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CNN Sunday Morning

Northwest Airline Jet Blows Four Tires While Landing; Roadside Bomb Explodes in Kabul

Aired August 21, 2005 - 09:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, problems for Northwest Airlines. This jet blew four tires while landing at the Detroit Airport. But the airline says the glitches have nothing to do with the strike. The airlines says most of its flights ran on time Saturday. Union mechanics chose to walk the picket line rather than accept pay cuts and layoffs.
And this just in to CNN. A roadside bomb exploded near a convoy of U.S. embassy vehicles in the Afghan capital of Kabul today. Two American officials were slightly hurt. A live report straight ahead.

Earlier, another bomb attack in Afghanistan killed four U.S. soldiers. Three other troops were wounded by shrapnel from secondary blasts while trying to pull their buddies to safety. Eleven Americans in all have been killed this month alone in Afghanistan.

A throng of hundreds of thousands greeted the pope this morning in his home country. Benedict XVI celebrated an open-air mass in Germany to end World Youth Day celebrations. The week-long gathering of Catholic young people was created by his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Thomas Herrion has died. A third string guard, he collapsed in a Denver locker room last night just after a pre-season game against the Broncos. No word on the cause of his death. Herrion was 23 and weighed 310 pounds, standing at 6'3". We'll have more in a moment.

Good morning from the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. It is Sunday, the 21st of August, and I'm in for Betty Nguyen.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for starting your day with us. Coming up, the gasoline crisis has some scrambling for fuel alternatives. One man goes on a cross-country ride to see if ethanol is practical.

And legendary folk singer Joan Baez is expected to join war protesters in Crawford, Texas this morning.

Plus, music inspired by the war in Iraq. The songs from the desert in this morning's "Soldier's Story."

WHITFIELD: Back to our top story. Northwest says it's weathering the walkout. Thousands of airline mechanics went on strike yesterday. There were a couple of flight glitches this weekend, but Northwest says they're not linked to the strike, and that things seem to be running smoothly. Here's CNN's J.J. Ramberg.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is day two for the strikers at Northwest Airlines. The American -- the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association decided to strike late Friday night. It was midnight on Friday night. It represents about 4,400 workers at Northwest Airlines.

Now, the airline did experience two complications. You mentioned one of them, the tires blowing out on that aircraft there. There were about 220 passengers on that plane. Nothing happened to any of the passengers. They were OK. Yesterday, the aircraft -- I mean, the airline also experienced another complication. One of the aircraft had to return to Detroit en route to Pittsburgh because of some smoke in the cabin, but it turns out that smoke, as it appears, was just a problem with an air conditioning unit. The airline is saying that neither of these two complication have anything to do with the strike.

Now, the mechanics decided to walk off the job on Friday night after months of negotiations with the airline, and they could not come to any agreement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our members are willing to fight. They would rather see the carrier go into bankruptcy than give into the terms that Northwest Airlines has been asking.

RAMBERG: Northwest was trying to seek $176 million in labor costs from the union. This is part of $1.1 billion they were seeking in costs overall. The airline had prepared for the eventual -- or the possibility of this strike. They had trained some temporary mechanics, as well as some in management, to take over for the striking workers. As of early this morning, Northwest was reporting very few disruptions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of the schedule, almost all of it, is running on time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you're happy with the way things are going. Are there many delays?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, there are not many delays. There are very few canceled flights, and we're very happy with the way it's going.

RAMBERG: This is the first major airline strike since 1998 when Northwest pilots grounded that airline for about 20 days. In this particular case, the pilots and the flight attendants both decided not to strike with the striking mechanics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was J.J. Ramberg -- Tony. HARRIS: Cindy Sheehan may be gone, but the anti-war vigil continues just outside of Crawford, Texas, and a big visitor is expected to join the protesters today. Let's get more from CNN's Dana Bash, who is just outside the president's ranch. Dana, good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. You know, last weekend, we really saw hundreds of people come into this tiny town of Crawford, Texas, both supporters, backers of Cindy Sheehan and her whole idea, her cause, which is to tell President Bush she thinks it's time for troops to come home from Iraq, and also supporters of Mr. Bush, those who say that the mission should continue until they think -- the commanders on the ground think it's time for the troops to come home.

This weekend, it is much more low key. We did see about 90 motorcyclists rolling through town. They are on the pro-Bush side, the side that says that troops should stay in Iraq as long as the president thinks they should be there.

