i think if the opportunity presen of howell had been missed, we would have lost the bison. they were so close to gone. man: gentlemen, why in heaven's name this haste? you have time enough. why sacrifice the present to the future, fancying that you will be happier when your fields teem with wealth and your cities with people? in europe, we have cities wealthier and more populous than yours, and we are not happy. you dream of your posterity, but your posterity will look back to yours as the golden age and envy those who first burst into this silent splendid nature, who first lifted up their axes upon these tall trees and lined these waters with busy wharves. why, then, seek to complete, in a few decades, what took the other nations of the world thousands of years? why, in your hurry to subdue and utilize nature, squander her splendid gifts? you have opportunity such as mankind has never had before and may never have again. lord james bryce. man: the first duty of the human race is to control the earth it lives upon. the first principle of conservation is development, the use

let's go to george howell, who is following this story. george? >> reporter: well, we are learning some new information as we examine the timeline of events, how long did the amateur athletic union know about these allegations of sex abuse against its former leader, bobby dodd. what we do know is that two men came forward to share their stories on espn's "outside the lines," claiming dodd sexually abused them in the 1980s when they were teenagers. today we confirmed through the aau there may also be a third person who complained to that group with similar allegations. now, back to the timeline of events, what we were able to confirm today through the aau is that the group knew about these allegations starting on november 7th. november 7th and 8th when they received anonymous e-mails from a source only identified in the messages as shrimp breath. also they received phone calls. again, it took a little more than a month before they contacted police on december 8th. so today i contacted the spokesperson, the hired spokesperson for the aau, robert sac

george howell is in memphis. what did the men have to say, george?> kyra, good morning. one of the men spoke anonymously to espn's "outside the lines," but ralph west spoke on camera, claiming he had been sexually abused by bobby dodd back in the 1980s when west was a teenager. at this point, we are looking into the timeline of events when this group got the information and what did they do with it. and we basically got some information from the spokesperson who tells us that the group got anonymous emails, several emails, only identified by the name shrimp breath. and that was on november 8 and 9. rather november 7 and 8. then on november 9, they got an anonymous phone call. they hired a private investigator then to look into the matter. but i also asked ron saks who has been hired to represent the group why it took so long to contact police. take a look at what he said. >> there was no specificity about any individual. no name, no phone number, no hard address, neither was there an offer in those emails or phone messages to be contacted. they did w

george howell, cnn, atlanta. >>> the chicago bears have dropped wide receiver sam hurt after federalrges of conspireing to posses and cocaine. he was trying to set up a drug distribution network in chicago. he's free now on a $1 thun,000 cash bond. >>> christmas is almost here. we have our financial expert here to tell you which items you do not need to buy before christmas. but hold on, we've got another contributor who says those same items he's telling you not to buy, you need to buy them before christmas. we'll try to work this out for you. stay with us. h is, nyquil doesnt un-stuff your nose. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth! >>> 25 minutes past the hour now. counting today, you have eight shopping days to go before christmas. we've got two of our contributors on the air. they're telling us two different messages. one is saying, don't buy this before christmas. wait. the other guy is telling us, no, those items you need to buy before christ

cnn george howell is in memphis. he joins us now live. so, george, what more, if anything, is being said about these allegations? >> reporter: fredericka, we just got off the phone with police. they say there's an active investigation into bobby dodd. the amateur athletic union is one of the largest sports organization in the country. two men spoke out claiming they were sexually abused back in the 1980s by dodd. one of them spoke anonymously. frank west spoke out. said he was sexually abused six times while a teenager. listen to what he told "outside the lines." >> i was dead asleep and i don't remember anything but waking up and he has -- he's trying to put his hand in my boxer shorts. i jumped up straight out of bed and he's not there but he's laying on the floor next to me down by the bed and of course i was freaked out. >> how did he get in the room? >> he had a key. he always somehow had a key to whatever room i was in. >> we are just starting to see bits and pieces of this story online. the full story is expected to air sunday on e

