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Interview With Actress Geena Davis; Bouncer Indicted For Murder of New York Graduate Student; Police Continue Search For Missing Milwaukee Boys; New Developments In Zacarias Moussaoui Trial; Michael Smith Sentenced

Aired March 22, 2006 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the top of the hour. You're watching LIVE FROM. It's a story we brought to you just a few minutes ago. And we have been able to confirm it.
The NYPD had blood links to this bouncer in a slaying. We are now told that a Brooklyn grand jury has indicted Darryl Littlejohn, that Manhattan bouncer whose DNA was found on wrist ties on the body of that grad student, Imette St. Guillen. He has been indicted in connection with her murder now.

After meeting in seclusion for more than a week, the grand jury handed up a criminal indictment this afternoon. Earlier today, members of the graduate student's family had left Boston to be on hand for a possible arraignment in the Brooklyn.

Littlejohn had worked at a -- as a bouncer at The Falls bar in SoHo -- SoHo, rather, where St. Guillen was last seen alive back on February 25. And some time during the next 17 hours, St. Guillen, the student from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, was raped, strangled and suffocated.

And now a Brooklyn grand jury has indicted Darryl Littlejohn, that Manhattan bouncer, after linking those blood tests to that slaying. We will bring you more on this story. I know our Allan Chernoff is working it, getting more information. We will bring it to you as soon as we have it.

Now let's get to Fredricka Whitfield for that story, that ongoing story, we have been following out of Pittsburgh.

Fred, what do we know?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra it is the start of rush hour. And downtown Pittsburgh is in gridlock, after reports of people saying they saw a man in camouflage toting a weapon on top of a building, the 6-N Penn Building. It's a five-story building.

Gus Rosendale of WTAE filed this report a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUS ROSENDALE, WTAE REPORTER: Well, I actually tried going into Fifth Avenue Place to see -- because that seems to be where the mayor is. And it's already right outside. It's where they have set up a mobile command post. So, this seems to be base of operations.

And I didn't get halfway across the street, when the police were not shooing me away. So, I would say it's still an active scene here.

We haven't seen mayor outside in the last couple of minutes. What we are seeing is what looks like the mayor and some top police officials inside the Fifth Avenue Place lobby. That seems to be where they are meeting at this point.

And it is, as you pointed out, where we have seen SWAT teams move in and out. And when you consider this building -- and, Andy (ph) -- I don't know -- can you tilt up a little bit and give you an idea -- we're talking about Penn Avenue here.

This would be -- if indeed perhaps a SWAT team is on top of this building, it would give an excellent look, an excellent trajectory, if you will, of the -- of the building on Penn Avenue, where the man was originally spotted.

You go up Fifth Avenue Place here and, say, you had, you know, some SWAT teams or some guys with gear on top of there, that would give you an excellent bird's-eye view. So, it certainly makes sense that this would be sort of your base of operations.

Again, police officials not telling us exactly what is going on, what they're dealing with, where they might be in a -- in a negotiation way. Again, all we're hearing from witnesses, that, around 1:15, they saw a man on that building. Police told them that that man was armed, that he was posing a risk to people.

And they have been evacuated.

Scott (ph), we are going to send it back to you -- updates as we continue here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, that report coming from Gus Rosendale.

So, about two hours ago, when this all began, a number of police had descended on downtown Pittsburgh. And now we're getting reports from our affiliates there in Pittsburgh area that there may be an all- clear. We are -- of course, are trying to confirm that information. And when we get confirmation of that, Kyra, we will bring it back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Fred, look forward to it. Thank you so much.

Meanwhile, we have been following that other developing story. As you know, we were telling you about Darryl Littlejohn, that Manhattan bouncer whose DNA had been linked to that grad student, Imette St. Guillen. It's a story that we have been following for a number of weeks now.

Our Allan Chernoff, has been working his sources. We were able to confirm, Allan, that a Brooklyn grand jury has indicted him. What else do we know?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are expecting that indictment will be unsealed tomorrow, and that Mr. Littlejohn will be arraigned. And this would be in Supreme Court.

That is the trial court in New York state, the initial trial court for all criminal cases.

And Mr. Littlejohn, of course, the bouncer from the bar where Imette St. Guillen was last seen -- and this was near the end of February. So, it has been a number of weeks, of course, a very highly publicized case here.

The key evidence that know thus far against Mr. Littlejohn: His blood was identified on the plastic ties that had bound Ms. St. Guillen's wrists. Of course, her body was found nude, wrapped in a blanket in a desolate area of Eastern Brooklyn. And she -- her hands and also her legs were tied up with plastic strips.

