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CNN Saturday Morning News
Two Missing Boys Found In Missouri; Potentially Paralyzing Winter Storm Across Nation's Mid-Section; Tough Questions Being Asked In Washington; District Attorney Mike Nifong Has Stepped Aside; Massive Firefight Occurs In Baghdad; Scorpion Stings Vermont Man on Commercial Plane
Aired January 13, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF GARY TOELKE, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI: If you have one of these in your career, that's quite an experience. And luckily that one had a positive energy. And then to have another one come up, you know, that was devastating. But to have two endings like this is just unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: They are calling this a miracle in Missouri. This morning, two missing boys found safe. But the amazing thing here is one of the boys disappeared more than four years ago.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, it is really a remarkable story.
we'll have much more on that.
And take a look at this -- a major ice storm slamming into the Midwest right now. At least four deaths already blamed on the freezing rain and icy roads.
HOLMES: And we've got some major stories to get to this morning.
NGUYEN: A lot to tell you about.
HOLMES: But good morning to you.
From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING, January 13th.
I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Well, good morning, T.J.
HOLMES: Good morning to you, Betty.
NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody.
I'm Betty Nguyen.
We do have two developing stories that we're going to be bringing you the latest on all morning long.
HOLMES: Yes, but we're going to start with that amazing discovery near St. Louis.
Two missing boys back home this morning, found with the help of a little luck. What may be even more remarkable here is just how long that one of the boys had been missing.
CNN's John Roberts filed this report late last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're looking at Ben Ownby. He disappeared on Monday. And this is Shawn Hornbeck, who vanished more than four years ago. They are back with their families after being found together inside a home in Kirkwood, Missouri.
TOELKE: Both boys appear at this point to be OK. Obviously, they will be checked out to make certain that they're -- they're in good shape.
ROBERTS: This remarkable story unfolded last night, when two police officers went to serve a warrant at an apartment complex.
TOELKE: While they were at that location, they found a vehicle that fit the description of the truck that we were looking for.
ROBERTS: That truck matched the one speeding away from the spot where 13-year-old Ownby went missing. Ownby, a Boy Scout and straight A student, was last seen getting off a school bus just outside Saint Louis.
DORIS OWNBY, BEN OWNBY'S MOTHER: We want people to know that we just want Ben back, that we miss him and love him, and just to get him home to us.
ROBERTS: Once they found the truck, police found the boys.
TOELKE: You have one of these in your career, that's quite an experience. And luckily that one had a positive ending. And then to have another one come up, this is just unbelievable.
ROBERTS: Arrested was Michael Devlin. The 41-year-old was charged with first degree kidnapping and is being held on $1 million bail.
ROBERT PARKS, FRANKLIN COUNTY PROSECUTOR: More charges are likely to be filed as we find out more about that. But at the present time, we've filed one charge. He is still being questioned. And we can't say any more than that.
ROBERTS: While Ben Ownby was last seen four days ago, the family of Shawn Hornbeck hasn't seen him since October 6, 2002, some 60 miles from Saint Louis. At the time, he was only 11 years old, riding his bicycle to a friend's house.
His mother pleaded for help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM AKERS, SHAWN HORNBECK'S MOTHER: If there's one person out there that has either seen him or is, you know, is the person that's done something to him, and it only takes the one phone call to let us know where he's at.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Two boys who vanished years apart have finally come home, safe and sound. And the prayers of many have been answered.
John Roberts, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, both boys treated and released from the hospital. They are back with their families after this ordeal. For Ben Ownby, four days; Shawn Hornbeck, more than four years. And so many details we still just don't know anything about, especially that time in captivity.
What happened?
But the family is just happy to have him home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS DIAMOND, THE SHAWN HORNBECK FOUNDATION: When I had talked with them, they were saying he was in good spirits. He seemed healthy to them. Everything, you know, was -- was in great communication between Shawn and mom and dad. So, you know, hopefully that's a good first start. You know, there's going to be a long road ahead of him, but, you know, this is a good first start for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, that is putting it mildly.
And we will have much more on this story throughout the day.
A couple of important events to tell you about right now, though.
Coming up in just about two hours, Shawn Hornbeck's family will talk about this ordeal and CNN will bring you live coverage of that.
Then at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department will talk about the case, as well. We may learn more about the suspect, Michael Devlin, so you want to stay tuned for those live events.
Slick roads to tell you about, T.J.?
HOLMES: Yes, we're going to start -- slick roads. We've got power outages. We've got flight delays. We've got flights canceled. All this the result of a potentially paralyzing winter storm across the nation's mid-section. And forecasters say the worst may be yet to come.
Freezing rain and sleet expected to continue in some areas through this weekend. Ice is accumulating on roads, making travel difficult; making travel dangerous, as well. It's also coating power lines, knocking out electricity in some areas.
Details now on some of the problems this storm is already causing. Oklahoma's governor has declared a state of emergency for 77 counties in the state. At least two traffic deaths in Oklahoma are blamed on slick, ice coated roads. The storm has forced airports in Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas to cancel dozens of flights. And dozens of passengers were stranded at a bus station in Tulsa because of unsafe road conditions.
Missouri now also getting socked by freezing rain and snow. Three people have died in traffic accidents blamed on the storm there. And utility companies in Springfield reported at least 50,000 people without electricity.
NGUYEN: Oh, what a mess it is outside this morning. Forecasters say the storm could be a long-term event that may paralyze the region. That's something we don't hear that often.
Get this, though, Oklahoma City is on target, in the eye of this storm.
So we wanted to get the latest for you this morning on the conditions out there with CNN's Reggie Aqui -- Reggie, what is it looking like where you are?
REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty.
Yes, this is sort of the heart of what's going on in the storm. And it's coming in phases. So the first phase was yesterday, when you saw a mix of sleet and freezing rain hitting the ground. But because it was sort of warmer yesterday and it got cold overnight, well, that's a big problem because now it's freezing rain that has now just frozen on the ground. We're talking about anywhere between a half inch and some forecasters saying possibly more than two inches by the time this is all said and done.
Right now, though, we're experiencing sort of a lull in this and we're expecting the next round to come in around noon today. And we're told that that could really be the roughest stuff of all of this. And that is really what we're going to be worried about. We're going to look to see what's going to happen with the power situation.
Right now I can tell you that the power companies are reporting tonight some sporadic outages. Here in Oklahoma City, it's less than 12,000 being reported. So it's not that many right now, but they definitely are on standby in case that situation gets worse.