As for the anti-war protesters who did start this all two weeks ago, their leader, Cindy Sheehan, as you mentioned, is not here. She's still in Los Angeles attending to her ill mother. But some of her supporters are still here. They're actually slowly moving to a new demonstration site that is closer to the president's ranch. There you see it there. That large tent has been erected over the last couple of days.

Tonight, as you mentioned, they will have some entertainment. Joan Baez, who, for those who don't know, is a folk singer -- is a folk singer, who became known for outspoken political views during the civil rights and Vietnam eras. She'll be singing and entertaining them later tonight here in Crawford -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Dana Bash, in Texas with the president. Dana, thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Tony. Well, he always aspired to be a singer, and he didn't change his tune while fighting the war in Iraq.

Next in our "Soldier's Story," music inspired in part by the horrors of war.

Plus, a new best-selling book suggests we get rid of the IRS and the tax system altogether as we know it. Find out what it would take for that to happen. And what do you think about the whole notion? Does our tax system need an overhaul? Send us your answers at weekends@cnn.com. We'll read some of your comments in the next few minutes. And Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: San Francisco 49ers players got down on their knees and prayed in the locker room after one of their teammates was rushed to the hospital. Offensive lineman Thomas Herrion collapsed last night after a pre-season game in Denver. He later died.

Chris Vanderveen from Denver affiliate KUSA is at St. Anthony's Central Hospital this morning. Is there yet a cause of death?

CHRIS VANDERVEEN, KUSA CORRESPONDENT: No. And that will come in due time, but Fredricka, I would venture a guess that many people that went to last night's Broncos game literally had no idea that this happened. This happened well after the game, within the 49ers locker room.

By all appearances, Herrion -- there is video of him walking off the field. Everything appeared all right. It was only thereafter, when he was in the locker room, shortly after a speech, a post-game talk given by the 49ers head coach, that he collapsed in the locker room.

As you might imagine, team physicians are traveling with the team. They got to him right away. They worked to try to revive him. At some point, CPR was performed, and then later, he was transported here, to St. Anthony's Central, which is only literally about two miles away from the hospital.

He was pronounced dead. We got word about 1:30 in the morning that he in fact was pronounced dead by doctors here.

Herrion is 23 years old. He was 310 pounds, a big guy, offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers. Technically, he was listed as a rookie, but he spent the last year working for the San Francisco 49ers on their practice squad, and in fact, also worked with the Dallas Cowboys. And earlier this year, he was also with NFL Europe. Earlier, before that, he was also with the University of Utah, graduated from there and spent a couple of years at junior college as well.

But as of right now, it's just too early to tell what happened, exactly what happened. We do know that he collapsed in the locker room shortly after the speech. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary as he was walking off the field. In fact, he played the last series of downs, was on the field when the 49ers scored their last touchdown during the game.

But still, a lot of questions that need to be answered. But obviously, a very tragic day for the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL in general. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Chris, people have become a lot more conscientious of the propensity of heart attacks among NFL players. You think of Reggie White, and then you think of heat exhaustion during summer training. You think of, you know, Corey Stringer. Are any parallels being made or any comparisons being made with Herrion?

VANDERVEEN: Yeah, and the death of Corey Stringer was a little more than four years ago. Back then, it was definitely heat exhaustion, it was very hot that time. But last night's game, heat was not a factor. Temperatures were in the mid-60s. There was high humidity. So on that account, you can't really draw a parallel between the two, because the temperatures were dramatically different.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. I know it's a shock to the 49ers, a shock to the NFL as a whole, and of course we'll be waiting to get more answers, still in the early stages of this investigation. Chris Vanderveen of KUSA, thanks so much -- Tony.

HARRIS: And for those of you just tuning in, here's a check of our top stories this morning. Northwest Airlines says a few weekend glitches aren't linked to a recent strike by union mechanics. One Northwest flight blew four tires upon landing at the Detroit Airport. Another plane made an emergency landing because of smoke in the cabin.

Israeli troops are back at work in Gaza. They're clearing out the remaining Jewish settlements after taking a break for the sabbath. This morning, troops had to break through a burning barricade put up by settlers who are still holding out.

WHITFIELD: On this morning's "Soldier's Story," a soundtrack to war. Stationed at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Army Specialist Nick Perez fights his battles by day and makes music by night. He was able to write and record his own CD. It's called "Letters Home."

Specialist Perez joins us now from Camp Liberty. Glad you could be with us.

