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CNN Live Today

Absent-Minded Motorist in Westchester; Firefighter Finds His Voice After Ten Year Lapse

Aired May 04, 2005 - 11:31   ET

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

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


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: This news is coming out of Ft. Hood, Texas. It involves Private Lynndie England. It is the sentencing face of her court-martial. She -- it has been delayed now until 2:00 p.m. Eastern. During the sentencing phase, Private Charles Graner got up on the stand and was defending her, saying she couldn't be blamed for her actions. Well, the judge put a stop to that, saying you can't put on a defense of Lynndie England when you've already pleaded guilty.
Earlier this week, on Monday, Lynndie England pleaded to seven counts of mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. She does face up to 11 years in connection with those charges. It is believed that she will get a lesser sentence than that. But once again, this has all been delayed because the judge was not happy with how the testimony was going and the tactics used by the defense. They'll get started once again at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

Much more with our Susan Candiotti, coming up in the next hour with Wolf Blitzer.

Meanwhile, let's take a look at other things happening "Now in the News." Iraqi police recruits took the brunt of a suicide attack today in the Kurdish city of Arbil. At least 47 people were killed. About 100 were wounded, many of them seriously. Today's bombing was the deadliest attack in two months. A claim of responsibility was posted on a Web site of a militant group.

Pakistani authorities say they've arrested a key al Qaeda suspect. Abu Faraj al Libbi was wanted in connection with two assassination attempts against Pakistan's president. He is in custody, along with ten other al Qaeda suspects.

In Santa Maria, California, this will likely be the final day of the prosecution's case in the Michael Jackson molestation trial. A former producer for Jackson is scheduled on the stand when court resumes. He's expected to be questioned about Jackson's input in the making of a video meant to rebut an unflattering documentary of the pop star.

And in a Texas, a convicted pedophile who had once demanded castration has been released from prison after serving eight years of a 20-year sentence. Prison officials say they could not confirm that Larry Don McQuay had ever had the castration procedure that he agreed to ten years ago. McQuay's location will be monitored constantly and he will be heavily supervised over the next 11 years. A judge in Wichita, Kansas, has set a June 27 trial date for the suspect in the BTK killings. That date is likely to be postponed. Dennis Rader pleaded not guilty yesterday to ten counts of murder. The prosecutor told Rader she would seek a so-called hard 40 sentence, meaning he would have to serve at least 40 years if convicted. She says the state is ready to move forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOLA FOULSTON, SEDGWICK COUNTY D.A.: We've been working on the prosecution of this case, irrespective of the fact that we didn't have a suspect in custody. You don't just let a case sit there dormant, you continue to work on it, even as if there was a suspect in custody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty in this case. All of the crimes were committed before Kansas passed its capital punishment in 1994.

Well, wait until you see these pictures from New York. The story of the absent-minded motorist who came close to causing a huge disaster. Here, reporter Chad Newton (ph) from our affiliate News 12 Westchester.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was scared because I never see something like this.

CHAD NEWTON (ph), NEWS 12 REPORTER (voice-over): Imagine being at a gas station to see this happening. This black Mercedes drives away with the nozzle still attached to it, taking down a gas pump in the process and then sparking a fire.

MOSES KOUASSI, GAS STATION EMPLOYEE: It was something -- very scary stuff, because everybody was running, you know, all the customers.

NEWTON: Moses Kouassi was working on Saturday when this all happened at the Mobil Gas Station on White Plains Road in Eastchester. Fortunately, neither he nor anyone else was hurt in this potentially explosive situation, because a gas station worker triggered the emergency fire extinguisher.

FAHMI QUAWASMI, GAS STATION OWNER: The cashier reacted very good. He called the fire station before he waited for the whole station to burn down, which is very smart.

NEWTON: But about the driver who started it all? The station's manager says that's him in the brown jacket. You can see him chatting inside the gas station before everything happened. But no one has heard from him since.

TOM NABER, MANAGER: He should have stopped in here, because when he drove out of here, OK, he saw all -- everything happening. Even my guys here tried to run after him, OK, but they couldn't catch him.