And I need to tell you, Betty, that we were, ourselves, caught in this storm last night, traveling from Dallas, because we couldn't get any flights into Oklahoma City all day yesterday, driving with our satellite truck in front of us, just trying to get through. After many hours, finally getting here and then, well, the reason that you don't see me right now is because our satellite truck is also frozen. We can't get that big dish on top of it to go into position so we can send our signal out.
So we're feverishly working on that, Betty, and hopefully some time this morning I'll actually be able to talk to you and you can see me.
NGUYEN: Yes, maybe get out there with a hair drier or something and melt that away.
Hey, let me ask you about this, though, Reggie, because this is a serious situation there. We're looking at video of the different power lines that are just getting iced over. And obviously the roads just slick with ice.
Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry has declared a state of emergency in all 77 counties.
So far, two deaths from this storm, traffic deaths.
Are people staying off the roadways?
AQUI: They are. At least the time that we were on the roadways last night I noticed that there was hardly any traffic at all. We would see the occasional big rig, you know, going through and then we saw -- we did see some accidents on the side of the road.
Obviously, there were cars on the side of the road that had been abandoned by their drivers as they sought help from the cold and from the ice. Definitely some spinouts that we saw. But for a lot of the drive, we were pretty much alone and it did seem like people were heeding the advice of the governor and of the forecasters, who are telling folks who live around here just stay inside.
NGUYEN: Yes, it's the best place to be. And hopefully those staying inside will have electricity.
Reggie Aqui, we appreciate your information and we hope to see you soon.
AQUI: See you later.
HOLMES: Well, our meteorologist, Reynolds Wolf, standing by -- and, Reynolds, we have this right, we are just getting started with this thing.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We really are. And in -- when they say long-term effects, what we're talking about is the potential for power outages in many places.
You'll remember that just a few moments ago, St. Louis got rocked by some ice storms and with that, they were without power for a very long time. Some people up to four weeks without power. That could easily happen again.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, President Bush is meeting with GOP leaders today at Camp David to discuss Iraq. Meanwhile, the brass at the Pentagon standing firm on what the Iraqis must do, and that is step up to the plate.
A report on Iraqi preparations from our Jamie McIntyre.
That's coming up in about five minutes.
NGUYEN: Plus, not on the case anymore -- District Attorney Mike Nifong asks to be removed from the Duke lacrosse case. We have all those new developments in this story. That is just 15 minutes away.
HOLMES: And, of course, we will have the latest on this developing story of the two missing boys found in Missouri last night. You see so many stories like this. It's so good to have a happy ending to report.
Stay tuned to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Stay tuned to CNN throughout the day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We are going to have much more on this developing story throughout the day, the case of those two missing Missouri boys who were found safe, safe and fine.
A couple of important events to tell you about coming up.
In just about two hours, Shawn Hornbeck's family will talk about the ordeal and we will have live coverage here on CNN. And then at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department is going to be talking about the case. We hope to learn more about the suspect, Michael Devlin.
So please, stay tuned here with us.
NGUYEN: Here's some of the other stories in the news today.
The revised Iraq war plan is sure to be at the top of today's agenda as President Bush meets with top Republican leaders at Camp David. The minority leaders and assistant minority leaders of the House and Senate arrived at the presidential retreat last night.
Meanwhile, New York Senator Hillary Clinton is spending the weekend in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is part of a three member Congressional delegation, also including Indiana Senator Evan Bayh and New York Congressman John McHugh. The group is meeting with U.S. military commanders and government officials.
Now, on the heels of Senate hearings on Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to another world hot spot. Rice kicks off a tour in the Middle East, trying to revive a peace plan between Israelis and the Palestinians. Rice says she has no specific plan to help resolve the conflict, but she will do a lot of listening. HOLMES: The Senate wants to hit lawmakers where it hurts if they don't obey the law -- in the wallets. They passed an amendment to the ethics bill that would withhold federal pensions from members of Congress who are convicted of serious crimes, like bribery or conspiracy. The measure is not, however, retroactive. It only applies to future crimes.
In the Duke lacrosse case sexual assault case, the Durham County district attorney, Michael Nifong, is asking to be removed from the case. The North Carolina attorney general's office says its special prosecutions unit has been asked to take over that case.
CNN's Jason Carroll will have more on this in the next half hour.
Tsunami warnings and watches affect Japan, Alaska and Hawaii are now canceled. The warnings were issued after an earthquake off Japan's northern coast. The quake measured 8.2.
Iraq -- what's next?
While America debates everything from more troops to a full pullout, CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, looks at the tough questions under discussion in Washington and the pressure on the new defense secretary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In his Senate testimony, Defense Secretary Robert Gates conceded the new Iraq strategy could fail, but argued Plan B should not be the phased withdrawal advocated by some Democrats.
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: If we talk about the consequences of American failure and defeat in Iraq, then saying if you don't do this we'll leave, and we'll leave now, does not strike me as being in the national interest of the United States.
MCINTYRE: While a fresh brigade of U.S. troops from the 82nd Airborne Division is moving from Kuwait to Baghdad now, the new strategy won't be put to the test until early next month, when the first of three promised Iraqi brigades is scheduled to arrive. As the U.S. flows additional brigades in at the rate of one a month, Gates will be looking at three benchmarks to get a quick read on whether the plan is on track.
The critical indicators will be if all three brigades of Iraqi troops show up as promised -- last time they didn't; if there's no political interference that frees suspects after they are caught; and if U.S. and Iraqi forces have access to all of Baghdad.
To try to defuse the tension between the Sunni minority and the Shia majority, two of the new Iraqi brigades would be made up of Kurds from the north.
SEN. JACK REED (D), RHODE ISLAND: There will be two brigades of Kurdish troops going into Shia and Sunni neighborhoods, which certainly complicates the sectarian nature of this struggle, is that correct?
GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Or gives it balance in that they're not either for Sunnis or for Shia, but for Iraq.
MCINTYRE: Gates optimistically predicted that if the strategy shows results he may not send in all the extra troops and could even begin withdrawing forces by year's end.
GATES: And if these operations actually work, you could begin to see a lightening of the U.S. footprint both in Baghdad and potentially in Iraq itself.
MCINTYRE: But the problem is success is beyond the control of the U.S. Everything depends on Iraqis doing things that so far they have been unwilling or unable to do.
PACE: There's no guarantee, but given the plan that's there and, most importantly, again, the political and economic changes, the military plan can be successful.
MCINTYRE: But if the Iraqis fail again, as many predict, Gates says the U.S. cannot just throw in the towel.