So, his blood was found on the strips around Ms. St. Guillen's wrists. Also, his cell phone was located -- according to the cell phone towers, it was actually located to be right near the area where the body was found, and right near the area just a few hours before the body was actually located.

And the other key piece of evidence that we know of, witnesses actually saw Mr. Littlejohn leaving that bar, The Falls in SoHo, Manhattan, leaving that bar at about 4:00 in the morning, closing time at the bar, escorting Ms. St. Guillen out of the bar.

She had been asked to leave at closing time. So, that's the key evidence we know thus far against Mr. Littlejohn. It is likely that, of course, the grand jury has heard much more than that -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, Allan, do your sources tell you that he could be linked with other unsolved murders, possibly?

DAVIS: Well, as you know, he actually has been in two separate lineups for two other rapes, and one of them being a murder. But the victims were not able to identify Mr. Littlejohn.

What's extremely interesting about this case is that he certainly does have an extensive criminal background, that background involving arrests three times for armed robbery. He robbed the same bank twice within two weeks. Also, he has a criminal history in terms of drugs, three times caught with major quantities of crack cocaine.

Law enforcement officials say there's no question this man was a dealer. And he did time for large quantities of drug possession. But he does not have any criminal history for sexual assault. And that's a little curious here, because the manner in which Ms. St. Guillen was found, bound, in fact, her face taped from forehead down to chin, it seemed very methodical. It seemed that she had been tortured. And a lot of law enforcement experts say that this would really be signs of -- these would be signs of somebody who had done this previously, had a history. And, as we have said, he did not, at least, have a criminal history of sexual assault -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Allan Chernoff, we will stay on top of that story. Thank you.

Stay on the defense, and never relent -- President Bush's words on the fight for Iraq and his own apparent approach in the fight for public opinion. Mr. Bush is publicly defending the war for a fifth straight day, today before a crowd that included military families in Wheeling, West Virginia. He indicated yesterday that some troops can expect to be in Iraq for years to come. But just how many troops remains an open question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am going to make up my mind based upon the advice of the United States military that's in Iraq. I will be making up my mind about the troop levels based upon recommendations of those who are on the ground. I'm going to make up my mind based upon achieving a victory, not based upon polls, focus groups or election-year politics.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, the president says, Iraqis have to take the lead in battling insurgents and forming a unified government.

One overriding fear threatens to cripple those efforts, that of an all-out civil war. Over the weekend, Iraq's former prime minister said it was already there.

Now Ayad Allawi is backing off a bit, but not a lot.

He sat down with our Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYAD ALLAWI, FORMER IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: It's not a full-blown civil war.

It's really a terrible and severe sectarian violence, which -- which can turn into a full-blown civil war. And sectarian violence is a stage of civil war, one of the stages of -- probably an early stages of civil war.

And it is important to -- to try and reverse this situation and get back the country on its feet for -- towards recovery. Allowing sectarian violence, lawlessness, severe acts of revenge, disappearance of people, killing on the identity, on names, assassinations, these are all manifestations of -- of severe sectarian violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: As if to prove Allawi's point, 13 Shiite pilgrims shot dead today in two separate attacks -- they were heading back to Baghdad after a religious festival.

Also, today, dozens of insurgents stormed a police station south of Baghdad, killing four officers. Yesterday, insurgents hit a police station north of the capital, killing 18 officers and freeing 30 prisoners.

Victory for an Iraq war veteran war who lost her arms in the war -- Tammy Duckworth won the Democratic nomination for Congress in Illinois's Sixth District yesterday. She grabbed 44 percent of the vote in a three-way race. Duckworth was maimed in a grenade attack two years ago. She faces Republican State Senator Peter Roskam for the seat. That has been held for 32 years by retiring Republican Henry Hyde.

The G in G-rated movies doesn't necessarily stand for girls. It's an issue close to the heart of the TV's "Commander in Chief." You know her better as Geena Davis. She joins us live -- coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So, have you taken your kids or your grandkids to a movie lately? You have may have seen a talking fish or a cowboy doll named Woody. But did you notice any leading women or girls, any strong female characters at all?

Well, a group called the See Jane program watched more than 100 kids films and found a G-rated gender gap, three male characters for every female. Less than a third of the speaking characters were female. And just 17 percent of the characters in crowd scenes were female.

Well, Geena Davis is a founder of this study. She's probably best remembered for her breakout performance in the feminist film "Thelma & Louise." She's also playing the first female president in ABC's commander in chief.