NEWTON: But the driver did use his credit card to pay for gas. The broken machine is now at a warehouse in Newberg (ph) and it's only a matter of time before they get his credit card number out of it and track him down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: They will be finding him. More on that story ahead.

Also ahead, a startling change for a severely injured firefighter. After a roof collapse leaves him brain damaged, he speaks his first words in almost a decade. When CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: In Buffalo, New York, the family of a severely injured firefighter was hoping for a miracle. Now it seems that miracle has arrived, the man suddenly talking after a ten year lapse. They're waiting to see if the stunning turn-around will last. CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON MANKA, FIREFIGHTER'S UNCLE: It's amazing. It was amazing when he started recognizing people after nine-and-a-half years. You can only imagine.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But it's hard to imagine that firefighter Donald Herbert broke his silence nearly a decade after suffering brain damage while fighting a fire. His family says that is just what happened Saturday, when he spontaneously began speaking. And with so much to catch up on, he spoke to them for 14 hours.

Simon Manka is Herbert's uncle.

MANKA: The conversations and the memories were basically talking to the family, wondering how his boys were, how they were doing, where they were at, things of that nature.

SNOW: And his four sons were at a very different place from when he last remembered them. His youngest boy, Nicholas, was only three when Herbert was injured in December of 1995. That injury came while fighting a fire in Buffalo. A roof collapsed. He was trapped and deprived of oxygen for several minutes. His family says he was in a coma for nearly three months, awoke from it, but was left brain damaged.

LINDA HERBERT: Miracles occur every day.

SNOW: That was back in 1996, when Linda Herbert publicly hoped for her husband's recovery. Fund-raisers were held, with fellow firefighters rallying to the family's side. Years later some of those same firemen were by his side, visiting him over the past few days. LT. ANTHONY LIBERATORE, BUFFALO FIRE DEPARTMENT: He recognized me when I walked in the room and told him who I was. He stayed up until early morning talking to his boys and catching up on what they've been doing all the last several years.

SNOW: But family and friends are stopping short of calling this a miracle. Rather, they're waiting to hear what doctors have to say. One thing they will say is that this case is unusual.

DR. JOSEPH FINS, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: Some patients do lapse back into unconsciousness. Other patients continue to improve. But there's a very small number of patients from which to talk about.

SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Dr. Tony Stringer is a neuropsychologist at Emory University in Atlanta. He's an expert on traumatic brain injuries. Good morning. Thanks for being here with us.

DR. ANTHONY STRINGER, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Thank you. It's my pleasure.

KAGAN: Have you ever seen anything like this in your practice?

STRINGER: No, I haven't. These are very rare cases. I've only read or heard about cases like this, but have seen this type of recovery so long after an injury.

KAGAN: How do you explain it?

STRINGER: I don't know we really know what's going on. One real important question is whether or not this is a permanent change. If it's a temporary or transient change, it may just simply could be that there's an increase in excitation or arousal, you know, that has temporarily resulted in these improvements. If it's a long term change, it's harder to explain.

KAGAN: When you're dealing with most brain injury patients, this is not a realistic outcome. How do you prepare families and the people you work with for the realistic future that they face?

STRINGER: Well, health care professionals have to talk about likely outcomes and what the odds are of various outcomes. So you want to give patients and family members a realistic picture what you expect, but I don't think you ever want to completely take away hope. There are just too many unknowns for us to say with 100 percent certainty what the outcome will be. We can only give a family member or a patient our best guess.

KAGAN: Now even as big of a miracle as this is -- and we are looking forward to perhaps hearing from the family later today -- there will still be challenges for this man. And even when people who have suffered brain injuries, when they look all fine on the outside, there's still a lot going on inside their heads.

STRINGER: Yes, that's very true. You know, we don't always know, particularly if patients are not able to communicate exactly what's going on. But certainly even if this is a permanent change, there is a considerable recovery that he has to make in order for there to be a real change in his circumstances.

KAGAN: For instance?