cnn's george howell. good to have you with me. i believe it was a 2-year-old boy, here in atlanta, his death that sparked a movement. >> four years ago, or two years ago, rather, markel peters was killed in a church sitting next to his mother. it was a bullet that came through the roof of the building, hit markell in the med and killed him next to his mother. a lot of people have gotten involved trying to stop celebratory gunfire. m markell's pledge, anyone can take it, promising not to fire off a weapon in celebration. >> had this made difference? >> in dekalb county, where the church is, 47% less celebratory gunfire in dekalb county in the last year. clearly there are other cities doing the same thing. i found in los angeles, birmingham, alabama, they're using technology that can track the sound of gunfire to its origin. and in miami, they launched a campaign one bullet kills a party, asking people not to fire off their weapons. >> i'm not from the states, so hearing about celebratory gunfire seems pretty odd to me. as you made

george howell, cnn, tallahassee, florida. >>> the mothers of two students from the florida a&m marchingons are having with hazing. that's next. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is here, but only for a limited time. see your lexus dealer. but only for a limited time. when you're a sports photographer, things can get out of control pretty quickly. so i like control in the rest of my life... especially my finances. that's why i have slate, with blueprint. i can make a plan to pay off big stuff faster... or avoid interest on everyday things. that saves me money. with slate from chase, i'm always in control. financially, anyway. get slate with blueprint and save money. call 855-get-slate today. your core competency is...competency. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm getting an upgrade. [ male announcer ] as you wish, business pro. as you wish. go national. go like a pro. now through january earn a free day with every two rentals. find out m

george howell, cnn, atlanta. >> a quick reminder for you.u band member beaten in a hazing incident, weeks before robert champion died, will join me in champion died will join me in the 7:00 hour. nice, huh? yeah. you know what else is nice is all the savings you can get on cruze and traverse over there. oh! that's my beard. [ chuckles ] it's amazing. ♪ [ male announcer ] this holiday, chevy's giving more. now very well qualified lessees can sign and drive a 2012 cruze ls for around $199 a month. ♪ multi-policy discount. paperless discount. paid-in-full discount. [yawning] homeowner's discount. safe driver discount. chipmunk family reunion. someone stole the nuts. squirrel jail. justice! countless discounts. now that's progressive. call or click today. fantastic! [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. >>> this week we introduce you to someone who acleefd major things. for sar

george howell, cnn, tallahassee, florida. >>> the mothers of two students from the florida a&m marchingproblems their sons are having with hazing. that's next. pretty quickly. so i like control in the rest of my life... especially my finances. that's why i have slate, with blueprint. i can make a plan to pay off big stuff faster... or avoid interest on everyday things. that saves me money. with slate from chase, i'm always in control. financially, anyway. get slate with blueprint and save money. call 855-get-slate today. good gravy, bill. our insurance company doesn't have anything like it. magnificent, isn't it? with progressive, it's easy to cover all of your favorite rides. progressive has truck insurance? number one in truck and motorcycle. is that a golf cart? yep. we also cover rvs, boats, atvs. anything else i can help you with? can i take a ride? you need a ticket -- i'm first! and that's by the water slide. okay. no running. oh, dear. save on all your rides. now, that's progressive. call or click today. >>> at florida a&m university, there's nothing bigger than the marching ban

george howell looks at the investigation in to an alleged culture of hazing at the school. >> reporterfans affectionately call it the best band in the land. the marching 100 has been the pride of a&m university. but since two hazing incidents one resulting in the death of robert champion it is a campus in mourning. >> what's the mood been like here? >> the mood has been really sad. the monday coming back to school, it's really quiet. >> reporter: police are investigating an alleged culture of hazing within the band. in this 911 tape you can hear band members on a bus with champion desperately trying to save him. >> are you with him right now? >> yes, i am with him. he is not breathing. i tried to give him cpr and he started to vomit. >> reporter: champion died at the hospital november 19th. not even two weeks before that, another student told police she was rushed to the hospital with injuries after a several week long initiation period. dangerous and even violent behavior that former drum major a j. richardson said went underground after the school declared a zero-tolerance policy on