Academy Award winner Geena Davis joins me live from our L.A. newsroom.

Great to see you, Geena.

GEENA DAVIS, ACTRESS: Thank you. You, too. Thanks.

PHILLIPS: So, you were sitting there watching TV with your 2- year-old daughter, and you thought, there's a problem here?

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: I did. I did. You know, when we were kids -- or at least when I was a kid, let's say, you know, the...

PHILLIPS: We're in the same realm. DAVIS: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: Well, the kids' entertainment, especially cartoons, were really dominated by male characters. I mean, it -- you would be hard- pressed to come up with any female character, except maybe Granny in "Looney Tunes," who owned Tweety.

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: But I had assumed things had changed terrifically, because I had heard about "Dora the Explorer" and "Blue's Clues." And those shows really are -- are wonderful gender-balanced and interested in -- in girls' portrayals.

But -- but there really is, as our study found, a huge gender imbalance still. And it -- it struck me so much, partly because I am watching with a daughter, and partly because I am just sort of hyper- sensitized to this thing because of my past in -- in films.

You know, I got know to in some pretty strong films with strong female characters. And it -- it's -- it has really opened my eyes. And, so, I would sit there counting on my hand, one hand, the male characters, on the other hand, the female characters.

And I pretty much came up with the same ratio that the study did.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's interesting, because you talk so much about this sort of long journey for self-discovery and how, for so many years, you didn't really feel comfortable in your own skin, and you didn't really have a lot of self-confidence.

Now fast forward. Oh, my gosh, you have this amazing husband, these beautiful children, a great career. You're playing a female president. I guess maybe we should talk about how you got to that point. It wasn't easy, was it?

DAVIS: Well, no.

I feel like finding my own self-esteem and value in myself has taken most of my adult life. But I think I have a lot of it figured out now. And there were a lot of important steps along the way. "Thelma & Louise" was definitely a big turning point. I had always been interested in playing interesting and complicated female characters, but the response to that film was quite unexpected for us.

That -- that women could come out of this film just feeling, really, you know, empowered and wonderful opened my eyes to what impact media can have on us. And right on the heels of that, I did "League of Their Own," where, then, 15-year-old girls were coming up to me and saying, "I play sports because of that movie."

PHILLIPS: Aww.

DAVIS: And, so, that has become a part of my life. And, then, of course, to get to play the first female president is -- is just perfect, as far as I'm concerned.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Well, you're perfect for the role; that's for sure.

DAVIS: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Do you think, personally, playing these various roles has made an impact on you? Because you talk about how it was tough when you were younger to just feel secure about so many parts of your life. So, were you sort of acting out somebody that, in many ways, you wanted to be personally?

DAVIS: Oh, I -- I think, definitely, I was interested in acting characters that were -- that had stronger qualities than I probably felt I had in real life.

I knew that that where I wanted to go, and that's what I was attracted to. I mean, I -- I played a female pirate. There's not a lot of...

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: ... a lot of actresses in Hollywood today that could say that. And...

PHILLIPS: I could see you pulling 8 G's in an F-18.

DAVIS: Yes, exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: So -- so, definitely, I think playing those parts and -- and heading in that direction affected me. Taking up archery, interestingly...

PHILLIPS: And you almost made it to the Olympics. How did that happen?

DAVIS: I -- I...

PHILLIPS: Why archery?

DAVIS: I'm...

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: You know, it was a complete fluke.

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: I had been watching the Olympics on television in '96, and saw archery for the first time. And it's incredibly beautiful and -- and dramatic, also. And I thought, "I wonder if I would be good at that?" and started taking lessons. And I got obsessed with it.

And, then, I found myself at the Olympic trials a couple of years later. So...

PHILLIPS: Unbelievable.

DAVIS: ... it was really exciting.

But -- but, you know, to have confidence in yourself as an athlete is a whole 'nother level that really, really improved my self- esteem as well.

PHILLIPS: So, now you have these three beautiful children. How do you talk to them about gender imbalance and stereotyping? I -- I know they're young. But are you able to do things now, as a parent, that maybe you thought you didn't get as a child, so you can help start their journey now?

DAVIS: Right. Right. Exactly.

You know, mitigating talk, they have found, is as effective as -- as if you had never seen the negative -- the negative media. For example, violence on television -- if you talk to your kids about it, and have, you know, intelligent discussions about it, it has the same impact as if they hadn't even seen these -- the violent images.