STRINGER: Well, for instance, you know, he would need to be able to take care of his self-care better than he's currently been described as being able to do. That would include feeding himself, grooming himself and so on. This would be the initial focus of efforts to produce a change in his functional situation.

KAGAN: And people with brain injury, you often hear about memory loss.

STRINGER: Yes. Yes, we tend to think of memory impairment as sort of the common cold of brain injury. Almost every brain-injury patient will have some degree of memory loss, and often it can be severe and quite permanent.

KAGAN: And what about the psychological effect, the time warp here? He thought he was out three months. He was gone 10 years. That must be an overwhelming feeling of everything that you missed.

STRINGER: I'm sure it's a tremendous shock. to him. You know, I can only imagine that he must be feeling quite overwhelmed, but also I'm sure there's a feeling of joy that, you know, that he is at least momentarily again able to encounter his family and the environment in a more active way.

KAGAN: How important is the support the outside world. Once again, you look OK on the outside, but you really need support and understanding of people who surround you.

STRINGER: It's absolutely critical. Family support is one of the major predictors of how well people do, as well as how well people adjust to this type of catastrophic injury.

KAGAN: Dr. Anthony Stringer, from Emory University. Dr. Stringer, thank you.

STRINGER: Thank you.

KAGAN: Well, the family of the firefighter, Donald Herbert, will speak with reporters today. That is expected at 2:00 Eastern in Buffalo. Look for live coverage here on CNN during "LIVE FROM" with Miles and Kyra.

For your daily dose of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical stories, special reports and a health library. The address is CNN.com/health.

Well, there's nothing healthy about this next story. Is it a heart attack on a bun? Big Mac and Whopper, step aside, there is a new king of burgers. Oh, my goodness. That's huge. And a new scandal surrounding "American Idol?" Not talking about Paul Abdul. A Web site threatens to shake up the voting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Here's a look at what's making news overseas this morning.

All that is about South Koreans protesting the North's nuclear program in Seoul. They burned a North Korean flag and even threw eggs at it. Demonstrators demanded the international community to punish the North.

Villagers in India are sending a baby elephant to a shelter today. The calf fell into an abandoned well. The mother alerted rescuers with her wail. But they couldn't lift the big baby. It took more than a day to dig it out, and by then, mama was gone. Even if she's found, it's likely the mother would reject the calf.

And so much for freedom of the press. Kenya's first lady went on a five hour tirade in a Nairobi newsroom. Whew, I think she's a little upset. Luck Kibaki is upset over coverage of her and her family. One newspaper headline today screamed, "Lucy on the Loose!" An editorial calls on the president to reign in his hot-tempered wife.

And an era when super-sizing is so 1990s, here comes the new king of burgers. And it is a belly buster. The Beer Barrel Pub, north of Pittsburgh, has put a 15-pound burger on the menu. It's ten pounds of ground beef, topped with 25 slices of cheese, an entire head of lettuce, three red ripe tomatoes, two onions, and a huge amount of mayo, ketchup, mustard and relish. The calories -- well, you had to ask -- about 12,000 in the meat patty alone.

Let's check in with Wolf Blitzer. Wolf, I think like the old saying, if you have to ask how many calories in the burger, you can't afford to eat it.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I certainly can't afford to eat it, though, Daryn, I think you could. Not for me, though.

Let's go get back to what we have coming at the top of the hour on NEWS FROM CNN. A major story we're following that's developing involving the war on terror. A key al Qaeda suspect with ties to Osama bin Laden arrested in Pakistan. We're tracking the fast-moving developments from here in Washington, as well as from the region.

Plus, making it illegal to issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. Will that make America safer? That question is at the center of an emotional debate on Capitol Hill. Right now, coming up, I'll speak with two key members of the House Judiciary Committee with very different perspectives. Watch for those stories. Much more coming up right at the top of the hour on NEWS FROM CNN.

In the meantime, Daryn, back to you. You going to have that cheeseburger when you get off? KAGAN: No, I don't like cheeseburgers. Even small ones I don't like. Hot dogs, maybe, but not cheeseburgers. Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you.