SPEC. NICK PEREZ, U.S. ARMY: Thank you, ma'am, for having me. Good morning.

WHITFIELD: Good morning to you. Before we talk about your music, let's talk about the inspiration as to why you even joined the military. 9/11, in part, was one reason. Your dad once worked for Cantor Fitzgerald, which suffered a number of casualties in the World Trade Center. What was your motivation or what's been your motivation as you have been assigned to duty?

PEREZ: Well, ma'am, my father did work at Cantor Fitzgerald, and I had enlisted in the Army after 9/11 because I had felt that something had been taken from me. I used to be able to see the World Trade Center from my house in New Jersey, and after I couldn't see them anymore, it just didn't sit right.

WHITFIELD: And now that you've been in Baghdad, you have been stationed there, what have been your impressions there?

PEREZ: The impressions, ma'am?

WHITFIELD: Yeah, your impressions during your assignment, from the camaraderie with your fellow soldiers to the interaction with the Iraqi people?

PEREZ: Yes, ma'am. I've had a great experience since I came into Baghdad. I came in thinking it was going to be a whole new world for me, and it actually was. It turned out to be a lot different than I had expected. There was a lot more camaraderie than I had thought there was going to be, and the work seemed to just be smooth. WHITFIELD: So you've always loved music, and now you're put in a place where certainly emotions are varied, are reaching various levels. Did or has your experience there in Baghdad inspired a number of the songs that you wrote and ended up compiling in your CD?

PEREZ: Well, ma'am, my feelings here, being in Baghdad, is I'd like to be home. I named the album "Letters Home," because I feel that these are modern letters home. I would record songs and send them to my family. So I'm just -- I'm in a place here where I'm proud to be doing what I'm doing in the military and serving my country, but I would rather be home with my family.

WHITFIELD: And how has the music helped you while you are rather homesick?

PEREZ: I'm sorry, ma'am?

WHITFIELD: How has the music helped you, since you are, as you say, homesick?

PEREZ: Well, when I record and play music here, it kind of takes me out of the environment I'm in, and puts me in a whole different world. It puts me in a place where I'm comfortable, and I can remember where I want to be.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, let's listen to some of your music. Let's begin with a song "Shooting Star." Let's take a listen real quick, and we'll talk about it on the other side.

(MUSIC)

WHITFIELD: Clearly, your lyrics there talk about what you're experiencing there in Baghdad. What were some of your thoughts running through your mind at the time?

PEREZ: When I did this track, ma'am?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

PEREZ: Well, I had just gotten actually back from leave. They allowed me to go home for two weeks mid-tour here, and I had gotten back, and I had wanted to be where my girlfriend was at the time, and that was the inspiration for this, ma'am.

WHITFIELD: OK. You've got another tune that we want to play, "Who's Leading Who?" On the surface or at least from the title, it sounds like there may be some political undertones, but let's take a listen and see what it's really about.

(MUSIC)

WHITFIELD: All right. So, Nick, the inspiration there?

PEREZ: All right, ma'am. Well, this is actually two parts to this. The first part of it was that the military is a corporation like any other corporation in the world, and unfortunately, sometimes -- and I feel that I can answer this question this way in a proper way -- that some people maybe climb the corporate ladder a little too early than they really deserve to.

WHITFIELD: Something that can be...

PEREZ: And...

WHITFIELD: Go ahead.

PEREZ: I'm sorry, ma'am, no, go ahead.

WHITFIELD: I'm more interested in hearing what you have to say than anybody hearing what I have to say. Go ahead.

PEREZ: OK, ma'am. So that was the first part of the story, was that, you know, some people are gaining responsibility that they're really not ready for yet. And the second part, which I felt tied into that, was that my girlfriend had cheated on me, and I think that it -- I think that it fit well into the story.

WHITFIELD: All right. The old girlfriend in the music, inspiring the music for you.

Well, Specialist Nick Perez, thanks so much for sharing your music and your thoughts with us. The CD is "Letters Home." And how can folks get their hands on a copy of your CD?

PEREZ: Well, ma'am, I have a Web site. It's www.nickperez.com.

WHITFIELD: All right. And I'm sure at the same time also accepting some nice little e-mails of encouragement while you continue to be stationed there in Baghdad. Specialist Nick Perez, thanks so much for joining us.

