE: A suicide bomber rammed his car into a Marine convoy's cargo truck killing two female Marines and one female U.S. Navy Reservist. The deadliest day for women in the U.S. military since World War II.

LIBERTY: My hands were burned severely. Blisters, my skin coming off my pinkies and ring finger.

KAYE: Lance Corporal Erin Liberty remembers the explosion violently lifting the truck in the air. Her seat mate, 43-year-old Regina Clark, was on fire.

LIBERTY: I look over to my left and I see her and she bounced down on the bench really hard and she just bounced up, and she just tumbled like off into the flames. I looked over and all I could see was orange fire and flames and then she was gone.

KAYE: Clark was later identify identified only by her dog tags. The women were returning to Camp Fallujah from guarding check points and inspecting Muslim women for weapons. Male Marines were escorting the women's truck.

SGT. CAROZIO BASS, CONVOY ATTACK VICTIM: We heard a big boom and a large amount of smoke, about maybe 200 yards up.

KAYE: That's Sergeant Carozio Bass, running towards the burning convoy to help.

BASS: You could see a blaze of fire almost seemed like something out of a movie. It was just huge flames, most of the female Marines were covered in smoke, blood, some of them were still burning.

They had holes in their trousers. And most of them were wondering what their faces looked like. You know, my heart went out to them. I didn't know what to say to them at that time other than, they would be OK.

KAYE: Then, in the midst of the rescue, sniper fire. By the time it was over, 21-year-old Holly Shered (ph) of Cranston, Rhode Island, 43-year-old Regina Clark, from Centralia, Washington, and 20- year-old Ramona Valdez, of the Bronx, New York, were all dead, along with three male Marines.

BRIG. GEN. WILMA VAUGHT, (RET.), WOMEN'S MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: I think women, the same as men, have to understand the same thing. That is, that in that environment they're going to be in harm's way.

KAYE: There are more than 15,000 female U.S. troops now serving in Iraq. Since March, 2003, 45 have died, 31 by hostile fire. The Marines prohibit women from participating in direct ground combat, but in a war where the front lines are blurred, that is nearly impossible.

Holly delivered the mail to soldiers in Iraq. She had dreamed of working for the Post Office. Ramona Valdez dreamed of moving her family out of the Bronx and Regina Clark was just three months shy of retirement.

CAREY CLARK, REGINA CLARK'S SON: It was just me and her, so definitely I relied on her just as much as she relied on me.

KAYE: All Carey Clark has left now is this dog. His mom had used her own money to ship the stray back home from Iraq. He prayed had she wouldn't be far behind. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: When Congress gets back from the holidays it will return to work on the Patriot Act. Refusing to back a half-year extension they deemed too weak, a small group of House Republicans approved a one-month Band Aid to force immediate action when Congress returns.

Senate Democrats say they want more balance between the measures terror finding weapons and individual liberties. What they're not saying, at least not publicly, is they're thrilled to have an issue that appears to be dividing Republicans. Mosques, Muslim homes, and business, now being monitored for suspicious levels of radiation. Government officials now confirm to CNN that the off-site testing began in 2002. The purpose of the testing, is to thwart potential attempts to disperse radiation through the use of explosive devices. A government official contends the FBI program is legal and involves operations in the nation's capital, plus, Chicago, New York, Detroit, Las Vegas and Seattle.

Well, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Italy has taken action against the CIA. We're told an Italian judge has issued arrest warrants for 22 purported CIA agents. They're wanted with the abduction of a Muslim cleric in Milan in 2003.

Prosecutors say Abu Omar was kidnapped by a CIA team and flown to Egypt where he was tortured. Omar was being investigated for alleged links to terrorism. The warrants are effective in all European Union countries. A former CIA analyst tells CNN the operation was approved by the Italian military, their Secret Service at the time.