So, it's the same with gender inequity. We're not, in any way, recommending that you throw away a movie that doesn't have any female characters, but is otherwise a great film. But, when you watch it with your kids, notice. Help them notice, boys and girls. It's really important for boys to see that girls take up half of the planet, which we do.

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: Actually, roughly, slightly -- it's slightly more. But, you know, I would never want to quibble about that 1 or 2 percent. I'm -- I'm willing to let that slide.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Well, behind every man is an even better woman, right? Isn't that -- isn't that the truth?

DAVIS: I will let you say it.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I know you're being humble. Yet, you have this amazing husband, Reza.

DAVIS: I do.

PHILLIPS: Fifteen years your -- your younger. Wow. Geena, is that -- you know, is it easy?

DAVIS: What can I say?

PHILLIPS: Is it -- yes, I know. What can you say? You're -- you're successful.

DAVIS: Well...

PHILLIPS: You're beautiful. You have got it all. But is it -- has it been tough?

DAVIS: You know what? I think it is.

Possibly part of having a younger mate is -- I mean, I had a very established career and life before I met him. So, there was -- there was no way -- I mean, and -- and he was still in his residency, you know, training to become a surgeon.

And -- and -- and he felt like, "Well, there's no way I am going to get into some competition about salary or status or anything.

He went into this relationship with eyes wide open. And -- and it has been really equal and wonderful from the -- from the beginning.

PHILLIPS: And of -- of Persian background. You said you haven't really mastered koobideh, or soltani, but you have mastered tah dig (ph).

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: Well, let's say I can eat all that stuff.

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: I'm not -- I'm not going to claim -- I am not really a -- a cook. I really...

PHILLIPS: But...

DAVIS: I cook about once a year. That's it.

PHILLIPS: Well, you are celebrating the new year, though, right?

DAVIS: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: All right. How do we get involved with See Jane? Can we log on to a Web site? Can we volunteer?

DAVIS: Absolutely, both things. You can go to SeeJane.org and learn all about it.

We also have the study posted, the full study that Annenberg School For Communication did for us, posted on our site. And you can read all about it. It's fascinating details. And it's really quite eye-opening. I think the -- one of the results I hope we get is that parents can see these films with new eyes and -- and realize, hey, there aren't a lot of female characters in that movie. And -- and maybe even reviewers will start to mention that in their reviews. PHILLIPS: And I know you get this asked all the time. Do you really think one day there will be a female president?

DAVIS: Well, first of all, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: For the 50 millionth time, Kyra, yes.

DAVIS: No, no, no. No. It's...

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: It's -- you know, it's just -- if we continue to completely discount female candidates, the female population, from the possibility of being president, we're cutting out half of the talent pool.

We need the absolute best person for that job. And, so, we need every American who's eligible to be -- you know, to be a possibility for president. And there's incredible, smart, capable, talented women out there, obviously, who deserve a chance.

Not only will we have our first female president, but, eventually, it will become very normal for us to go back and forth and -- and often have female presidents, just as likely as to have male presidents.

PHILLIPS: Amen.

Geena Davis, it's great to see -- just to be able to have watched your career and see everything that you have now, personally and professionally. It was great to talk to you.

DAVIS: You, too. Thanks so much.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Geena.

DAVIS: OK.

PHILLIPS: Safe at home after days stuck in the snow -- an Oregon family's extraordinary tale of survival. You won't want to miss it -- coming up on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Straight to Fredricka Whitfield with an update on a story that we have been following out of Pittsburgh.

Fred, what is the deal?

WHITFIELD: Well, Kyra, that lockdown in downtown Pittsburgh, those reports of people saying they saw a man in camouflage toting a weapon on top of a building, well, it turns out now that there was a man on top of a building, but, apparently, he was toting a pellet gun with a scope, and aiming at pigeons. Folks, don't try this at home.

Kyra, we are serious about this story.

Becky Thompson is with us now of WPXI.

And, Becky, what? How did this happen?

BECKY THOMPSON, WPXI REPORTER: Well, at about 1:15 today, we heard reports that there was a man on top of a building, what turned out to be a dorm building for culinary arts students.

And we heard that he had, had a rifle. Actually, we did not hear that there were shots. And people were reporting that they saw this man. Police came out. They actually cordoned off the entire street.

And, then, a few minutes later, about a half-hour, within the half-hour, they had other streets that were cordoned off, we suspect, trying to make sure that this person did not escape. Police told us that they were going to search building. After two hours, though, two hours of many people standing in the cold who had just gone to lunch with simply suits on, had -- they had been given the all-clear and told that they could go, and that it was simply a pellet gun.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

So, Becky, I know there are a lot of frustrated people, a lot of angry people. At the same time, it does speak to the vigilance on the part of the many people, these eyewitnesses who thought they saw something unusual, and they reported it.