PEREZ: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: And be safe there -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, the deadline is only hours away. Iraqi officials are scrambling to finish a draft of the country's constitution before tomorrow. Hear what needs still to be done, plus, we'll take you live to Germany for the new hope's historic visit to his homeland. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Time to check out some of the other stories making news around the world new. A crucial deadline in Iraq as politicians rush to complete a draft constitution.

HARRIS: And, Fred, we also have the latest on the investigation into the plane crash in Greece.

WHITFIELD: For those details, let's hand it over to Anand Naidoo, at the CNN International Desk. Good morning to you, Anand.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, thanks. And good morning for me.

Yes, that's right, it's down to the wire for Iraq. Delegates drafting the country's constitution have a little more than 24 hours to complete the document. That's after they gave themselves a one- week extension to finish the job. And what we're hearing is that the role of Islam and the issue of federalism remain the main roadblocks to success, and the United States, which is basically baby-sitting the process, is now reported to have agreed that Islam will be the basis for legislation. That will be a major concession to religious conservatives.

On the other issue, federalism, Sunni Arabs and Shiites, some Shiites in the ruling government, oppose decentralization, and they want a unified Iraq.

Now, on to Jordan and the latest on the rocket attack there on a U.S. Navy ship. Officials in the country say they've arrested several people who might lead them to the attackers. The three rockets missed their targets, but one struck a warehouse, killing a Jordanian soldier and wounding another. The investigation is being led by Jordan, but also involves U.S. and Israeli officials. Now, a group linked to al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack. It said it will launch another one on the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv -- Tony.

HARRIS: Anand, what's the latest on the investigation into the Greek plane crash of a full week ago now?

NAIDOO: Right, Tony, that plane crash a week ago. We're getting information -- in fact, information that's come in in the past hour or so, the crash killed 121 people. Here's the latest. The chief coroner in Greece says that all the victims died on impact. It was initially thought some might have died before the crash, but now he's saying that they died on impact. And officials are also saying that blood found in the cockpit of the plane belonged to a male flight attendant. But they cannot confirm that that attendant was in the cockpit at the time the airliner slammed into a mountain, and that took place just north of Athens. There had been widespread circulation -- speculation, rather -- that one of the attendants had tried to fly the plane after the crew and passengers lost consciousness. The pilots of two Greek F-16 fighters that scrambled to intercept the flight noticed two figures moving around the cockpit at the time.

That is all for me for now. Let me hand it back to you, Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Anand, thank you.

And let's get another check of weather now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Jacqui.

HARRIS: We'll talk about that right now. The nationwide heat wave is affecting more than your electric bill this summer.

WHITFIELD: We're talking toil in the soil, but it's much more than agriculture that is feeling the heat.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And in less than three hours from now, the pope wraps up his trip here to Cologne. I'll be flying with him back to Rome. But before we do so, we'll have a live report coming up here after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And now in the news, word coming into CNN from Afghanistan this morning. A roadside bomb went off near a convoy of U.S. embassy vehicles in Kabul. Two American officials were slightly wounded.

In southern Afghanistan another bomb attack killed four U.S. soldiers this morning and three other soldiers were wounded trying to rescue their comrades.

San Francisco 49ers are mourning a loss of a teammate, Offensive lineman, Thomas Herrion collapsed in the locker room after a game in Denver last night. He was rushed to the hospital, but pronounced dead. No word on the cause. Herrion was just 23 and weighed more than 300 pounds.

Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING I'm Tony Harris.

WHITFIELD: I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Betty Nguyen.

A raucous homecoming for Pope Benedict XVI, they rarely get bigger than this. One million Catholic faithful celebrate an open-air mass in the German city of Cologne at the end of World Youth Day. For the details let's go to CNN's Alessio Vinci -- Alessio.

VINCI: Hello, Fredricka. Well that was the largest crowd that this pope has seen since his election back in April. One million people, as you said, flocking that field just outside of Cologne to attend the pope's mass. And while this four-day trip focused on meeting with young Catholics from all around the world and meeting also, of course, with leaders from other religions such as Muslims and Jews, this trip very much focused on comparing this new pope with the old one.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VINCI (voice-over): Pope Benedict mentioned Pope John Paul II in just about every speech during his four day trip to Cologne. The Vatican, in fact, dubbed this World Youth Day, the "Gathering of Two Popes." The magic of John Paul was that by his sheer presence, even without speaking, he could command attention of all those attending World Youth Days. Pope Benedict is clearly no clone of his predecessor nor does he want to be and many in the crowd appeared to appreciate that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just two different people. That's just how it is. I mean, not all people can be the like and we don't want everybody to be like John Paul, because that would make him not as special as he was. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love charismatic side of the church, but at the same time I like there to be the orthodox side, as well, where it's quieter and more subdued. For me that could be more enticing towards prayer.