Well, more cold water now on claims of a break through in stem cell research in South Korea. Researcher Wang Woo Suk has claimed that he created 11 stem cell lines by using human embryos that he had cloned. But an expert panel, from Seoul National University, says that he falsified the results of nine of the 11 lines. Wang now resigned from his position as a professor at the university. The university launched an investigation last month after ethics questions were raised about his work.

The news keeps coming and we'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM , right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On behalf of the 506 Expeditionary Medical Squadron, at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, we'd like to wish you all ...

(ALL SOLDIERS): Happy Holidays!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Our thoughts are always with the military men and women deployed far from home, far from family, but it's different during the holidays. The distance seems greater. When our Los Angeles affiliate, KTLA had a chance to make a military family's season brighter, no-brainer. Here's Frank Buckley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Major Herbert Sherl (ph) is almost home. In August, the air force major deployed here to Iraq, to an air base north of Baghdad. It is where he was supposed to stay until his unit came home at the end of January and too late for Christmas, and too late for the birth of his second daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a little girl, her name is Hannah, she's due January 20th. C-section is scheduled for the 18th and I was supposed to come home from Iraq after her due date. So, back in Iraq a couple of my commanders had mercy on me because we were overstaffed, and I got to come home early.

BUCKLEY: He told us, but he didn't tell his wife, who thought we were there to take pictures to send to the Major. Their two year old daughter, Emily, only knows that dad is in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And hasn't seen her daddy in four months. So I think she's either going to be happy to see me or not know who I am.

BUCKLEY: Just listen to the moment when Herbert Sherl walks through the door. Little Emily sees him first.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honey, what are you doing here? Oh, my god!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you doing here!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm surprising you.

BUCKLEY: The homecoming a Christmas present this family will never forget.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, people are going all over the country today. Many folks have already have reached their destinations, but a lot of other people are spending the day on airplanes, buses and trains.

Millions of Americans are hitting the highways despite gas prices that are up about 40 cents a gallon compared to this time last year. With so many travelers on the roads and in the air, weather is always a concern.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: This is the eve of Christmas Eve, if you haven't finished your shopping yet, well, there isn't much time as you know. But if you're planning a last-minute trip to the shopping mall, you're going to have lots of company. Of course, we see it every year, Keith Oppenheim, in Skokie, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.

Hopefully you have yours done and making fun of everyone else, Keith. KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, maybe like everyone else, Kyra, just in the nick of time.

It's great weather here in Skokie, today, which is adding to the traffic, which I'll join right now. But, another thing that's adding to the traffic is really just the schedule of the holidays, Kyra. You have Christmas happening on a Sunday, allowing for an additional shopping day on Saturday, Christmas eve, tomorrow.

And also, Hanukkah is a factor, too. That's often a holiday that takes place earlier in December, but because it comes later this year, that means that all that shopping is coming, a little bit later on.

With me to talk about that is Enna Allen, the regional marketing director for Westfield Corporation, behind this mall here.

ENNA ALLEN, WESTFIELD OLD ORCHARD: Hi, how are you?

OPPENHEIM: You were telling me earlier that you're expecting 75,000 folks tomorrow on Saturday and you close at 6:00.

ALLEN: We do close at 6 o'clock. Absolutely, throughout the course of the day tomorrow, 75,000 people will visit this center. Typically believe people that the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day in the mall, but that is not correct. The busiest day is the Saturday before Christmas.

OPPENHEIM: All right. Let's walk a little bit into a specialty store. That figure is how much more than norm, Enna.

ALLEN: That's about 25 percent more than we see on a typical Saturday during the holiday season.

OPPENHEIM: You can bring out one of those gift cards, because I want to talk about that. That comes from the mall, can you explain how that works?

ALLEN: This one is a Westfield gift card, however, all of our competitors across the country are doing typical types of products. This gift card can be used at any retailer throughout the entire shopping center. It's the perfect gift for someone who doesn't really know what to get for someone on their list.

OPPENHEIM: That sounds uncomfortably familiar.