Unfortunately, it's costing a whole lot of people a lot of money and hours.

THOMPSON: Well, that's true.

But I will tell you what. Most of the people we talked to on the street, even those kids who were trying to get into their dorm buildings, and people who were in the parking garage, and worried they were not going to able to pay the toll, they all acknowledged that, yes, it was a heck of a -- an inconvenience, but they were glad that the precautions were taken, and very glad to find out that it was someone who was simply shooting at pigeons.

WHITFIELD: Right. And, in the end, all -- everyone glad that no one was hurt...

THOMPSON: All is well.

WHITFIELD: ... and no...

THOMPSON: All is well.

WHITFIELD: ... serious shots fired.

Thanks so much, Becky Thompson of WPXI. THOMPSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thanks.

Well, straight ahead, playing outdoors one minute, missing the next -- what happened to these two boys in Milwaukee that everyone is talking about? Well, police and family are frantically searching for them. They have been going door to door, scouring every inch of the place where the boys were last seen with dogs on horseback, by helicopter.

Friends are doing what they can, making calls, handing out fliers -- so far, no sign of those boys, and no sign of foul play.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANNETTE HEGERTY, MILWAUKEE POLICE CHIEF: We're pulling out all the stops and doing whatever we can to locate those boys.

And I would like to ask the citizens of the city of Milwaukee, or nationwide, if anyone has seen these boys, knows where they are, please give us a call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And here is that number: area code 414-935-7401.

And, if you have seen these boys or may have know what have happened to them, please call that number -- once again, 414-935-7401.

Both boys are described as well-behaved kids who you would never think of running off. The grandfather of one of the missing boys just talked with CNN about what the families are going through right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing? How are you holding up?

GARRY HENNING, GRANDFATHER OF MISSING BOY: Better. Better, as -- as time goes on. And my family's here, and -- and so much support. You know, it has kind of given us a little bit more, you know, hope.

You know, we are kind of feeding off the -- the -- the strengths of other people coming in here. So, we are -- we're holding up, holding up. You know, I -- I don't think it's -- it's -- we're holding up now. And we -- we are all being strong for each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. When did you start to think that something was wrong?

HENNING: Basically, after we couldn't find him at any of the homes, all his friends' homes. And no one had seen him. And this was Sunday evening, and because everybody here, all the boys, are in the house. No one is out at night, not even in front of the homes. And it's just -- it's just the norm that everybody's in the house. And -- and the other thing is, he's never gone. So, after I couldn't find him at the park, and after going through several of the kids' homes, and no one had seen him, I got worried.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

What is your gut telling you about what may or may not have happened?

HENNING: You know, I'm trying to be strong and I'm trying to prepare my family for the worst. But I got to be upbeat, because, you know, we all got to feed off each other. So I got to be upbeat.

And -- but then looking at the scenario. He's never run off before. He's not a bad kid. Nor is Purvis. They're so sheltered. They don't even know how to ride the city bus anywhere. You know, we drop them off and pick them up. Somebody had to take them, you know.

I give it another scenario. If, by any chance, he got into some trouble, curfew or whatever, because he never misses them, never done it before. So it's just out of the realm that he would do anything like this on purpose or deliberately. It's just not possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A police spokeswoman calls the lack of tips in this case odd.

A two-hour trip becomes a two-week odyssey. Seventeen days, actually, for a family in Oregon stuck in their RV stuck in the snow. All are OK after the parents made the difficult decision to leave the others in search of help.

Our affiliate KPTV brings us an incredible story of survival.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gabrayell!

(CROSSTALK)

ELBERT HIGGINBOTHAM, RV GOT STUCK IN SNOW FOR 17 DAYS: We didn't realize how far lost we were. We were six miles from where we thought we were. So we just had to be patient. You know, we got -- there was five and a half, almost six feet of snow up there. You know, they said three to five inches, we got 10 to 12. And we slid off of the road the first day. And we dug ice for 300 yards to get us up the hill, turned around. And when we came back down to pass where we were, we kind of hit the snow drifts and pushed snow up to about the windshield.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you survive for 17 days?