VINCI: The sheer number of pilgrims in Cologne suggested the new pope didn't have a problem with assembling the flock, but did he find the right words to connect with them?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He seems like a really neat guy. He seems like he can kind of start to interact with people if he does, I mean, start with interact with people a little better it'll be easier, but it will definitely be great. He's a great guy.

VINCI (on camera): Are you disappointed that John Paul is not here. After all, you prepared your trip thinking he was going to be celebrating this vigil tonight?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, of course, you know, like we're all saddened by it, like there's just that initial, we kind of wanted John Paul to be here because he is the one that pumped us all up and got the youth really involved in religious affair, but I think it's just fabulous that, you know, we got to experience this with the new pope.

VINCI (voice-over): Young kids here, clearly didn't come to engage in doctrinal debate. Some have just come for the fun of it. But for most, it was a way to confirm their faith and by most accounts Benedict did just that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VINCI: And the new pope really didn't try to be even close to John Paul II. We've seen this from the very beginning when he arrived in Germany, four days ago, he didn't kiss the ground like his predecessor used to do in such a theatrical way. At the same time Vatican officials are telling us that this pontificate will be one of concept and word, so those expecting some dramatic measures, perhaps, may be disappointed although most of the people with whom we spoke with here at the World Youth Day really didn't feel that way -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alessio Vinci thanks so much, in Cologne, Germany -- Tony.

HARRIS: Two attacks against the United States and Afghanistan, four U.S. troops killed and three others wounded in one and two U.S. officials wounded in the other. We're joined by Tom Coghlan of London's "Daily Telegraph." He is in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Good to talk to you, Tom.

TOM COGHLAN, LONDON'S "DAILY TELEGRAPH": Good to talk to you, too.

HARRIS: And Tom, what more can you tell us about the attack on the U.S. embassy convoy? COGHLAN: Well, I can tell you that I've actually seen the vehicle that was attacked. A white land cruiser used by U.S. embassy officials and it was fairly badly damaged, but not -- their not really terribly damaged. The -- I saw it being transported on a flatbed truck back to the U.S. embassy. The front end of the vehicle ahead of the front wheel axle had been violently forced outwards and pretty mangled, but the main body of the car seemed to have survived the impact pretty well. So, I spoken to the embassy and they tell me that only minor injuries to those two embassy officials. And so, I mean, this is probably the first attack in Kabul in approximately one and a half months and, yes, those two U.S. embassy officials are lucky. They got away with this one.

HARRIS: Tom, generally speaking, describe the situation on the ground around the capital and elsewhere, if you'd like, in Afghanistan. Are we beginning to see more of an up tick as evidenced by these attacks?

COGHLAN: Yes. The elections in Afghanistan go ahead on the 18th of September and everyone expects there to be some sort of upsurge in violence. The capital itself is pretty heavily defended and I don't imagine that there's anything too severe is going to take place in the capital, Kabul. As the authorities have intercepted a large amount explosives. There where -- there was an attempt to bring in about a ton of explosives a couple of months ago, that was intercepted on a road coming into Kabul. The authorities have quite a tight grip on the security around capital.

Now, elsewhere in the country it's a very different picture. In the south of the country, approximately a thousand people have died in March and the most serious upsurge in violence since the Taliban was overthrown in 2001 and that's where the second attack has taken place. These four U.S. soldiers killed in the attack on the convoy in (INAUDIBLE), it's an area of Zabul province where really you'd say that the Taliban is -- has its strongest hold in the country, and it is proper bandit country down there.

HARRIS: OK, Tom Coghlan of the London "Daily Telegraph." We appreciate it, Tom thank you.

COGHLAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up in our next hour, a conversation that you had with a nationally-syndicated radio talk show host who says the tax system as we know it should go away.

Also, we'll be talking about the nationwide heat wave in some parts of the country and how it will be affecting your electric bill this summer.

HARRIS: Well, here's the deal, the heat wave is taking its toll on more than your electric bill, a drought in the Midwest, a little later.

WHITFIELD: And hello to a foggy, damp Boston. But you know what? All will clear up as soon as they start to hear live the Rolling Stones because they're kicking off their national tour tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: She took on the tradition-bound all-male bastion of the Citadel and won. The military academy in South Carolina accepted Shannon Faulkner in 1993 after she omitted all gender references from her application. The school reneged after finding out Faulkner was female, setting off a bitter legal battle.