GATES: I don't know what the consequences are. What I do know is that we would have to go -- we would have to reopen this issue of strategy and we would have to look at what some of the other alternatives are that don't seem very attractive right now.
MCINTYRE (on camera): If the plan doesn't work, Gates says honestly he doesn't know what the consequences are, except that the strategy would have to be revisited and, in his words, the alternatives don't seem very attractive right now.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, there are objections concerning the man chosen to fill Iraq's top military spot. And according to a report in the "Los Angeles Times," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has named a virtual unknown to fill one of the most sensitive military jobs in Baghdad.
The choice being made in spite of objections from U.S. and Iraqi military commanders. The appointment is al-Maliki's first following President Bush's troop announcement earlier this week.
And this morning, the "New York Times" is reporting tonight the order to crack down on Iranians in Iraq came from President Bush.
In an interview with the "Times," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the president authorized the military offensive against the Iranians, but declined to say when he gave those orders. The United States is currently detaining several individuals with Iranian passports. Now, the administration has long accused Iran of meddling in Iraq. Here's another story of interest -- satellite images of Google Earth are allegedly making British troops in Iraq easy targets for terrorist attacks. According to the "London Telegraph," Army intelligence sources believe terrorists attacking British bases in Basra are using aerial footage displayed by the Google Earth Internet tool to plan their attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL NIFONG, DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I'm not talking about the case or anything. You have sources. Talk to your sources.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The prosecutor in the troubled Duke lacrosse case rape case wants to bow out. That full story coming up in five minutes.
NGUYEN: Plus, intense combat along Baghdad's Haifa Street this week. We'll show you much more of this and we want to revisit some of those hours with our Arwa Damon, who was embedded with the troops that you're seeing here. That's live in 20 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Take a look. This is a story that you're going to want to hear much more about, and we're going to give it to you throughout the day. A couple of important events, actually, to tell you about.
Coming up in two hours from now, Shawn Hornbeck's family will talk about the ordeal. And CNN will have live coverage.
Then, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department talks about this case.
We may learn more about the suspect, Michael Devlin, so you'll want to stay tuned for these stories dealing with the missing boys found in Missouri, found alive.
HOLMES: A few stories now making headlines Across America this morning.
A first in Michigan -- a man is in jail after leading police on this wild chase. Police were tracking two men suspected of stealing personal watercraft. They caught up with one of them in a separate vehicle later on, but officers chased this guy for almost an hour, thinking that he was possibly going to outrun the police while pulling a watercraft.
NGUYEN: I mean, really.
HOLMES: Wow!
OK.
NGUYEN: What was that man thinking? HOLMES: Good luck with that.
NGUYEN: Or drinking?
Who knows?
Hey, in Buffalo, New York, police still aren't sure how a 74- year-old man managed to drive his car into a subway tunnel. That's right. It happened right before daybreak, so darkness may have been a factor. A train headed for the car. Luckily it stopped in time. Only the driver was seriously injured in that crash and he is still in the hospital.
HOLMES: We've got another one of these caught on tape incidents. This is in Portland, Oregon. The city's fire chief has asked police to investigate whether firefighters broke the law when they pinned a man to the floor.
NGUYEN: Why?
HOLMES: The man was held down -- answering here, Betty -- after getting into a confrontation with firefighters inside the apartment building.
NGUYEN: Well, we do have some sad news to tell you about.
Remember this guy right here?
Take a good look.
Larry Stewart, who was known for years as Secret Santa, well, he's lost his battle with cancer. Stewart of Kansas gained international attention back in November, when, after 26 years of anonymity he revealed himself as Secret Santa. It's estimated that he gave out over a million dollars. Stewart was 58.
We do have a new development to tell you about in the Duke lacrosse case. District Attorney Mike Nifong, already facing ethics charges over his handling of the case, has stepped aside.
CNN's Jason Carroll has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Embattled Durham district attorney Michael Nifong left the county courthouse Friday evening, making just a brief comment about his latest legal troubles.
NIFONG: I'm not talking about the case or anything. You all have sources. You need to talk to your sources.
CARROLL: The source is the North Carolina state attorney general's office, which has confirmed to CNN Nifong asked to be recused from the Duke lacrosse case. Nifong wants a special prosecutor to take over. A defense source sees this development as a step in the right direction. Attorneys for the three indicted players, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and Dave Evans, have been critical of Nifong for pursuing a case they say is extremely flawed.
In December, Nifong dropped rape charges against the three players, after the accuser said she could no longer say with certainty that she had been raped. Two separate DNA tests showed no match between any of the players and the accuser.
On Monday, in an open letter, Duke University's president asked Nifong to step aside.
Late Friday, the university released a statement, saying: "We welcome the news that the district attorney has asked to be removed from this case. We hope this change will lead to a fair and speedy resolution of this case."
The three players still face sexual offense and kidnapping charges. Defense attorneys hope the attorney general will ultimately decide to drop all the charges.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right, we do have one other bit of news about this case to tell you about. Newly released documents, court documents, that is, show the accuser has been subpoenaed to testify at the next hearing. That is on February 5th. And it would be her first appearance in court in this case.
And just what role did race play in the Duke rape case?
That's what a lot of people are questioning.
Well, Tuesday night, Paula Zahn is live from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, bringing it all out in the open. Again, Tuesday night, 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOELKE: There was joy followed by quiet and, you know, people were, you know, they just -- a lot of times they really, they were so happy they didn't know what to say and they couldn't say anything. So, you know, quite an experience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, to say the least. Quite an experience for everybody involved. You've certainly got to believe that. It's an unbelievable story of how police found two missing boys.
NGUYEN: Amazing.
HOLMES: Yes. We're going to have an update on that. Amazing, no question. An amazing story. All the details and new developments live here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING in just about seven minutes.
And this guy here, you're probably wondering who he is over here, right?
JOSHUA LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You'd better not be. You watch us every week. I've been around.
What's going on, everybody?
NGUYEN: Every Saturday.
HOLMES: Don't listen to this guy.
Everybody, check it out -- who got Iraq right?
That's the question we're looking at today in the CNN Reality Check.
Four years ago, when everyone was saying here's what will happen if the war happens, who got it right?
Some of the answers are going to surprise you. In fact, the CIA says it predicted right.
We'll tell you all about that coming up in the Reality Check here, CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: "Now in the News," the war plans for Iraq is the likely topic of conversation as President Bush meets with some of his Republican leadership today. Doing that over the weekend here. The minority leader and assistant minority leaders from the House and Senate are at Camp David this morning with the president.