HIGGINBOTHAM: We had full fuel tanks. Plenty of water outside. Dehydrated food underneath. We always go prepared. We had wool blankets. You know, we were comfortable. We still had fuel. After a week, we -- almost a week, we found the TV and we heard on the radio, first that they were looking for us. And then we got the TV so the kids got a little cartoons here and there. And the generator went out. The power system went out. We kept it going.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So were you actually snowed inside your RV and you couldn't get out of it?

HIGGINBOTHAM: Oh, yes. Oh we had that -- every morning we had to kick the door open and dig out the door so we can get around. To get the stories to the food, we had to dig four feet down to get the doors open to get inside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you knew you couldn't walk out or go for help?

HIGGINBOTHAM: No, it was too wet and too deep. I told them it was going to be toughest thing you ever did in your life. And long nights worried. And finally at noon, I collapsed, when I saw you on TV saying we're found. And it was just sweet. You know? That's when I finally lost it. Because you can't lose it for the family. So everything's good and thank you all for keeping -- not giving up on us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations on your survival.

HIGGINBOTHAM: Hi, sweetie. I am so proud of you. You're tough, aren't ya?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, right now, the family's resting up, but they plan to talk to reporters tomorrow afternoon.

Marketers know all sorts of things about you, whether you know it or not. Imagine what they could find out from your tax returns. We'll do more than just imagine when LIVE FROM returns after a break. Ali Velshi is going to explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Income, investments, age, address, marital status. Your tax return contains information that marketers only dream of getting ahold of. Soon those dreams could come true.

CNN's Ali Velshi looking into it.

Now we know that these companies exist that can get ahold of your personal information.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. But this is a treasure trove your tax return.

PHILLIPS: This is everything. So lay it out.

VELSHI: That's the one thing -- yes, for people who shred bills and things like that. Can you imagine your tax return, the information in there? Well, who knew that this is available to be shared. The information in your tax return can be shared by the tax preparer who you go to. Now in December, the IRS came out with a proposal to change the way critical information is shared, allowing tax preparers to sell it to pretty much anyone who wants to buy it.

This sort of was under the radar until about March 8th, when some consumer groups put out a press release and then it started to get some coverage. So we talk to the IRS and they said, well, actually you've been able to share this information for last 30 years. They're changing the way you consent for it and who it can be shared by -- with -- but the fact is, the information on your tax return can actually be shared with other people.

PHILLIPS: Now what's the IRS saying about this? And also -- well, maybe I should -- I got another question, but answer that first.

VELSHI: Yes, go ahead. Well, the IRS is saying that they are actually moving to strengthen, not weaken, the rules. Because part of the issue is the way in which you have to consent for it. The rule, by the way, is that you do have to consent to have your information shared. But it's one of the forms. And you sign one the forms.

Now, this is kind of like reading the fine print on your car rental document or something. You know, you go to your tax preparer, they put out a bunch forms in front of you, you sign them. And one of those might be signing to have your information shared, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, you want to make sure you say to your -- whoever is doing your taxes, do not share this. But let me ask you this. Is there something in it for the tax preparer? I mean, do they get money for this?

VELSHI: Well, they're selling information and they'd be selling it to exactly the same people who would want your marketing information. But, you know, if you have all of that information combined -- where you give charity to, what you write-off. I mean, can you imagine the targeted marketers that can go after that information.

It's also, in my opinion, a bit of a security risk. I don't want my tax return. That is all the information about me in one place. That's different from just having a driver's license or social...

PHILLIPS: And this hasn't passed yet. There's a hearing on April 4th, right?

VELSHI: That's correct. That is correct.

PHILLIPS: So it's possible this could get slammed down?

VELSHI: That's correct. And even if it doesn't change, there's still -- I think a lot of Americans will be surprised to hear, even now, a tax preparer can share that information with their affiliate companies. So what you thought might have been an absolutely private document may not be. Remember, for every American, no matter whether this goes through or not, when you go get your tax done by a preparer, say this information is not to be shared. I'm not signing anything to share this information with anyone.

PHILLIPS: All right, we've got new developments. But Ali, maybe at the end of the hour, we can talk about online, and if do you it yourself and all that stuff. OK?

VELSHI: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Great. Thanks, Ali.

All right. New developments in the sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. Our Kelli Arena at the courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia. She's going to give us an update straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Zacarias Moussaoui, the confessed al Qaeda conspirator, prosecutors say he followed a similar track as the 9/11 hijackers. They're talking about flight training, rather, today with the jury that eventually will decide Moussaoui's faith.

CNN's justice correspondent Kelli Arena outside that courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia. And, Kelly, I understand the first replacement witness is on the stand.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's a TSA official, Kyra. We just took a short break. He's going to go back probably for cross-examination.