. >> reporter: i'm george howell in atlanta. a public safety threat in neighborhoods across the country. instead of fireworks to celebrate the new year some people turn to firearms and celebratory gunfire. we look at some of the things cities are doing to make people think twice. that story coming up here at the top of the hour. >> and i'm alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. so you say you want to pay your verizon wireless bill? some people are going to have to pay verizon for the privilege of paying their bill. i'll tell you how you can avoid fee. >> please da, alison. thanks very much. thank you to you all. coming up next hour iran's threats to shut down a crucial shipping route get louder as its navy plays war games. we're talking about how serious the threat is in the strait of hormuz, what it means for the white house contenders, and how it could hit your bottom line. [ female announcer ] splenda® no calorie sweetener is sweet... and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda®, you'll save 100 c

gor george howell with us now.or protections are in place so that this sort of thing doesn't get out of hand. >> right now it is a misdemeanor in georgia. you get caught, you pay a fine. you could spend some time in jail, but natalie peters, you can understand with what she went through, just not satisfied with that. she wants to see this become a felony if you're caught with more jail time attached. she is talking to lawmakers and getting some traction on the idea of making this a felony. >> because there really is this kind of common, i guess, sense or feeling in many communities that it's okay. it is just something that's acceptable. it is something that people do. and -- >> and i've seen it. >> -- there really isn't any discouragement. >> i worked at wsb traveling around on new year's, covering stories. >> here in atlanta. >> yeah, right here in atlanta. and on this night, you would see people shooting bullets into the air, you'd hear it, rather. it's something that happens in neighborhoods across the country.

. >> i'm george howell in atlanta. since drum major robert champion was killed in a hazing-related incident. still no arrests. we turn to a law enforcement expert to explain why it's taking so long. that story coming up at the top of the hour. >> i'm cnn meterologist. the chance of severe weather in the southeast. we have an area shaded in parts of mississippi, back in louisiana. a tornado watch will be in effect until 1:00 eastern time. >> we will see you all in a moment. thank you all. >>> ahead, the best videos of the year? you've got to see this. 25 or more of them? do you have a financial plan for you family that works, in good times and in bad times? having the right perspective can help you answer the big questions. for more than 140 years, pacific life has helped find answers for those navigating the path to financial security. ask a financial professional about pacific life - the power to help you succeed. did you hear sam... ...got promoted to director? so 12 seconds ago. we should get him a present. thanks f

. >>> in howell, michigan, a shoplifter with a change of heart 30 years later. owner of country squire fireplace and lighting opened a letter and two crisp bills fell out. >> the money fell out first. two crisp $100. >> sorry to say that i took that and left. >> the letter writer signed it "remorseful." the storeowner says the money will go to charity. >>> okay. the shoplifter got the payback idea after hearing a story about a man in seattle. he recently repaid money he'd stolen from a sears cash register 60 years ago. so finally, a clear conscience for both of those folks. but i want your confession this morning. send it to me on twitter at tjholmes -- you can post on our facebook page or blog, as well. given those stories of people who are now paying up for stealing something some 30 years ago or 60 years ago, what would you like to confess this morning? doesn't have to be a theft, but what would you like to confess and make amends? maybe i'll have one, as well. >>> so, 20 minutes past the hour now. who is your favorite cnn hero? our all-star tribute is tonigh

george howell is still lilive i atlanta.heir accounts. >> christine, ali, good morning. fair to say, this is a complicated case with a lot of moving parts to it. we know for a fact that there were at least 30 people on the bus when robert champion was killed. so, we turned to someone who understands intricate, complex cases like this to get an understanding of the questions police are skg ing to find out d this. >> reporter: a tour bus parked outside an orlando hotel november 19th. robert champion died after a vicious beating. investigators say it was a homicide that resulted from hazing. >> you look at a bus like this. the narrow aisles, the seats so close together. the ceiling. it's just such tight confines in here and to have to walk from the front to the back of the bus with people just beating the hell out of you. what must he have gone through? >> reporter: we turned to hln law enforcement analyst mike brooks to take us through the mind of investigators trying to piece together what happened to the 26-year-old victim b

i want to bring in george howell who's been following this for us.see, george, the board did not follow the governor's recommendation. do you know who's behind the board's decision today? >> reporter: brooke, for context you have to go back to tommy mitchell, the head of the alumni group herement i says the group that oversees accreditation for colleges and universities sent a warning to governor rick scott that this board of trustee should be able to make the decision without governmental pressures. we saw a board today firm in its decision that it has no desire to remove dr. are james ammons from its post and it will not be influenced by outside pressures. later in the day we got a response from the governor saying he will abide by the decision of the board of trustees here, brooke. >> i want to read this. this is mhow the governor reacted. i'm kweeting here. to assure the public that these investigations are clearly independent, i believe it would have been in the best interest of the university for president ammons to step aside. however, we have