KAGAN: We will see you in a bit, when I get to move on to lunch.

Well, the higher the pedestal, the farther the fall. The saying applies to celebrities and maybe to "American Idol." That long- running hit show faces a new assault on its popularity and its integrity.

Here now, CNN's Christina Park at the dot-com desk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: It could be the craziest season ever for "American Idol" and CNN.com is taking you through the latest scandal to hit the show, and what some think could sabotage the results. While the Fox show invites viewers to vote for the best singer, one Web site is urging fans to do the exact opposite. Trying to shake things up, it's urging people to call and vote for contestant Scott Sable, (ph), whom it calls the worst of the final five. It's a big joke.

Well, many "Idol" fans don't seem to think it's so funny. We've been getting e-mails that accuse the site of making a mockery of their favorite show. Some fans say it's ruining the chances for other talented contestants to win. Either way, someone's going home tonight.

But before that happens, check out the final five before they become the fabulous four. We've got a photo gallery and bios. Find out which "Idol" runner-up can play piano, guitar, bass, sax and harmonica. And we'd love to know what you think. Don't forget to vote on Web site. At CNN.com/showbiz, we want to know who you think should be voted off tonight. And be sure to stock up on tissues, there's going to be a lot of crying tonight.

May the best singer win. I'm Christina Park, reporting from the dot-com newsdesk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: A new exhibit comes to South Korea, begging the question, who wears the pants in this family? Because these are some pretty big pants. The details when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Now, the picture is from South Korea. Levi's -- there they are, there's the big jeans. (INAUDIBLE) would have called the world's largest blue jeans near Olympic Stadium in Seoul. The trousers stand ten stories tall, weigh 500 pounds. Levi's marking the 150th anniversary by taking part in Seoul's jeans festival. So if you eat that huge cheeseburger, then you got to wear those jeans.

And that's how we tie up the whole show. That's going to do it for me. I'm Daryn Kagan. I'll see you right back here tomorrow morning. Wolf Blitzer, taking over from Washington, D.C. Hi, Wolf.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired May 4, 2005 - 11:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: This news is coming out of Ft. Hood, Texas. It involves Private Lynndie England. It is the sentencing face of her court-martial. She -- it has been delayed now until 2:00 p.m. Eastern. During the sentencing phase, Private Charles Graner got up on the stand and was defending her, saying she couldn't be blamed for her actions. Well, the judge put a stop to that, saying you can't put on a defense of Lynndie England when you've already pleaded guilty.
Earlier this week, on Monday, Lynndie England pleaded to seven counts of mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. She does face up to 11 years in connection with those charges. It is believed that she will get a lesser sentence than that. But once again, this has all been delayed because the judge was not happy with how the testimony was going and the tactics used by the defense. They'll get started once again at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

Much more with our Susan Candiotti, coming up in the next hour with Wolf Blitzer.

Meanwhile, let's take a look at other things happening "Now in the News." Iraqi police recruits took the brunt of a suicide attack today in the Kurdish city of Arbil. At least 47 people were killed. About 100 were wounded, many of them seriously. Today's bombing was the deadliest attack in two months. A claim of responsibility was posted on a Web site of a militant group.

Pakistani authorities say they've arrested a key al Qaeda suspect. Abu Faraj al Libbi was wanted in connection with two assassination attempts against Pakistan's president. He is in custody, along with ten other al Qaeda suspects.

In Santa Maria, California, this will likely be the final day of the prosecution's case in the Michael Jackson molestation trial. A former producer for Jackson is scheduled on the stand when court resumes. He's expected to be questioned about Jackson's input in the making of a video meant to rebut an unflattering documentary of the pop star.