We're going into a place called Oil & Vinegar. This is a specialty shop. I'm in this place for a specific reason because right now I'll give you a list of the top, the hottest gift categories this season. And here they are: Gift cards is number one, as we were talking about; clothing, two; number three CD and DVD; number four books, number five, relevant to this location, food; six, hard cash and, number seven, sporting goods.

Enna is seems like one of the things that people like are the specialty items. I have learned that although we are talking about overall a 6 percent projected increase for Christmas sales, overall for the season, the stores that are particularly hot are either the discounters or the high-end stores, just like this one, is that true?

ALLEN: Absolutely. A store like Oil & Vinegar has a very specialized product, much like a great bottle of wine. They feature oil and vinegars from around the world that are a little bit more high caliber than what you might find in a traditional grocery store.

So, their products are hot and they're doing phenomenally this season.

OPPENHEIM: Kyra, do I have a little time here to eat some of the products?

PHILLIPS: You have all the time in the world, Keith. All the time in the world. We have no flow in these three hours. Wait, Jen said not all the time. I'll let you know, I'll give you the wrap. Go ahead.

OPPENHEIM: As I enjoy my brochette, Enna, tomorrow will be pretty much a mad house here, I would expect with the amount of traffic, right?

ALLEN: We anticipate that. Come early and bring good walking shoes.

OPPENHEIM: OK. All right, thanks. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Are you eating with your mouth full? Didn't your mother tell you about that, Keith?

OPPENHEIM: Well, pretty full, yeah.

PHILLIPS: What, you're having brochette?

OPPENHEIM: Yes, brochette, with some other little sticks.

The other thing that is cool about a store like this, not only do you have the option brochette, but also some oil and vinegar. And, as I can see throughout the store, quite effective in terms -- Chris, can you get a shot over here. Look at the line here. We're blocking everyone's exit.

PHILLIPS: They're appalled that you just double dipped.

(LAUGHTER)

OPPENHEIM: No, I didn't double dip.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you did. Scott, didn't he double dip?

OPPENHEIM: No, I didn't. I took a separate one.

PHILLIPS: Keith Oppenheim, we're looking forward to some of that in our little stockings from you. Thank you so much.

Christmas Eve usually isn't a big shopping day, but retailers are expecting a big weekend this time around. Allan Chernoff live from the New York Stock Exchange, will tell us why.

Probably because everybody can use mass transit now, Allan. That's why.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly here in New York City, it has been a fairly lackluster holiday shopping season so far for lots of stores. But retailers and mall operators certainly are expecting to hear those cash registers singing on Christmas Eve.

As Keith mentioned t has to do with the calendar. Christmas falls on a Sunday this year. Today and tomorrow are likely to be among the busiest shopping days of the year.

Here in New York, the weekend is a chance for people who could not get to the stores during the strike, to get their shopping done. Stores all across the country are staying open later than usual to take advantage of the Saturday Christmas eve.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right. Allan, we'll see you then, thanks.

Straight ahead, something no holiday shopper wants to deal with, thieves. We'll unlock the secrets of pick pockets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a pick pocket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a pick pocket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So is this one and so is this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are four guys here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four guys?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Wow, shoppers beware. 'Tis the season for light fingers and lifted wallets. A report so good it's criminal. LIVE FROM has all the news you want. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And this just in to CNN. Authorities in Florida alerted to a body in the water near Miami. A boater found the body Key Biscayne and called the Coast Guard. That's less than 10 miles from where a small passenger plane crashed on Monday; there were 20 people were aboard that plane, but searchers found only 19 bodies. No word if that body found today is indeed the missing passenger. Medical examiners are working on an identity. As soon as we know, we'll bring it to you.

It's one of the most underreported crimes and during the final hectic week of holiday shopping, you could be an easy mark. Our Consumer Correspondent Greg Hunter shows us just how easy it is for pick pockets, and what you can do to keep from getting ripped off. A story first shown on CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREG HUNTER, CNN CONSUMER CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Watch this lady very carefully. You're about to witness a crime. Here it comes. Did you see it? Within two second this woman's wallet got picked out from her bag.