SHANNON FAULKNER, U.S. MILITARY: I will fight it the whole way.

ANNOUNCER: Faulkner finally earned the right to join the Citadel Corp. of Cadets in August 1995.

FAULKNER: I have never, ever thought of backing out of this. There was never a doubt in my mind that I would be at the Citadel.

ANNOUNCER: The 19-year-old had much to prove and it proved to be too much. Six days later, she was done. The first woman cadet at the Citadel became the first woman to quit.

Faulkner finished her degree in tiny Anderson College in western South Carolina and is now a high school English teacher in suburban Greenville. Although her career at the Citadel was short she opened the door for other women. Currently, there are more than 100 women enrolled as cadets at the Citadel and 73 have graduated since 1999.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And we're still getting information about last night's death of an NFL football player. Expect the latest information when we take you live to Denver on CNN LIVE SATURDAY 11:00 Eastern,

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. Northwest says a few weekend glitches aren't linked to a recent strike by union mechanics. One Northwest flight blew four tires upon landing and that Detroit Airport, another plane made an emergency landing because of smoke in the cabin.

San Francisco's 49 offensive lineman, Thomas Herrion, collapsed and died after a preseason game in Denver. The 23-year-old was rushed to the hospital. The exact cause of Herrion's death is not yet known. In the next 30 minutes the space shuttle discovery is scheduled to land in Florida. This is video of it leaving Edwards Air Force Base. It costs NASA about $1 million to fly the shuttle perched a top a jumbo jet from California to Florida.

HARRIS: How would you like to keep your money in your paycheck and spend it anyway you want? Sounds pretty good, huh?

WHITFIELD: It sounds really good.

HARRIS: Then "The FairTax Book" is for you and it's No. 1 on the "New York Times" best-seller list. "The FairTax Book" is written by syndicated radio talk show host Neal Boortz and Georgia Congressman John Linder.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEAL BOORTZ, AUTHOR, THE FAIRTAX BOOK: It's going to sound too good to be true.

HARRIS: Too simple?

BOORTZ: No, well, it is pretty simple, but it does sound too good to be true. The FairTax plan is this: You get rid of al corporate and business income taxes, the state tax, the death tax is gone, alternative minimum tax, payroll taxes, social security, Medicare, they're gone, capital gains tax gone, gift tax gone. All of them are gone. You fund the federal government with a retail sales tax. An embed retail sales tax, which is very important because our income taxes are quoted on an exclusive rate, OK, on an inclusive rate, I'm sorry it's early. So we call it the sales tax on an inclusive rate. So all of the taxes are gone, You get 100 percent of your pay check every payday and when you go out and buy, you pay an embedded sales tax on everything you buy.

HARRIS: It is a consumption tax.

BOORTZ: It is a consumption tax.

HARRIS: All right.

BOORTZ: Which economists have been saying, by the way, for about 100 years is the best possible tax system.

HARRIS: But, Neal if they've been saying it for a hundred years and we don't have the system.

BOORTZ: Right.

HARRIS: Why don't we have the system?

BOORTZ: Politics.

HARRIS: Explain the politics and why the politics, at least now, and for a hundred years are against the idea.

BOORTZ: Politicians love power. I mean, you'll give me that, won't you?

HARRIS: I'll give you that.

BOORTZ: OK, politicians love power and when they develop a tax system they will develop a tax system that gives them power.

HARRIS: It is embedded in the constitution, checks and balances, the system, Congress has the right to set tax rates.

BOORTZ: Oh yeah? Where's your check and balance when the IRS comes to audit you? You're presumed guilty and then you have to prove your innocence. Let me tell you one more thing about the sales tax, the FairTax plan and that is, first of all, it was not developed by politicians. Seven universities participated, a $22 million study, focus groups with American citizens, but not politicians, OK? But everybody, whether you're a household that makes $500 million a year, $500,000 or $5,000 nobody has to pay the sales tax on the basic necessities of life. Right up to the poverty level. Everybody gets a check, every head of household, gets a check at the beginning of the month equal to the sales tax that they'd be expected to pay up to the poverty level for their size household.

HARRIS: Neal, what happens when people decide to slow their spending? You're have to slap folks with an emergency tax, aren't you?