While they're talking about the war, Senator Hillary Clinton and two other lawmakers are spending four days in Iraq and Afghanistan. Along with Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana and New York Congressman John McHugh and Clinton will visit troops and meet with government and military leaders.
And on the heels of Senate hearings on Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to another world hot spot. She kicks off a tour of the Middle East, trying to revive a peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians. Rice says she has no specific plan to help resolve the conflict, but she'll do a lot of listening.
NGUYEN: Somalia may soon be under Martial Law. The parliament extending that power to the government this morning, and government forces, with the help of Ethiopian troops have been battling Islamic militants. The U.S. also launched air strikes in southern Somalia targeting suspected al Qaeda operatives. Let's take you to Japan now. They're dealing with a new bird flu outbreak. But it's unknown yet if this is the deadly H5N1 strain that we've been talking about in so many other countries. Thirty eight hundred birds have died since Wednesday at just one poultry farm in southwestern Japan. All of the farm's 12,000 chickens should be destroyed by tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last four days the things that we've gone through, you know you have to face the family every day and tell them we haven't had any luck yet and that wears on you, and then to have something like this happen, you know, there's nothing to describe it, really. But you know the main thing is what the families have gone through. You know, you can imagine, I know how we felt. I can imagine how they felt. It's their child. And that's got to be an unbelievable feeling for them, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Absolutely. Can you just imagine the relief that they are feeling today. A family homecoming in Missouri. That's what we're going to be talking about today, a lot about this story. It's an amazing story of two missing boys found alive, safe and sound. They're back with their families today. We have so much more on this.
In the meantime we do want to welcome you back. Good morning everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes. We want to thank you so much for starting your day here with us.
We are starting out with that incredible story out of Missouri. Two missing teenagers found. Ben Ownby gone for four days. The other Shawn Hornbeck gone for more than four years. Now both of them back safe and sound, police arrested a suspect who is now being held on $1 million bond. We're going to get more on this story now from Alex Fees of affiliate KSDK in Union, Missouri.
Hello there, Alex. You with me?
ALEX FEES, KSDK REPORTER: T.J, good morning. This is a remarkable story here. We've been covering 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck's case since his disappearance in October of 2002 and of course the disappearance of Ownby since Monday. Little did we know they would be found together. We are expecting to hear from Shawn's parents Craig and Pam Akers this morning.
They've been with their son for a little more than twelve hours. We're hoping to find out what they know about the circumstances Shawn has been living under since he disappeared on October 6th of 2002. I can tell you his parents have kept this story alive. On the anniversaries of Shawn's disappearance and on the occasions of other children gone missing with memorials and vigils and age progressed photographs -- T.J. HOLMES: Now, how, over the years, you said you've been involved in this story closely, have there been many leads over the years? Have police ever thought they were getting close?
FEES: No, T.J. There has been absolutely nothing. No developments in the Shawn Hornbeck case over the last four years. The best guess it's been discussed in the media here in St. Louis is that Shawn disappeared while riding his bicycle in the town of Kirkwood.
The best guess is somebody accidentally hit him with their car and panicked and buried his body. No evidence was ever found. His bike wasn't found. There's been a lot of conjecture, of course, on what could have happened to him. But up until yesterday nobody had any idea.
HOLMES: And any idea, I know it's still early here and we hope to get more from the authorities a little later, but any idea for what in the world a suspect might have been holding the boys for? What's the point?
FEES: Well, that's a good question. You know, the suspect in this case, 41-year-old Michael Devlin, has a relatively clean record. And apparently held down two jobs, managing a pizza parlor and answering telephones at a funeral home.
Now there is some -- an article in the "St. Louis Post Dispatch" that reports his morning this may be consistent with something known as Stockholm Syndrome. A condition in which victims cope by identifying with their captors. But this morning as I said we are hoping to hear from Shawn's parents to find out what the past four years have been like for him.
HOLMES: Well, Alex Fees from affiliate KSDK thank you so much for giving us a little more background on this story. Man, so glad one could work out like this. Thank you so much. We're going to have much more throughout the day on this story.
A couple of important events to tell you about. Less than two hours away now from Shawn Hornbeck's family, expecting to hear them talk about this ordeal. CNN will have live coverage of that.
Then at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, expecting to hear from the Franklin County Sheriff's Department. They're going to talk about this case. At this point we may learn more about that suspect Michael Devlin. So please, stay with us.
NGUYEN: The other big story to tell you about today, of course, is the weather outside. People just socked in by all the ice that are on the streets, on the trees, on their homes. Some electricity out in some areas. Let's get you straight to Reynolds Wolf in the Weather Center with the latest on what's going on. Because it is not just one state it's several states involved here.
WOLF: It's a huge region, the nation's midsection moving into the Midwest, southern Plains, and central Plains. It's a big area. Some of those places in north Texas from the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, it is mainly a rain event for the time being. But notice the transformation if you were to take I-35 northward into Oklahoma it switches over into freezing rain, then into Oklahoma City itself, right now a mix of freezing rain and snow. This is only the first installment.
There's going to be a second round that's going to develop into the evening hours, as well, so that is certainly something you want to be advised about. Let's follow this frontal boundary as it goes up through Little Rock. Mainly some scattered showers and storms there. Back into St. Louis right now for the time being it is just ice.
But we are expecting a break later on this afternoon, and the second round is going to continue to the latter half of the weekend. Here's a live image we have right now. And I'll tell you it is going to be very interesting to see how all this pans out as the system slowly drives from the west towards the east.
By the way, if you're tuning in and you have the opportunity, and you happen to be in some of these areas and you have a camera, you want to share some images with us, go outside and snap those images, load them up to your computer. Simply go to our Web site at CNN.com, and you, too, can help report the news with I-report. If you send them to us, we'll take a look at the pictures and share them with millions of others.
Back to you guys.
NGUYEN: And sometimes those pictures really do tell the story of situations like this.
WOLF: And sometimes they don't.
NGUYEN: Yes, that's true.
WOLF: We get some weird pictures. It's always interesting.
NGUYEN: I don't ever get to see those. But OK I'll take your word for it.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: U.S. troops are working to keep things calm in the Iraqi capital, as you see right there. But a massive firefight did occur in the streets of Baghdad. We're going to show you much more of this. It happened this week on the city's volatile Haifa Street. U.S. and Iraqi troops did battle with insurgents for ten hours and our Arwa Damon joins us now live from the Iraqi capital.