Here it is again. The guy on the right distracts her and the man on the left grabs her wallet. Right there. It looks like a pretty simple crime but, in fact, there is a lot to it.

BOB ARNO, PICKPOCKET EXPERT: Trust me, when it happens to you, you remember it for a long time.

HUNTER: Bob Arno is a former entertainer from Sweden who used to have a pick-pocketing stage act. He perfected his craft so well he now teaches police officers how to protect against pickpockets.

(on camera): What would you call yourself?

ARNO: Basically, I'm a thief hunter. I'm always looking for these guys.

HUNTER (voice-over): Armed with a hidden camera, Arno travels the world trying to catch pickpockets in action.

ARNO: That's me there.

HUNTER: He showed me some of his never-before-seen video.

(on camera): You're basically setting yourself up to get the video.

ARNO: There is no question that we are setting ourselves up to be the victim. That is how we -- most of the time can catch them.

HUNTER: These aren't actors, these are real crooks.

ARNO: Nothing. Real crooks.

HUNTER (voice-over): Here you actually see someone take his wallet.

ARNO: A thief will immediately realize that there is a little gapping here, it stands out, that means you have something heavy in the pocket.

HUNTER: Arno says pickpockets usually work in teams like this man and woman. One is pretending to shop and the other is stalking his victim. The real shopper has no idea what is about to happen to her. The moment she turns her back, her wallet is swiped, just like that. She doesn't even realize it's gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hey, don't you dare put your hand in my pocket!

HUNTER: This guy caught a pickpocket while Arno was videotaping. Turns out, the crook wasn't alone.

(on camera): He's a pickpocket?

ARNO: He's a pickpocket.

HUNTER: He's a pickpocket.

ARNO: So this is this one and so is this one. Four guys here.

HUNTER: Four guys here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You touch me again I'll kill you.

HUNTER (voice-over): And remember this video? That's Arno's wife whose wallet was taken while he was videotaping. There were at least two people involved here.

ARNO: If they're slightly out of sync, between the two of them, that will never happen.

HUNTER: So how do you protect yourself? The secret is understanding the crime and no one knows it better than 13-year- veteran Detective Cedric Mitchell, of the Metro Transit Police in Washington, D.C.

DET. CEDRIC MITCHELL, METRO TRANSIT POLICE: It's hard to keep statistics because if you're a good pickpocket the victim never think they're a victim because they think they lost their wallet. So how do they make a police report. They can't make a police report. So it is probably one of the most underreported crimes in the country.

HUNTER: Most crooks hate a crowd, pickpockets, just the opposite. The more people, the better it is.

(on camera): Crowd, is a pickpockets best friend.

MITCHELL: Best friend. Partner, partner in crime and don't even realize it.

HUNTER: That's because in a crowd thieves can get close to you without any questions. Like hay did to Helen Williams on a jammed escalator three years ago.

HELEN WILLIAMS, VICTIM OF PICKPOCKET: I think I may have felt someone brush against me.

HUNTER (on camera): And you were carrying like -- you were carrying this purse.

WILLIAMS: I was carrying this purse. The wallet is usually, probably propped up against my items up front so it was an easy target. Very easy for someone to just lift.

HUNTER: In a flash, it was gone. She took immediate action.

WILLIAMS: Canceled credit cards, I canceled the checks, canceled my debit card, ATM card and just I knew once I'd be OK, once I did that.

HUNTER: But the nightmare was just beginning. Within a few weeks she started receiving bill after bill for purchases she had never made totaling $10,000. It took about a year to clear it all up.

WILLIAMS: Clothing, toys, food, computers, books.

HUNTER: They were living on you.

WILLIAMS: Yes. Living on me for quite some time and they got a lot of good things in my name.