And in a Texas, a convicted pedophile who had once demanded castration has been released from prison after serving eight years of a 20-year sentence. Prison officials say they could not confirm that Larry Don McQuay had ever had the castration procedure that he agreed to ten years ago. McQuay's location will be monitored constantly and he will be heavily supervised over the next 11 years. A judge in Wichita, Kansas, has set a June 27 trial date for the suspect in the BTK killings. That date is likely to be postponed. Dennis Rader pleaded not guilty yesterday to ten counts of murder. The prosecutor told Rader she would seek a so-called hard 40 sentence, meaning he would have to serve at least 40 years if convicted. She says the state is ready to move forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOLA FOULSTON, SEDGWICK COUNTY D.A.: We've been working on the prosecution of this case, irrespective of the fact that we didn't have a suspect in custody. You don't just let a case sit there dormant, you continue to work on it, even as if there was a suspect in custody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty in this case. All of the crimes were committed before Kansas passed its capital punishment in 1994.

Well, wait until you see these pictures from New York. The story of the absent-minded motorist who came close to causing a huge disaster. Here, reporter Chad Newton (ph) from our affiliate News 12 Westchester.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was scared because I never see something like this.

CHAD NEWTON (ph), NEWS 12 REPORTER (voice-over): Imagine being at a gas station to see this happening. This black Mercedes drives away with the nozzle still attached to it, taking down a gas pump in the process and then sparking a fire.

MOSES KOUASSI, GAS STATION EMPLOYEE: It was something -- very scary stuff, because everybody was running, you know, all the customers.

NEWTON: Moses Kouassi was working on Saturday when this all happened at the Mobil Gas Station on White Plains Road in Eastchester. Fortunately, neither he nor anyone else was hurt in this potentially explosive situation, because a gas station worker triggered the emergency fire extinguisher.

FAHMI QUAWASMI, GAS STATION OWNER: The cashier reacted very good. He called the fire station before he waited for the whole station to burn down, which is very smart.

NEWTON: But about the driver who started it all? The station's manager says that's him in the brown jacket. You can see him chatting inside the gas station before everything happened. But no one has heard from him since.

TOM NABER, MANAGER: He should have stopped in here, because when he drove out of here, OK, he saw all -- everything happening. Even my guys here tried to run after him, OK, but they couldn't catch him.

NEWTON: But the driver did use his credit card to pay for gas. The broken machine is now at a warehouse in Newberg (ph) and it's only a matter of time before they get his credit card number out of it and track him down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: They will be finding him. More on that story ahead.

Also ahead, a startling change for a severely injured firefighter. After a roof collapse leaves him brain damaged, he speaks his first words in almost a decade. When CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: In Buffalo, New York, the family of a severely injured firefighter was hoping for a miracle. Now it seems that miracle has arrived, the man suddenly talking after a ten year lapse. They're waiting to see if the stunning turn-around will last. CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON MANKA, FIREFIGHTER'S UNCLE: It's amazing. It was amazing when he started recognizing people after nine-and-a-half years. You can only imagine.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But it's hard to imagine that firefighter Donald Herbert broke his silence nearly a decade after suffering brain damage while fighting a fire. His family says that is just what happened Saturday, when he spontaneously began speaking. And with so much to catch up on, he spoke to them for 14 hours.

Simon Manka is Herbert's uncle.

MANKA: The conversations and the memories were basically talking to the family, wondering how his boys were, how they were doing, where they were at, things of that nature.

SNOW: And his four sons were at a very different place from when he last remembered them. His youngest boy, Nicholas, was only three when Herbert was injured in December of 1995. That injury came while fighting a fire in Buffalo. A roof collapsed. He was trapped and deprived of oxygen for several minutes. His family says he was in a coma for nearly three months, awoke from it, but was left brain damaged.

LINDA HERBERT: Miracles occur every day.

SNOW: That was back in 1996, when Linda Herbert publicly hoped for her husband's recovery. Fund-raisers were held, with fellow firefighters rallying to the family's side. Years later some of those same firemen were by his side, visiting him over the past few days. LT. ANTHONY LIBERATORE, BUFFALO FIRE DEPARTMENT: He recognized me when I walked in the room and told him who I was. He stayed up until early morning talking to his boys and catching up on what they've been doing all the last several years.

SNOW: But family and friends are stopping short of calling this a miracle. Rather, they're waiting to hear what doctors have to say. One thing they will say is that this case is unusual.