One of two things here, Arwa. One I want you to give us the latest on the situation and then I want you to take us back to that firefight. You were right there in the thick of things.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, let's start off with the latest. So far relative calm on Haifa Street. I do say relative with the emphasis on that word. Since that firefight that took place on Tuesday, the Iraqi army has maintained control over that area. According to the U.S. military there have been a couple of occasions where they have come under fire, but it has not been anything that the Iraqi army could not handle on its own. That, meaning that they have not yet called for U.S. backup, Betty.
NGUYEN: And so we're looking at video right now, exclusive video that you were able to obtain while you were embedded with this group involved in this firefight. As you know, Arwa, President Bush wants to send some 20,000 more troops to Iraq to root out these insurgents. Are we going to see more battles like this? Is this a normal everyday occurrence?
DAMON: Betty, actually that battle that you're talking about, this ten-hour firefight, and those images that you are seeing, we have not seen something like this in the Iraqi capital for quite some time. This is one of the more intense firefights that the capital has seen. And there are also very unique aspects about that firefight, and about Haifa Street itself.
What the U.S. and the Iraqi forces were fighting there is what has been identified as Sunni extremist groups, a volatile cocktail of former Baathists and elements of al Qaeda and Iraq. They stood up and fought in oncoming 1,000 oncoming U.S. and Iraqi forces. This is not common for Baghdad.
Normally the tactics that you see are the insurgency coming in, firing off a couple of shots, or setting off a bomb. You rarely see these sustained face-to-face confrontations. So, in that sense, Haifa Street is unique. That being said, and as the U.S. Military likes to say, the insurgency does have a vote.
And it is really hard at this point in time to determine what the increase in U.S. troops is going to bring. But the hope amongst many, especially among those soldiers, the American soldiers who we are with on Haifa Street is that the added U.S. troops will help bolster the confidence of the Iraqi security forces.
That was, in fact, one of the main aims from the American side of that operation on Haifa Street, to bolster the confidence of the Iraqi security forces and to teach them a number of lessons. What we saw there, even though it was an area that is under Iraqi control, what we saw was that the Americans giving guidance and mentoring the Iraqi soldiers really even down to the bare basics, for example, how they should be positioning themselves on a rooftop.
NGUYEN: You're talking about teaching the Iraqi soldiers some of these lessons and warfare. I bet they got quite a lesson, ten-hour firefight that you were there to witness for your own eyes. Arwa Damon we appreciate your coverage. Thank you.
And we do want to give you a quick programming note. To hear unforgettable stories of courage and caring from America's heroes. Join Larry King as he tours the Fisher House Foundation for wounded troops and their families. That is a special Larry King live it is tonight 9:00 Eastern, only on CNN. HOLMES: President Bush, of course, dramatically changed his tone about Iraq this week. He admitted mistakes and acknowledged that his previous predictions have not panned out. But some predicted the problems in Iraq a long time ago. Joshua Levs here now with a reality check. People predicted this. Or some of us just not listening when they were predicting it?
LEVS: Maybe some of both, that is what we are going to tell you about today. It's really interesting, before the war began, everybody in Washington, you may remember this, and everybody was weighing in on what would happen if the United States invaded Iraq. So what we've done now is we've looked back to see who got it right. Who predicted the sectarian strife, the how cost, the apparent need for more troops or the fact that Iraq would become a magnet for terrorists?
Here now a sampling of some of the predictions that did pan out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS (voice over): In the drumbeat to war four years ago, those predicting Iraq's troubles included some Democrats, then-presidential candidate Howard Dean foresaw civil strife calling Iraq a divided country. With bitter rivalries, and access to large quantities of arms. Future House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the occupation could be interminable and the costs unlimited.
Republican Representative Doug Rewriter (ph) was worried the U.S. may not be ready to control a sectarian blood bath. There were also those in the military and intelligence communities offering what now seems like a more realistic picture. The army chief of staff talked about how many U.S. troops to send.
GEN. ERIC SHINSEKI, ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF: Something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers is probably, you know, a figure that would be required.
LEVS: Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz calls that...
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: Way off the mark.
LEVS: The U.S. has only had around 150,000 troops in Iraq. President Bush now acknowledges it wasn't enough. And despite flawed intelligence about weapons of mass destruction, the CIA says it accurately forecast the cultural and political problems, but that the Bush administration apparently paid little attention. The administration says it considered all the intelligence.
As for Iraq becoming a magnet for terrorists, there were those who foresaw it. And not just in Washington. This was a prewar debate among veterans in Los Alamos, Texas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to throw a brick right in a hornet's nest of Islamic fundamentalism and hatred.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEVS: Now obviously this is not a complete list. There were others out there who predicted the kinds of struggles that we're seeing in Iraq today. But as we were looking into this, what was really striking was how little discussion there was overall about the possibility of major civil strife in Iraq. Or T.J., the idea that nearly four years later, attacks against Americans in Iraq could be on the rise.
HOLMES: But some did get it right.
LEVS: There were some signs early on.
HOLMES: All right, Josh, thank you so much for that reality check.
Meanwhile, is the Sanjay and Lance road show.
NGUYEN: Not a bad combination. Up next we will tell you why the Tour de France iron man and our own Sanjay Gupta have teamed up, because you know why? It could actually save your life. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: Hi, everybody, I'm Reynolds Wolf with a look at today's cold and flu report. We still have widespread cases across portions of the southeast, including South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. Now across portions of the Midwest we're seeing local activity as well as regional. Same story also in the Great Basin and the west coast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Is the government stopping us from ever finding a cure for cancer? Cancer survivor Lance Armstrong certainly thinks so. He joins Dr. Sanjay Gupta this weekend for a frank and forthright discussion about one disease that truly affects all races around the world. The cycling champion's angry that the government isn't doing more in the fight against cancer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There is so much going on in the world, Lance, you've got a war, you've got things going on every day, how do you get people to think about cancer?
LANCE ARMSTRONG, CHAMPION CYCLIST: You build an army of people. You get a group of people that is hopefully to the tune of several million people that say this is our issue.
This is what we care about. I was affected personally, or my mom, or my sister or somebody that I love was affected. And I'm not going to stand for what we see today, which is for the first time ever, a cut in the federal budget at the National Cancer Institute, totally and completely unacceptable.
Meanwhile, listen I understand there's a lot going on, things are expensive, money is tight. Everybody's fighting for money. But, boy, how about the disease that's quickly approaching the number one killer status in this country? I think it deserves some attention. So my job, or all of our jobs is to stand up and say, OK, no. It's not acceptable that the budget shrinks.