What he has been doing is laying out for the jury what the government could have done to increase or tighten security if they had known that there was an al Qaeda plot to send operatives on planes, using short-bladed knives with the intent of flying those planes into buildings.

His name is Robert Camarado (ph), and as you said, he's a replacement for tainted witnesses, what the judge called tainted witnesses. Those were people who had been coached by a TSA lawyer before they were scheduled to testify.

What the prosecution is hoping to prove is that if Moussaoui had told the truth to his interrogators, that there would have been certain steps taken as a result that could have headed off the September 11th attacks.

But that testimony follows testimony from some other witnesses who complained about FAA officials not responding to complaints about at least three of the hijackers. Two of them they said performed very recklessly while they were taking flight training.

Another we heard barely had the English skills that were adequate for flight training and the FAA apparently turned a deaf ear to those complaints, and it follows testimony earlier in the week from FBI supervisors who said that they didn't even read the memo from the field agent who had interviewed Moussaoui and had raised -- you know, had raised a lot of red flags about what he may have been up to.

So the jury's going to have to weigh, you know, whether or not they believe that the government, even with that information, would have taken all the necessary steps as quickly as it needed to to head off of that attack, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Kelli Arena, we'll keep following it. Thanks so much.

ARENA: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: An extremist group -- some call it a terror group -- hangs up its weapons in Spain. ETA is blamed for killing more than 800 people since the 1960s. Today, three of its members, wearing masks, declared what they call a permanent cease-fire on Spanish television.

ETA is connected to, or has taken responsible for, shootings, bombings and assassination with the goal of establishing a Basque homeland. It's announced that -- or it announced, rather, cease-fires in the past. Spanish leaders hope that this time it will stick.

A British school that barred certain types of Islamic clothing is off of the hook. The U.K.'s highest court ruled today against a Muslim student who won an appeal last year after being sent home for wearing a long gown called a jilbab, rather. She calls it religious discrimination. The school says it's a safety and social issue. The court agrees.

Well, they call him Mr. Reliable, and it may be the understatement of the century, which by the way, is how old Arthur Winston is today. Winston logged 75 years on the job with one unscheduled day off. You'll meet him when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: This story just into CNN -- Fredricka Whitfield, very busy day, Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is a pretty busy day. All right. Well, a military jury after one day of deliberations has come down with a sentence for Army Sergeant Michael Smith. He's the man who was convicted yesterday of misusing his military dog to interrogate and mistreat prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.

He was sentenced to 179 days in confinement. He'll have to forfeit $750 a month for three months, and then after he completes his sentence, he will be discharged with bad conduct from the military.

So, again, the jurors of the military have handed down this sentence to Army Sergeant Michael Smith after just a day of deliberations for using his dog to interrogate and intimidate prisoners at Abu Ghraib -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Fred, thanks.

Well they call him Mr. Reliable for a reason. Arthur Winston spent more than 75 years working in public transit in California. In all that time, he took one unscheduled day off. That's when his wife of 65 years passed away. Winston is retiring today. Here's also turning 100. He spent part of his birthday with LIVE FROM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARTHUR WINSTON, RETIRING ON 100TH BIRTHDAY: Yes, I like coming in every day. It's easy. It's home away from home, so I enjoy it.

PHILLIPS: So let me ask you this, why are you retiring?

WINSTON: Well, I think I work long enough. I think, 100-years- old, I should give it up. I think I should do that.

PHILLIPS: And what are you going to do? What are you going to do now that you are retired?

WINSTON: I will find something to do that works a little harder. My job's been pretty easy. So I will find me something that is harder so I won't have to take all of these exercises.

PHILLIPS: Is there anything in life you wish that you could do? Do you have anymore wishes, something you want to do before you are 101?

WINSTON: Yes, I'm going to work to help those old people, people much older than me and more broke down than I am. I'll be able to help them a lot.

PHILLIPS: I can just imagine.

WINSTON: Yes, I'll be able to help a lot of people, as long as I feel well.

PHILLIPS: I know you will. Well, you are definitely not old. That is for sure, Arthur. All right, Well I hope you enjoy your birthday barbecue. We're going to keep track of you. Any advice for me, I'm not 100 yet, but any advice on how I can how I can live a healthy life?

WINSTON: Yes, I think the --- I don't have to try to live above my means, so I don't have no trouble in life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I got to toss out all the credit cards, I guess. He told me not to overspend. Now Winston had a special tradition at work. He begins each day by bending over and touching his toes to show that he's still fit. We know that he'll be on his toes for a long time to come.

Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He's standing by in "THE SITUATION ROOM" to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour. Hi, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra, thanks very much. The immigration wars are about to heat up. Will this split the Republicans, sort of like the Dubai ports deal did?

And Bob Dole joins us here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" today. I'm going to ask the former senator and presidential nominee about the war in Iraq, President Bush, the current Medicare prescription plan, lots of controversial topics.

And growing outrage about a man in Afghanistan who converted from Islam to Christianity. Could he now be put to death for changing his religion? President Bush spoke out on this issue today. We're going to have the story. Kyra, lots more coming up right at the top of the hour.

PHILLIPS: Wolf, isn't your birthday?

BLITZER: Yes, it is.

PHILLIPS: How old are you.

BLITZER: Fifty-eight.

PHILLIPS: Fifty-eight, really. Well, word got around that there's been a lot of success in your "SITUATION ROOM," so I had a talk with Geena Davis, you knows the female president, commander-in- chief, she runs our country?

BLITZER: Yes.

PHILLIPS: She's got this message for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So Geena, it's Wolf Blitzer's birthday. You know he has this show, "THE SITUATION ROOM." Do you think you could bring him to be a part of your cabinet?

DAVIS: Well, you know, this is -- we're talking about a real administration and we need real people to be part of it, and Wolf is kind of a T.V. personality. Oh wait a minute, I'm the fake president. I forgot, it's gone to my head.

PHILLIPS: He's a real journalist, that's right. Come on, Geena.

DAVIS: He's the man, he's the real thing. Oh, Wolf, happy birthday, I'm sorry. Please forgive me.

PHILLIPS: So maybe that could be his birthday present? What do you think, Geena?

DAVIS: I'll look into it. I will talk to the casting director.

PHILLIPS: Outstanding. Final birthday wishes for Wolf.

DAVIS: Wolf, you know I don't know how the hell old are you are, but you're looking great and keep on going. PHILLIPS: He's pretty handsome for 80, don't you think, Geena?

DAVIS: Is he really 80?

PHILLIPS: Are you kidding me? See, now I'm joking. I know he'll love it.

DAVIS: He'll love that, yes.

PHILLIPS: He'll love seeing your smile. Thanks, Geena.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So, Wolf, you know, we contacted the casting director, and the casting director said you're in, because "People" magazine just named you sexiest man alive. You're on the front cover of the next edition, and the Buffalo Bills cheerleaders, even comment saying that you're hot. So you know what? I think you're in, Wolf.

BLITZER: Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes, baby.

BLITZER: You're crazy.

PHILLIPS: And you know what?

BLITZER: But we love you.

PHILLIPS: And only you would appreciate that craziness. Happy birthday, my friend.

BLITZER: Thank you, I know it comes from deep love.

PHILLIPS: It does, 58, huh?

BLITZER: Another 30 years, like Mike Wallace. He's 88 and I've got 30 years to do this with you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Mike Wallace sends his love too.

BLITZER: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Happy birthday, Wolf. More LIVE FROM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: That was interesting music to bring Ali Velshi in. What did you think of that? I thought it was "Wild, Wild West" for a minute.

VELSHI: A "People" magazine cover of some celebrity wishing me something. I get haunting music.

PHILLIPS: I know, I'm sorry. You know, Wolf is just the sexiest man alive, Ali. What can I say? VELSHI: That was excellent. That was an excellent birthday wish to him.

PHILLIPS: Well I hope you wish him a happy birthday. so I have a question for you.

VELSHI: Yes?

PHILLIPS: We were talking about the IRS. We were talking about this plan possibly that our tax -- people that prepare our taxes could sell our information, our tax returns.

VELSHI: Correct.

PHILLIPS: And we talked -- and of course it hasn't passed yet, there's something that's going on April 4th, scheduled.

VELSHI: There will be some hearings, yes.

PHILLIPS: OK, but what if you do your taxes yourself or you do them online. Is it possible that...

VELSHI: ... Then you get to be the person who can sell it.

PHILLIPS: So there's no way anybody can infiltrate that and sell your information.

VELSHI: You know, people smarter than me can probably find a way, but no. That's sort of exempt from this thing. It's the big tax preparation companies, Kyra, that are concerned here.

PHILLIPS: OK, so you're going to follow this IRS hearing on April 4th and let us know.

VELSHI: I will be following this very closely and I will keep you posted on what's going on.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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