george howell, we talked on the phone last hour. you're now back in the studio.it up for me. >> basically, i just spoke with walter woods, the media spokesperson for dekalb county schools. after looking into business strict bans over the last few months, the superintendent decided to suspend all band activities in dekalb county. that's a big deal because there's a famed school here, southwest dekalb high and that's a major feeder school into the band at famu. so simply looking over things that have happened over the last few months, walter woods says that there was one situation of inappropriate behavior that tha district to make this call. >> so, just to back up. big picture. so, this school system, specifically this one high school, big feeder into the famed band. we know it's happened there. it's come out in the past couple of weeks. is anyone there directly been making the connection that these incidents of hazing begin in high school and continue through college? >> no direct connection, but it is important to point out that robert champion went to southwest

high pressure to the north, where it comes together, the pressure griddent, that is where the winds howelln they moved through parts of southern california, all the wind comes from the basin and hits the mountains and it has to come in through the valleys and scan beyonds and that is what we are dealing with. we have it tonight. look at the pictures coming from california, maybe damage, trees down, all over the place. pasadena having to declare states of emergency in parts of their areas of pasadena. a lot of people dealing with this. a lot of people with roof damage and power outages and trees down. and rough going on the roads. tonight it is, getting better, though. and we have rain and snow side and arizona and southern california is cut off from the flow so it will move its way toward the east but not in any big hurry. it will be a big snow maker with winter storm warnings around the four corner states and some areas will see over 1' of snow, the four corners. by saturday, it will be an ice storm across texas and oklahoma and then it moves to the east slowly the next weekend and next w

. >> george howell, appreciate it. thank you. >>> former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky will have a preliminary hearing on tuesday. there he will be confronted by accusers with harrowing stories of rape and molestation. >>> long-time penn state coach joe paterno lost his job because of the sandusky scandal. now we're learning paterno is back in the hospital with a fractured pelvis. he apparently fell in his home last night. paterno is also undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer. >>> in los angeles, we're learning a little bit more about friday's shooting rampage in downtown hollywood. >> oh, my god. are you all right? >> this is sunset and vine. it's one of the most well-known intersections in the world. police shot and killed the gunman soon after this video was taken. he's identified as a 26-year-old. his name is tyler breen. the l.a. times reports that his exgirlfriend said that they had recently broken up after four years of dating. she said he recently started taking pharmaceutical drugs and h

george howell, cnn, tallahassee, in florida. >> on sunday you will hear from the mothers of two of thehers of the marching 100. i will have them saturday on cnn. >>> a development in the serial killings investigations on long island. police say bodies along the beaches are the work of one serial killer. we will talk to a forensic psychologist after the break. ♪ [ electronic beeping ] [ male announcer ] still getting dandruff? neutrogena® t/gel shampoo defeats dandruff after just one use. t/gel shampoo. it works. neutrogena®. >>> let's get you caught up on the headlines now. islamists were the big winners in egypt this week. the muslim brotherhood says the result reflects the will of the people and other parties should respect it. the moderate group won 40% of the vote. lawmakers will rewrite the constitution. more liberal parties performed poorly in the election but hope to rebound before the next round of voting. >>> another bloody day in syria where at least 22 people were killed. ten of those died in the city of holmes where we believe this video was shot. the government refused to

. >> george howell, cnn, atlanta. >> good luck to that movement. >>> in new york city, police are nowg up security for tonight's big new year's eve bash. a million people are expected to watch the ball drop tonight in times square. can you sense a heightened police presence this early? >> it's tough to tell. there's certainly a number of plain clothed security officer here. about 10,000 of them have fanned out across the city protecting areas such as the hudson area where ships will be, they can be cruise ships enjoying dinner cruises and as well as several other officers here in the city. but, you know, it's also a party. soqpodz we have people coming down to new york city, there's not going to be alcohol or any kind of backpacks allowed right here in times square. they'll be put in these pens, about 65 of them. once they're inside, they won't be allowed. so no coffee, no bathroom breaks. people have to stick it out and wait until 11:59 when that balÓ drops. anderson cooper and cathy griffin will be right behind me on that platform there. you can see now people are starting to congre