It's not acceptable that we hear this stuff from Dr. Freeman. And let me say something about that real quick, when it comes to screening. Screening is one of the first things that they cut. Let's say save a dime today so we can spend a dollar in two years. That doesn't make financial sense. If you just considered the financial disaster here, it's unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And actually Armstrong has written a lot more on CNN.com where he says his patience is running thin with D.C. You can read his commentary just by logging in to CNN.com/health. And Dr. Gupta is saving your life with a powerful hour of frank discussion and practical advice you need to fight cancer. That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern, only on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Here's one of our big stories today. We have severe weather to tell you about. All the way from Dallas to Oklahoma City. Let's take a look at these two pictures. On the left there, Dallas, Texas. You can see a little foggy, a little hazy there. That's because there's some rain in the area. But that rain could soon turn to sleet and ice.
And that's just going to just bring havoc to the area. I know working in Dallas you see tons of accidents because a lot of folks just really don't know how to drive on that ice. And they should just honestly stay home. I'm one of those who didn't know how to drive on that ice.
HOLMES: And the picture of Oklahoma City, we heard from a reporter there a little bit ago, certainly people not on the road and seems to be the case. Not a lot of folks on the road.
NGUYEN: That's a good thing.
HOLMES: Looks like slushy stuff. Can you tell in Oklahoma City? But all kinds of issues around. We're checking in with our Reynolds Wolf, keeping an eye on all this and going to be updating us. Folks sending in some pictures for us. We've been asking for them in the I- report this morning.
Reynolds.
WOLF: Absolutely. We get all kinds of great pictures from around the country. Pop up the first one. The first one we have, the first I-report that we have this morning to share with you. This one is obviously kind of self-explanatory. It's ice on a bumper.
This is from Allison from Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is just a Cadillac in the backyard that's been getting iced over. She's been saying the roads are just horrible. They had to cancel school yesterday. They're going to be all kinds of issues on the road, no question about it, as it's pretty self-explanatory.
Also this is a chair in the backyard, this is, she said taken on Friday afternoon, again from Allison, she says that usually you can see someone taking out this chair in this time of the year but that ice is certainly, gives you a little bit of perspective on things no question about it. That is the latest we have with the I-report.
This is the big storm we're talking about. Rough times at the very least in parts of Missouri into north Texas. Snow formed behind it, they are going to get a little bit of a break into the afternoon. But the second batch of icy weather is going to pop up into the afternoon and evening all the way through Monday. Let's head it back to you.
NGUYEN: That's the storm to watch no doubt, Reynolds. Thank you.
HOLMES: Of course we're going to be getting back to some big stories we're following this morning. We are going to get back to them in jus a minute.
NGUYEN: Yes, Missouri, Oklahoma and beyond, major ice storm hitting the Midwest. We have live reports with the latest on what you need to know from Reynolds. That is straight ahead.
HOLMES: And another big story out of Missouri. An amazing story, a much more pleasant story. Some are calling it a miracle even. Two missing boys found safe. One of the boys has been missing more than four years. We'll hear from Shawn Hornbeck's family just about an hour from now. And of course we'll carry their news coverage live.
NGUYEN: CNN SATURDAY MORNING rolls on right after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOELKE: There was joy, followed by quiet. And, you know, people were -- you know, they just -- a lot of times, really, they were so happy they didn't know what to say. And couldn't say anything. So, you know, quite an experience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: "Quite an experience" may be an understatement here. That's the reaction for two missing teens found in Kirkwood, Missouri, in an apartment.
One had been missing since Monday. The other disappeared more than four years ago. Now both are back home safe and sound.
We'll have much more on this story coming up in just a moment.
NGUYEN: It is such an incredible story.
And take a look at this, though. Slick roads, power outages, a major ice storm causing problems all across the nation's midsection. It's already forced several airports to cancel or delay flights. We're going to have updates throughout the day and a live report in about six minutes on all of this.
And a rare blast of winter for southern California. Temperatures dropping below freezing in some areas. Farmers are worried about damage to the state's citrus crop. Emergency shelters have even been opened for the homeless.
HOLMES: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Israel moments ago. Her weeklong Middle East trip is designed to help nudge Israel and the Palestinians to a political solution and to get Iraq's neighbors to pitch in a little more to help the struggling government.
Also, tsunami warnings and watches affecting Japan, Alaska and Hawaii have now been lifted. The warnings were issued after an underwater Pacific earthquake off of Japan's northern coast. That quake measured 8.2.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID SULLIVAN, STUNG BY SCORPION: It started to hurt more. So I picked up my pant leg to see what it was. A scorpion ran out across the floor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That's got to shake you up. Yes, a scorpion stowaway sends this airline passenger to the hospital. We're going to speak with the Vermont man in 10 minutes.
Oh, look at that. Not a pretty sight. You know, I've been stung by a scorpion.
HOLMES: You have not. Have you?
NGUYEN: I have, on the neck, indeed. Had to go to the hospital, couldn't breathe. It can be a serious problem, especially if you're allergic to the sting.
HOLMES: We're glad you're still here with us, Betty.
NGUYEN: But can you imagine that happening on a plane?
HOLMES: Oh my goodness gracious.
NGUYEN: Quite a story.
HOLMES: We are going to talk to him. Looking forward to talking to him in just a minute. But my goodness. I'm concerned about you now, Betty. NGUYEN: I'm all right.
HOLMES: But from the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING, January 13th, 8:00 a.m. in New England, 7:00 a.m. in icy Oklahoma, 5:00 a.m. in frigid California.
Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: And the weather is kind of wild out there. We'll talk about that as well.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
We want to thank you for being with us.
Let's get you that really amazing story out of Missouri. Two missing teenagers finally back home with their families. A four-day ordeal for one boy, but for 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck, an odyssey that began when he was just 11 years old.
For the latest on this incredible story, we are joined by Alex Fees of affiliate KSDK in Franklin County, Missouri.
So take us back and tell us how they found these two teenagers.
FEES: Betty, good morning.
You know, this case broke either Thursday or Friday when police in Kirkwood became suspicious after people started reporting they'd seen a white Nissan pickup truck like that reported at the seen of Ben Ownby's abduction on Monday. People were reporting that outside of an apartment in Kirkwood.
Now, after police raided the home, they were shocked upon finding Ben. And then an older boy on the side reportedly walked up and said, "I'm Shawn Hornbeck."