DR. JOSEPH FINS, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: Some patients do lapse back into unconsciousness. Other patients continue to improve. But there's a very small number of patients from which to talk about.

SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Dr. Tony Stringer is a neuropsychologist at Emory University in Atlanta. He's an expert on traumatic brain injuries. Good morning. Thanks for being here with us.

DR. ANTHONY STRINGER, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Thank you. It's my pleasure.

KAGAN: Have you ever seen anything like this in your practice?

STRINGER: No, I haven't. These are very rare cases. I've only read or heard about cases like this, but have seen this type of recovery so long after an injury.

KAGAN: How do you explain it?

STRINGER: I don't know we really know what's going on. One real important question is whether or not this is a permanent change. If it's a temporary or transient change, it may just simply could be that there's an increase in excitation or arousal, you know, that has temporarily resulted in these improvements. If it's a long term change, it's harder to explain.

KAGAN: When you're dealing with most brain injury patients, this is not a realistic outcome. How do you prepare families and the people you work with for the realistic future that they face?

STRINGER: Well, health care professionals have to talk about likely outcomes and what the odds are of various outcomes. So you want to give patients and family members a realistic picture what you expect, but I don't think you ever want to completely take away hope. There are just too many unknowns for us to say with 100 percent certainty what the outcome will be. We can only give a family member or a patient our best guess.

KAGAN: Now even as big of a miracle as this is -- and we are looking forward to perhaps hearing from the family later today -- there will still be challenges for this man. And even when people who have suffered brain injuries, when they look all fine on the outside, there's still a lot going on inside their heads.

STRINGER: Yes, that's very true. You know, we don't always know, particularly if patients are not able to communicate exactly what's going on. But certainly even if this is a permanent change, there is a considerable recovery that he has to make in order for there to be a real change in his circumstances.

KAGAN: For instance?

STRINGER: Well, for instance, you know, he would need to be able to take care of his self-care better than he's currently been described as being able to do. That would include feeding himself, grooming himself and so on. This would be the initial focus of efforts to produce a change in his functional situation.

KAGAN: And people with brain injury, you often hear about memory loss.

STRINGER: Yes. Yes, we tend to think of memory impairment as sort of the common cold of brain injury. Almost every brain-injury patient will have some degree of memory loss, and often it can be severe and quite permanent.

KAGAN: And what about the psychological effect, the time warp here? He thought he was out three months. He was gone 10 years. That must be an overwhelming feeling of everything that you missed.

STRINGER: I'm sure it's a tremendous shock. to him. You know, I can only imagine that he must be feeling quite overwhelmed, but also I'm sure there's a feeling of joy that, you know, that he is at least momentarily again able to encounter his family and the environment in a more active way.

KAGAN: How important is the support the outside world. Once again, you look OK on the outside, but you really need support and understanding of people who surround you.

STRINGER: It's absolutely critical. Family support is one of the major predictors of how well people do, as well as how well people adjust to this type of catastrophic injury.

KAGAN: Dr. Anthony Stringer, from Emory University. Dr. Stringer, thank you.

STRINGER: Thank you.

KAGAN: Well, the family of the firefighter, Donald Herbert, will speak with reporters today. That is expected at 2:00 Eastern in Buffalo. Look for live coverage here on CNN during "LIVE FROM" with Miles and Kyra.

For your daily dose of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical stories, special reports and a health library. The address is CNN.com/health.

Well, there's nothing healthy about this next story. Is it a heart attack on a bun? Big Mac and Whopper, step aside, there is a new king of burgers. Oh, my goodness. That's huge. And a new scandal surrounding "American Idol?" Not talking about Paul Abdul. A Web site threatens to shake up the voting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Here's a look at what's making news overseas this morning.

All that is about South Koreans protesting the North's nuclear program in Seoul. They burned a North Korean flag and even threw eggs at it. Demonstrators demanded the international community to punish the North.