HUNTER: But Helen played a big role in luring the pickpockets. For one thing, she was carrying an open purse, with no zipper and swung behind her, a common mistake.

HUNTER (on camera): If a lady's purse is hanging in the back, she's in trouble.

ARNO: The minute it's behind, it depends of course on the buckle and so forth, but on a one to 10, that's a nine for a thief to get in to.

HUNTER (voice-over): It's almost as easy to snatch the purse. Look at what happened to this 76-year-old woman whose handbag was ripped away from her last year.

(on camera): Were you afraid?

ISABEL MANUEL, PICKPOCKET VICTIM: Yes, of course. I was trembling, I was scared.

HUNTER (on camera): Isabel's Manuel's purse was snatched right here. She was robbed, all right here in this Tucson, Arizona parking lot. She was robbed all right, but this crime was anything but random.

(Voice over): Like pickpockets, this guy took his time to find the perfect victim. He hung around a parking lot pretending to play a video game. Isabel and her daughter, Myra, weren't paying any attention to him and that was a mistake.

So he waited until Myra sat in the driver's seat and Isabel's back was turned.

(on camera): The door is open, you're doing what?

MANUEL: Fixing the bag.

HUNTER: Groceries, right there?

MANUEL: Yes. HUNTER: The guy comes up behind you. He's puts both hands on your --

MANUEL: He starts pulling my bag.

HUNTER: So, he's doing this, then what you do you do?

MANUEL: I saw him. I don't want to give it to him.

HUNTER: He's pulling you and you're pulling back.

After taking that nasty fall, Isabel is on the mend. The crook was caught and convicted.

MANUEL: Now we don't trust anybody any more.

HUNTER: And Isabel and Myra are now on guard every time they go out.

But plenty of people aren't. Walking around our nation's capitol, Detective Mitchell and I easily find prime targets for pick pickpockets.

(on camera): Excuse me, Ma'am, I'm Greg Hunter with CNN. How you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good to me you. Very good.

HUNTER: This is Detective Mitchell.

MITCHELL: How you doing?

HUNTER: Can we just open your purse to so how easy it is to open.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

HUNTER: And you had your purse behind your back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

HUNTER: Oh, how easy is that?

MITCHELL: Very easy.

HUNTER (voice-over): And look, her wallet was sitting right on top.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, what should I do?

MITCHELL: So, what should you do? Carry your purse this way. Now the flap rests there, there is no way I can get into the pocketbook.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, good.

MITCHELL: That's all you have to do.

HUNTER: You can carry the purse in front, and not behind?

MITCHELL: If you like -- there you go. Perfect. Now you can't be a victim.

HUNTER (voice-over): Men, especially if they look like they have money, are also targets.

(on camera): Where do you carry your wallet?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On my inside pocket.

HUNTER: Inside pocket, jacket open?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of the time.

HUNTER: Most of the time jacket is open.

So, jacket open is bad?

MITCHELL: Jacket open is bad.

HUNTER: Why?

MITCHELL: Because it lend myself easier to get into the pocket. So I would get in here, and then basically they hold on and they slide it out.

HUNTER: How much could you feel it, at all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't feel it at all.

MITCHELL: You see, if you just button that button right there. You've just safeguarded yourself.

HUNTER (voice-over): And check out this woman, she's got a backpack. Mitchell says it's too easy for a crook to get into. And he finds things she should leave at home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And take all those checkbooks out. The more things you carry, checkbooks and credit cards, the more you give them to steal.

HUNTER (on camera): How do you feel now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel better, because I'm going to do something about it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And two more tips from Greg Hunter: Carry a money belt during the shopping week and to fool the pickpockets, carry a dummy wallet in your back pocket.

Be sure to join Paula weeknights at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific. Up next on LIVE FROM, trying to make their own Christmas miracles. Some Georgia soldiers in Iraq are moving Heaven and Earth to help save the life of a tiny girl. Guess what? Heaven and Earth are cooperating. The race to save baby Noor (ph) coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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