george howell, cnn, tallahassee, florida. >> millions of long-term unemployed americans could see theirl benefits dry up next year. it all depends on whether congress decides to extend them into january and beyond. details now from cnn's athena jones. >> i never thought i'd be in this situation. >> reporter: if congress doesn't act, millions of people who are out of work could lose federal unemployment benefits next year. people like marcello virgil. >> if i lose my benefits, it's going to be rough. i have three kids to take care of here. i have five kids total. if i don't find work soon, i have no idea what i'm going to do. >> reporter: he lost his job at a hospital last year. his wife has been out of work for more than two years. virgil found work as a landscaper over the summer. but the project lasted just two months. his state unemployment benefits will run out in february. the federal government supplements the 26 weeks of benefits provided by most states, allowing people up to 99 weeks of aid, as long as they're looking for work. the average weekly benefit is about $300. under cur

. >> george howell, thanks so much from memphis. >>> bloodshed across syria now as security force continue a brutal eight month crackdown against protesters there. women and children are reportedly among the dead. we go live to the middle east right after this. >>> security forces reportedly killed 60 people across syria today. i want to warn you some of the video you're about to see is very graphic, cnn jim clancy is in tripoli, lebanon. he has the latest on this eight month syrian crackdown. i understand one of yesterday's, among those dead was a small child, a 10-year-old, right? >> reporter: a 10-year-old child sitting in his own home by a window hit by a single round that was fired penetrated that window frame. he bled to death in his own home. a very sad case certainly. and indicative of the way the violence has been spiraling downwards in syria and especially in the city of haams. then came his funeral and at his funeral the people who were carrying his body in a procession actually came under fire from snipers. we talked to abdul who is a member of the revolutionary council and he

. >>> next, george howell who is here with me, somebody who bought a powerball lottery ticket in maryland$125 million richer. that ticket was sold on christmas eve. there's another lottery winner out there, another one who has got a $77 million jackpot waiting, and time -- time is running out. when was this ticket sold? >> june 29th. >> june 29th, $77 million. >> someone maybe not looking at the numbers. didn't check the ticket out. time is definitely rinning out. what would you do with that money? >> i probably wouldn't be here tomorrow, but that's just me. and i didn't buy the ticket, so don't werery, i'll be here tomorrow. >> bottom line. i talked to the people at the lottery. they say this ticket has to be claimed very quickly. 180 days after the purchase date. that makes today the deadline. here is the catch, also, it has to be purchased at a kiosk, one of two kiosks at hartsfield jackson airport because the office hours are closed today. i'll show you the winning numbers to this ticket. be sure to take a look at this, 24, 30, 45, 57, 59. now, you should go back, check your pockets,

. >> tonight cnn george howell has the latest for us from memphis where these incidents took place whendd was a sports director at a local ymca. george? >> reporter: memphis police confirm there's an active investigation into the former president and ceo of the amateur athletic union, robert bobby dodd. this investigation started after two men decided to confront dodd and share their stories on espn's "outside the line" claiming that dodd sexually abused them back in the 1980 when these men were teenagers. both say they decided to speak out, given the sexual abuse allegation that are playing out at syracuse university and penn state. now one of the men spoke anonymously to espn but one of the men, ralph west decided to speak on camera saying he was sexually abused at least six times back in the 1980s. just look at what he told "outside the lines." >> i was dead asleep. i don't remember anything but waking up and he's trying to put his hand in my boxer shorts. and i jourp jumped up straight bed and he's laying down there next to my bed. of course i was freaked out. >> how did he get in t

steve howell turns 45 today. if it your birthday, happy birthday to you! >>> welcome back to 9news now. severe weather alert day. here's howard to tell us what that means. >> we're dernd about and we issue that whenever the weather will be threatening in a sense. we're not talking severe thunderstorms today. the problem with the severe weather day will be the flooding potential. the flood watches in effect. tonight we have a little bit of a snow potential. it is the flood concern that prompts that severe weather alert day. we show you the flood watch in and across the entire region up through baltimore and philadelphia, much of new jersey. the one locally until 3:00, out to the west of us in the shenandoah valley and parts of west virginia, that goes until 7:00 p.m. because by then, we'll be raining as much as it will be probably snowing up there. we'll talk about the snow in just a moment. first thing's first, your bus stop forecast, rainy and mild. some of the rain is heavy. 50s, low 60s early. give them a heavier coat. by the time we go home this aftern