Villagers in India are sending a baby elephant to a shelter today. The calf fell into an abandoned well. The mother alerted rescuers with her wail. But they couldn't lift the big baby. It took more than a day to dig it out, and by then, mama was gone. Even if she's found, it's likely the mother would reject the calf.

And so much for freedom of the press. Kenya's first lady went on a five hour tirade in a Nairobi newsroom. Whew, I think she's a little upset. Luck Kibaki is upset over coverage of her and her family. One newspaper headline today screamed, "Lucy on the Loose!" An editorial calls on the president to reign in his hot-tempered wife.

And an era when super-sizing is so 1990s, here comes the new king of burgers. And it is a belly buster. The Beer Barrel Pub, north of Pittsburgh, has put a 15-pound burger on the menu. It's ten pounds of ground beef, topped with 25 slices of cheese, an entire head of lettuce, three red ripe tomatoes, two onions, and a huge amount of mayo, ketchup, mustard and relish. The calories -- well, you had to ask -- about 12,000 in the meat patty alone.

Let's check in with Wolf Blitzer. Wolf, I think like the old saying, if you have to ask how many calories in the burger, you can't afford to eat it.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I certainly can't afford to eat it, though, Daryn, I think you could. Not for me, though.

Let's go get back to what we have coming at the top of the hour on NEWS FROM CNN. A major story we're following that's developing involving the war on terror. A key al Qaeda suspect with ties to Osama bin Laden arrested in Pakistan. We're tracking the fast-moving developments from here in Washington, as well as from the region.

Plus, making it illegal to issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. Will that make America safer? That question is at the center of an emotional debate on Capitol Hill. Right now, coming up, I'll speak with two key members of the House Judiciary Committee with very different perspectives. Watch for those stories. Much more coming up right at the top of the hour on NEWS FROM CNN.

In the meantime, Daryn, back to you. You going to have that cheeseburger when you get off? KAGAN: No, I don't like cheeseburgers. Even small ones I don't like. Hot dogs, maybe, but not cheeseburgers. Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you.

KAGAN: We will see you in a bit, when I get to move on to lunch.

Well, the higher the pedestal, the farther the fall. The saying applies to celebrities and maybe to "American Idol." That long- running hit show faces a new assault on its popularity and its integrity.

Here now, CNN's Christina Park at the dot-com desk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: It could be the craziest season ever for "American Idol" and CNN.com is taking you through the latest scandal to hit the show, and what some think could sabotage the results. While the Fox show invites viewers to vote for the best singer, one Web site is urging fans to do the exact opposite. Trying to shake things up, it's urging people to call and vote for contestant Scott Sable, (ph), whom it calls the worst of the final five. It's a big joke.

Well, many "Idol" fans don't seem to think it's so funny. We've been getting e-mails that accuse the site of making a mockery of their favorite show. Some fans say it's ruining the chances for other talented contestants to win. Either way, someone's going home tonight.

But before that happens, check out the final five before they become the fabulous four. We've got a photo gallery and bios. Find out which "Idol" runner-up can play piano, guitar, bass, sax and harmonica. And we'd love to know what you think. Don't forget to vote on Web site. At CNN.com/showbiz, we want to know who you think should be voted off tonight. And be sure to stock up on tissues, there's going to be a lot of crying tonight.

May the best singer win. I'm Christina Park, reporting from the dot-com newsdesk.

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KAGAN: A new exhibit comes to South Korea, begging the question, who wears the pants in this family? Because these are some pretty big pants. The details when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

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KAGAN: Now, the picture is from South Korea. Levi's -- there they are, there's the big jeans. (INAUDIBLE) would have called the world's largest blue jeans near Olympic Stadium in Seoul. The trousers stand ten stories tall, weigh 500 pounds. Levi's marking the 150th anniversary by taking part in Seoul's jeans festival. So if you eat that huge cheeseburger, then you got to wear those jeans.

And that's how we tie up the whole show. That's going to do it for me. I'm Daryn Kagan. I'll see you right back here tomorrow morning. Wolf Blitzer, taking over from Washington, D.C. Hi, Wolf.

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