And Betty, as you said, Shawn Hornbeck has been missing since October 6, 2002. He disappeared while riding his bicycle in remote Washington County, Missouri, near the town of Richwoods. There has been no sign of him, no evidence, not a clue of what happened to him until yesterday when he apparently walked up to officers, again, and said, "I'm Shawn Hornbeck" -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, I know we're just learning the details of this, and there is going to be a news conference by the sheriff's department at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. In fact, the family of Shawn Hornbeck will be speaking in less than an hour to the media.
But in the meantime, as we have so many questions, let me ask you this: Michael J. Devlin, 41 years old, is the man who is a suspect in this case. What do you know about him?
FEES: Well, Betty, actually, 41-year-old Michael J. Devlin has a clean record and apparently was holding down two jobs managing a pizza parlor and also answering telephones at a funeral home. Now, what happened four years ago which prompted him to allegedly abduct Shawn Hornbeck and then again to do it to Ben Ownby on Monday, we don't know.
Also, Betty, we're hoping to get information this morning. In one hour from now, we're going to hear from Pam and Craig Akers. Those people are Shawn Hornbeck's parents. We hope to hear from them -- they've been with Shawn now for probably close to 15 hours -- to see what they have learned about what their son has been doing for the past four years and what it was that prompted him to stay with Michael Devlin.
Also now, mind you, Betty, this is Franklin County, Missouri. This is the same county sheriff's department that broke the Baby Abby story back in September, and five days seems to be the magic number here. Five days passed before Baby Abigail Woods was discovered back in September, and also yesterday was day five in this case before not one, but two mysteries were solved -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes, they were looking for Ben Ownby when they also found Shawn Hornbeck in that apartment. But that is what's so remarkable here, is he's been missing for four years.
So I want you to take us back. And, in fact, he wasn't reported missing within the city of St. Louis. It was some 60 miles south of the city, where he went missing back in 2002. Where had leads gone in that case until they finally found him yesterday?
FEES: That's right, Betty. Richwoods is in Washington County, Missouri, about an hour and a half southwest of Missouri, a very rural and remote area. And, you know, the best guess in the Shawn Hornbeck case up until yesterday was that perhaps there's been some speculation this was related to a methamphetamine case of some kind, that Shawn Hornbeck had stumbled upon something. The other theory is somebody hit him while he was riding his bicycle and then panicked and buried his body.
But that's been -- you know, there's been no other information to come forward in the time since then.
NGUYEN: And we are all just waiting anxiously to hear any more information as to why these two were abducted and what happened to them while they were in captivity. And, of course, we hope to hear more from the sheriff's department at 11:00 a.m., when they have a press conference, and also from the family of Shawn Hornbeck, who's been missing for four years. They will be speaking to the media in less than an hour at 9:00 Eastern.
In the meantime, Alex Fees of affiliate KSDK, we appreciate your time and information this morning -- T.J.
HOLMES: Well, certainly, as you can imagine, a joyful reunion for everybody, especially for the family of Shawn Hornbeck, who as you've been hearing, has been missing since September -- or actually October of 2002. His family living through the doubts and the questions of whether he was even still alive.
A family friend, Chris Diamond, called in to CNN's Larry King late last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS DIAMOND, SHAWN HORNBECK FOUNDATION: When I had talked with them, they were saying he was in good spirits. He seemed healthy to them. Everything, you know, was in -- was in great communication between Shawn and mom and dad.
So, you know, hopefully that's a good first start. You know, it's going to be a long road ahead of him, you know, but this is a good first start for him.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Are they planning some sort of reunion tonight, Chris?
DIAMOND: The family is having a private reunion which is very well respected and deserved, and I know in the morning they're going to do a press conference at the school where he attended. So that will be kind of the first point where the family will make their statements and give out their information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: And speaking of that press conference, coming up in the next hour, we will hear from Shawn Hornbeck's family. CNN will carry that live.
Also, as we have mentioned, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department will talk about this case. And we do hope to learn much more about the circumstances here. It is at that point that we also hope to hear about the suspect, Michael Devlin.
So you want to stay tuned to both of these live events coming up shortly.
HOLMES: The other major story going to be following really closely, this major ice storm. Not just affecting one section of the country, the midsection of the country, I guess, is more accurate.
NGUYEN: Right down the middle.
HOLMES: Right down the gut.
Reynolds, we're just getting going.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, it's a huge one, absolutely.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Well, we do have other stories to tell you about. Here's one. Can folic acid today help protect your brain tomorrow?
Coming up in 20 minutes, a new study on Alzheimer's just may have you altering your diet.
HOLMES: Plus, what happened to an airplane passenger stung by a scorpion? We will hear from him live. That's next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SULLIVAN: More than 24 hours later, I woke up soaking wet in a sweat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Just in case you didn't know, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. And you can find a special report on this deadly disease on CNN.com.
In the meantime, though, Veronica de la Cruz joins us from CNN.com with more about cancer.
Good morning.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN PIPELINE ANCHOR: Good morning there, Betty.
It's estimated that more than 1,500 people lose their lives to cancer each and every day. This weekend, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a special report in the fight against the disease. And I wanted to show you what's available online at CNN.com.
First of all, eating well, exercise, not smoking. According to the American Cancer Society, you can reduce your chances of getting cancer by 50 percent if you follow these three things.
Our Dr. Gupta has his top 10 tips to cutting your cancer risk, and not smoking is the numbers 1, 2, and 3. Now, smoking is linked to at least three of every 10 cancer deaths in the United States.
Also available online, watch clips from several cancer survivors discussing the challenges, their biggest fears, and the emotional aspects of fighting the disease. You can also check out a map for screening centers in your state, and we're inviting you to send us your story.
We want to hear how you have been dealing with cancer and your advice for those who may be fighting it.
Again, you can find our special report online at CNN.com/savingyourlife.
I'll be back in the 10:00 a.m. hour with more on your fight. You can also check out our I-Report section in the meantime.
And Dr. Sanjay Gupta's special airs 8:00 p.m. Eastern. That's tonight and tomorrow night -- Betty.
NGUYEN: It is very, very good information. Thank you, Veronica.
HOLMES: All right. Have you heard about the movie "Snakes on a Plane"? Well, we've got a sequel for you here -- scorpions on a plane. Actually, it's not even a movie. This actually happened to a guy. And that guy is David Sullivan. He joins us now from Burlington, Vermont.
This happened to you, sir. Thank you for being here.
Let me start -- set it up for folks. You were on your way back from San Francisco, flying back home to Vermont. You're on the plane. You're asleep. You wake up, and you feel what?
SULLIVAN: Tingling, like an electric shock behind my right knee. A small battery-like shock.