BOORTZ: Well, that's a good question, but in 30 -- in the last 30 -- well, excuse me, not the last 30 years, but since the 1930s, consumers spending has gone up every single year, and that includes the depression. There was one year during the depression when...

HARRIS: Prices have gone up, Neal! Prices have gone up!

BOORTZ: So?

HARRIS: You've got to spend more because prices keep going up.

BOORTZ: Right, and when prices go up and when spending goes up the sales tax goes up along with them. So, consumers slowing down their spending does not seem to be the problem, it hasn't happened since the 1930s and in our current economy if you scored this sales tax, 17 out of last 18 quarters our government would have received more money under the FairTax than it did under the income tax and payroll tax structure we may for now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: What do you think? Our morning e-mail question today does our tax system need an overhaul? You heard from Neil Boortz there. What are your ideas that could keep Uncle Sam a float, keep more cash in your pocket? We'll read your responses after a quick break.

WHITFIELD: It is too hot to find a job in the Midwest. The drought is putting farmers and employment prospects there in jeopardy. We'll bring you a snapshot next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

Tomorrow on American morning school's back in session across America. We've got reports all week on issues that matter most to parents and kids from how to handle a bully to keeping kid away from drugs and alcohol.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Jacqui decided to join us again and it is super hot in some parts and in other parts it's super hot and super wet. Super hot and super wet makes for bad hair days every day.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know! (LAUGHTER)

JERAS: We can relate. Yeah, in fact, for those of us in Atlanta we're very sick of the wet weather and it makes it very hard to believe there are parts of the country that are very, very dry.

In fact, some parts of the country have been experiencing some of the worst summer drought conditions across parts of the Midwest. And J.J. Ramberg has one perspective from Illinois.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAMBERG (voice-over): Another rainless day in LaSalle County, Illinois. By now it's become the norm. To Wally Mundy, it means another day in his fight against Mother Nature.

WALLY MUNDY, TREE FARMER: This tree shouldn't -- instead of barely sustaining itself should actually have limbs on it that are new growth that's probably about a foot long and again, now it's barely able to stay alive. This tree might have a tough time over winter.

RAMBERG: As the owner of a tree farm and landscaping company he knows without rain he can't grow his trees. And with neighborhood watering bans, people aren't buying them.

MUNDY: And the houses keep selling, the drought doesn't stop the sales of the homes and it stops the landscaping portion, or the finish portion, of the work being done and it keeps backlogging.

RAMBERG: LaSalle County is experience its driest summer since 1936 with about half the amount of rainfall it normally gets.

MUNDY: I've been doing for 35, 38 years and this is the worst. This year, it's been dry the whole year. We just haven't had the moisture all season long, so, yeah. It's been tough. It's been a tough year.

RAMBERG: Under normal conditions, Mundy employs 20 to 30 seasonal workers, but with demand significantly down this year, he needs nowhere near that many.

MUNDY: In the construction division however, it's a little different thing here. We've had to cut back and we cut back pretty hard here when we realized that the drought wad set hold. We cut back to a skeleton crew of people.

RAMBERG: Forecasters believe the drought will ease this fall. Until then, Mundy hopes most of his trees will survive.

MUNDY: Out of the dark cloud we have a silver lining. And, you know, so nature hurts you, by the same token she loves us and takes care of all of us.

J.J. Ramberg, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: I want to show you this. Fred, live picture of the shuttle Discovery coming in for what we know will be a picture-perfect landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Take a look at this.

WHITFIELD: A reminder that shuttle Discovery on top of a Jumbo 747. It was carried all of the way from California because as we all recall when shuttle Discovery was make its way back to mother earth it had to land in California. Made its way from Edwards Air Force Base on the way to Florida, but because of weather was delayed, took a pit stop in Louisiana and Shreveport.

HARRIS: Yeah, we had weather conditions there and then this morning just about on time. I guess the word was 7:24.

JERAS: Think we're a little early landing here.

HARRIS: Yeah?

JERAS: For the landing. It was supposed to be 10:15 or so.

HARRIS: Well, this is looking great. This is looking great.

WHITFIELD: Because you promised great weather and voila! There it is!

JERAS: Isn't that gorgeous? Look at those fluffy cumulus clouds, blue skies. Here is it comes.

WHITFIELD: Very nice.

HARRIS: And, we're really close. I mean, we're seeing the tops of the light pole there, so we're really close -- we're going to stay with this. Why don't we just stay with that? Why don't we just go ahead...

WHITFIELD: It looks like the tower or the staging area there at Cape Canaveral, if you've ever been there to watch a shuttle launch, you see the huge hangar, that's about north of that tower that you just saw, where often all of the cameras and reporters, the crews are usually camped out watch it.

HARRIS: Yeah, it sort of reminds me as we look at Discovery coming in, if you're thinking ahead and wondering when's the next time we might see this whole scenario again, of a shuttle going into space, well, until the scientists and technicians, all of the folks at NASA get this thing together, this problem with the foam off the external fuel tank, until they get that problem fixed the next shuttle launch isn't scheduled for -- until March of 2006, so enjoy this while you're able to see it now live.

WHITFIELD: And Jacqui, it is a remarkable scene, isn't it? Because we reported earlier that it's been flying and it's been coasting at 15,000 feet. So, that's very easy and seemingly very attainable for everyone on the ground to be able to see. It's not your ordinary aircraft making its way and the skies have looked good, haven't they? JERAS: Right, and that's part of the reason why it's been taken so long to actually get the shuttle back because it as to fly at that lower altitude and usually the jet planes fly up at 40,00 feet or so and they can fly over the top of thunderstorms, but when you're flying only at 15,000 feet you're going to be flying into the thunderstorms or even underneath them. So, it's nice to see that there are nice weather conditions there today. There have been some showers and thunderstorms offshore, but they haven't been close enough to cause any problems.

HARRIS: And you know, we're reminded that a lot of the folks who were expecting to see the shuttle land at Kennedy Space Center were disappointed.

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

HARRIS: When that landing was moved out Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert. Now, we've been giving them advanced notice that this was going to happen and I would imagine that there is a nice crowd on hand to see these twin birds coming on in now.

JERAS: And what a nice welcome home. I think a lot of people were worried about the descent this time around.

HARRIS: A lot of them, that's for sure.

JERAS: It was nice to see a happy ending here.

HARRIS: Well, that looked like was to final approach, didn't it?

JERAS: It did. We thought so.

WHITFIELD: There it is.

HARRIS: There it is. OK.

WHITFIELD: Normal touchdown.

HARRIS: Great shot.

WHITFIELD: And that's been remarkable about this mission throughout, the kind of technology that's been available to get this bird's-eye view of just about every move from start to, now, finish of the shuttle Discovery making its way home back to Cape Canaveral at the Kennedy Space Center.

JERAS: Very nice.

HARRIS: Let's just stay with it until we get wheels to a complete stop. What do you say? Look at that.

WHITFIELD: Wow!

JERAS: Wonder who's piloting that plane.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. JERAS: Think it's a NASA astronaut who flies that plane, do we know?

HARRIS: No, we don't know. We don't know, but I'll tell you what. That's a...

JERAS: You think that would take special training...

HARRIS: You'd think so.

JERAS: ... to have the shuttle on top of you.

HARRIS: And there it is, space shuttle Discovery coming in. As Jacqui mentioned a little ahead of schedule. What was the expected touchdown, about 10:10, 10:15 this morning?

JERAS: I thought it was about a quarter after the hour.

HARRIS: Leaving Barksdale Air Force Base Shreveport, Louisiana at about 5:25 this morning, Fred?

WHITFIELD: Uh-huh, when it took off.

HARRIS: Yeah? And there it is. At the Kennedy Space Center.

WHITFIELD: And I suppose because of good weather, Jacqui, throughout the south, southeast it was able to make a quick landing, you know, a few minutes ahead of schedule, 15, 20 minute ahead of schedule?

JERAS: And the earlier of the day the better this time of year in Florida because you get often those pop-up showers and thunderstorms and I think that'll be the case later on today, so it's nice that they got it in the early morning hours.

HARRIS: It's perfect.

WHITFIELD: All right.

HARRIS: We'll stop.

WHITFIELD: Space shuttle Discovery making a full circle, leaving Florida 200 miles into space, it was with the International Space Station for a period of days, a little over a week and then making its way back to earth, California, Louisiana and now back home to Florida. Roundabout, circuitous way, but hey, here it is.

JERAS: There it's safe.

HARRIS: Beautiful.

WHITFIELD: Very nice.

HARRIS: We'll stop. All right. Thank you for being with us. Thanks for watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING. We're going to give you a bit of replay as we say goodbye of the 747 giving that piggyback ride to the space shuttle Discovery as it comes in for what was a perfect landing.

"ON THE STORY" is next. Have a great Sunday, everyone.

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