HOLMES: Now, how bad was it? How intense was it? Did you think something was seriously wrong?
SULLIVAN: Well, I was sound asleep, and I thought my leg was asleep. And so as I came to, it kind of was -- I was hitting my leg, trying to wake it back up, and the second bite was actually stronger, which happened afterwards.
HOLMES: When did you feel that second bite?
SULLIVAN: When we disembarked, walked out to the carousel. We were collecting our bags at the baggage check.
HOLMES: OK. Now, you're walking. You feel that sting. Tell me what that pain was like, and I guess how you finally knew, hey, this is not right.
SULLIVAN: Well, what was not right was when I pulled up my pant leg, and it ran down my leg and across the floor. And it was fast.
And it was obvious to a bunch of us there that it was a scorpion. Someone yelled it was a scorpion. And that was actually the shocking thing.
The sensation itself, it felt like somebody kind of kicked me in the shin. The left leg was the stronger bite. But we kind of stood there and said, "Oh, my god, what does that mean?"
HOLMES: Yes, how bad did that freak you out to have a scorpion fall from your pant leg?
SULLIVAN: Well, at first I was tired. I wanted to go home to bed. And...
HOLMES: Oh, it was just a scorpion, no big deal.
SULLIVAN: Right. Well, exactly.
My wife did -- and a friend who was there -- it was a kid who's studying to be an EMT that was picking us up. They were like, "No, no, no, no. No, let's check this out."
So I listened to reason, I guess, at that point. We headed over to the hospital, to Fletcher Island.
HOLMES: OK. OK.
I've got to go back to one other thing. You were bitten on the plane by a scorpion. How asleep do you have to be to be bitten by a scorpion and sleep through it? Had you been drinking on the plane? Were you passed out? What was going on?
SULLIVAN: No. It was a long trip, and my wife was sitting next to me. And I was asleep on her shoulder. So...
HOLMES: All right. Well, tell me, how big of a scorpion was this? Was this a nasty looking thing?
SULLIVAN: It was about -- the body itself was about an inch and a half long, and it had that curly tail and small claws. So it was unmistakable. I mean, I'm not -- I don't know bugs throughout the world, but it was unmistakably a scorpion.
HOLMES: All right. And tell me how you felt, actually. I guess you're OK now. But you had some effects of this -- of this couple of stings after you were stung.
SULLIVAN: Yes. That sensation on the leg stayed for quite a while. It was very interesting. And it didn't really let up.
The next day, it was flu-like symptoms up through my central nervous system, spine, the back of my head. And then passed with a pretty intense sweating fever. So...
HOLMES: Well, man, we are glad you are OK. And please stay awake during the rest of your travels.
SULLIVAN: Right. Right.
HOLMES: Did get a statement from United Airlines saying that -- certainly a good will gesture, want to refund your tickets, pay your expenses, give you some travel credits, and they're trying to find out where that thing came from.
SULLIVAN: Yes.
HOLMES: So they're going to find that out. So -- again, sorry we've got to run. It's a fascinating story, we'd love to talk to you some more about it.
But again, David Sullivan, glad you're OK from Burlington, Vermont, sir. Thank you so much.
SULLIVAN: Thank you.
NGUYEN: He was pretty cool about the whole thing. I mean, I think I would have been a little more frantic than that.
HOLMES: A scorpion. NGUYEN: I guess he didn't really know what it was at the time. But when you see a scorpion crawl out from your pant leg, you've got a problem. Houston, we have a problem here.
Well, the connection between, as we talked about a little bit earlier, folic acid and Alzheimer's, that is coming up on "HOUSE CALL" in 10 minutes. How it doesn't take much of one to help prevent the other.
Also, happening right now in the nation's heartland, check it out -- a potentially paralyzing winter storm. We have an update for you in just seven minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOELKE: You have one of these in your career, that's quite an experience. And luckily, that one had a positive ending. And then to have another one come up is just unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: You know, we try not to use words like "unbelievable," "amazing." But this story truly is both. One boy missing for days, the other for years, both now back home in Missouri.
HOLMES: And we're bringing you coverage throughout the morning on this amazing story. At the top of the hour, we're expected to hear from the family of Shawn Hornbeck.
And then a little later, at 11:00 Eastern, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department is expected to hold a news conference to update the case. And we'll bring that to you live as well.
NGUYEN: So that's one of our big stories.
We have another really big story to tell you about that's going to affect a whole lot of you, especially if you live through the midsection of the U.S.
HOLMES: Yes. We'll have a check of that winter storm that's hitting the nation's heartland.
That's four minutes away.
NGUYEN: Then it's "HOUSE CALL." A paralyzed man searches the Internet for experimental treatment. Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows you what happened when he found a physician in China.
HOLMES: And coming up at 9:00 Eastern, taking the racial pulse of Hollywood. Have the Golden Globes help level the acting field?
NGUYEN: The growing power of your credit score, that is coming up at 10:00 Eastern. Why it may even impact your ability to land a job. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's over 2,000 years old, and some will tell you it's one of the healthiest diets in the world. Inspired by the traditional cuisine of countries like Italy, Spain, and Greece, some experts believe the Mediterranean Diet can have dramatic benefits.
DR. DREW WARNER, VALLEY VIEW HOSPITAL: The diet is very high in olive oil, which is unsaturated fat, which is really much better for us. It's better for our hearts and other things.
COSTELLO: Dr. Warner believes the Mediterranean Diet helps lower the risk of cancer and obesity. This Sicilian woman says she savors her food and eats less red meat than an average American does.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like American meat, but I prefer Sicilian fish.
COSTELLO: And fresh fish is a key part of the Mediterranean Diet. Also, lots of fresh produce, olive oil, whole grains, and wine. But only in moderation, of course. Although the diet is higher in fats, people in the Mediterranean region eat smaller portions. So they consume fewer calories.
Carol Costello, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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NGUYEN: "Now in the News," two Missouri teens finally back home this morning, and one man is under arrest. One of the boys, Shawn Hornbeck, had been missing for, get this, four years. Shawn's family planning to speak about the ordeal this morning. That is at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. We will, of course, take that live when it happens.
And at 11:00 a.m., the Franklin County Sheriff's Department will have more details on the case.
CNN will bring you both of those events right here live.
Snow, ice, freezing rain, all of it. A major ice storm causing problems across the nation's midsection. The storm has already knocked out power to 50,000 people in the Springfield, Missouri, area. It's also causing flight delays or cancellations at several airports.
We'll stay on top of that.
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