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CNN Live Today
Peru Plane Crash
Aired August 25, 2005 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are at the half hour. I'm Daryn Kagan.
Here's a look at what's happening now in the news. Forecasters say Tropical Storm Katrina could develop is a into a hurricane as it approaches shore in South Florida. Looking at live radar pictures now. Voluntary evacuations are under way for the barrier islands and low-lying areas. Flooding could be a major concern with the storm.
Iraqi lawmakers had a midnight deadline to approve a draft constitution, but late word from Baghdad says the parliament will not be meeting today. It's uncertain how that development will affect the document's approval.
Federalism remains a sticking point for Sunnis. Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers hope to bring Sunnis on board with this document. That's seen as critical to curbing the insurgency.
More U.S. troops are coming to fight the insurgency; 1,500 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division will be deployed next month. The call-up will boost troop presence during fall elections. It's the third time U.S. troop levels have been increased during Iraqi political milestones.
And Palestinian militants are vowing revenge, following an Israeli raid on a suspected militant hideout in the West Bank. Five Palestinians were shot and killed in that raid. Troops were targeting Islamic Jihad members suspected in a recent bombing.
Let's show you some pictures we're just getting into us here at CNN. This is a parking lot of a Home Depot in Miami, Florida. You can see just the beginning of the rain that's coming from Katrina, and this -- earlier, starting to feel the effects.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: They've already had to make some adjustments in Miami. It is party on for the MTV crowd gathered at South Beach. Katrina, though, forced today's outdoor events to be canceled. So far, all other events, including Sunday night's video awards show Sunday night are scheduled to go on as planned.
These pictures and torrential rains have unleashed catastrophic floods throughout much of Central Europe. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands of homes destroyed, as lakes and rivers spill out of their banks. In Germany and Austria, floodwaters are beginning to subside and no more heavy rains are forecast. In Peru, a baby boy is among the survivors of Tuesday's airline crash in the Amazon Jungle. More than 30 people are confirmed dead. Remarkably, though, most of those aboard the Boeing 737 somehow survived.
CNN's Harris Whitbeck spoke to one young survivor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN ANCHOR: A young girl describes her experience after surviving Tuesday's crash of the airline 737.
JOSHELYN VIVAS, CRASH SURVIVOR: To me, it was like a shocking present. Like I was so scared, but at least I came flew. And if this present gave me a lot of bravery now, a lot, to me like to worship actually to god, like I now really trust that and I still believe that god is still exists.
WHITBECK: In Lima, Peruvian Air Force planes land at a military base carrying 11 survivors. The survivors on stretchers are immediately taken to area hospitals.
Anez Vivada (ph) and her husband sat outside the air force base Wednesday afternoon, waiting to find out if family members were alive. Their infant nephew, nine-year-old niece and three other family members were passengers on the TANS airliner that crashed into the jungle of northern Peru Tuesday afternoon. Anez was able to talk to a doctor at the crash site who told them the two children and their mother survived. But they still have no information on the fate of the children's grandparents.
Anez says she first heard of the crash on the local news on Tuesday evening. At first, she says, she refused to believe her family was onboard the plane.
"At first I thought it couldn't be true," she says. Now she refuses to lose hope.
WHITBECK: Even with the arrival of first group of survivors, the uncertainly is palpable. Family members say they have received little news from either the airline or from Peruvian officials, and weather conditions at the site have made recovery efforts difficult.
(on camera): Many survivors have They have decided to stay near the crash site to try to retrieve luggage and personal items, first steps toward piecing together lives that were shattered in the jungle crash.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Lima, Peru.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: People across all America are feeling the pains at the pump. But it isn't bothering one dad. Find out how the high prices are helping this father spend more quality time with his daughter.
Plus, more trouble in the air, or shall we say on the ground, for Northwest Airlines.
That story is still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: So Martha Stewart's holding a news conference early this morning. She's holding a news conference to talk about her two new television shows that are coming on the air very soon. One reporter, though, asked her about her ankle bracelet, and this is what Martha had to say had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Martha, I wanted to know if the extra three weeks of home confinement had any impact on the production of this show and if you're wearing your ankle bracelet today.
MARTHA STEWART, ENTREPRENEUR: Oh, I have a microphone on one ankle and a -- bracelet on the other ankle. So I'm well-balanced today. I wear my microphone on my ankle because it's -- I think it's a little harsh to wear a pack on your back all the time. So that's why I've always worn it on my ankle. Hopefully stay healthier. But it had no impact whatsoever on the production of the show, because the 48 hours have been devoted in the last few weeks to this show, to getting the job done. And we've worked with the schedule.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: So there's your answer. She says she's ready to go, basically.
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
KAGAN: Let's go ahead and take a look at where gas prices stand today. Prices at the pump have fallen for their third day in a row, albeit an imperceptible amount. AAA Motor Club saying today's national average price for unleaded self-serve regular is just over $2.60 a gallon. That's a drop of four-tenths of a penny since yesterday and just over a penny, less than Monday's record high.
Hawaii. Wait until you hear what they're doing there. They have become the first state in history. They have set legal limits on the wholesale price of gasoline. The state's public utilities commission is utilizing a law that was passed last year that was intended to set price ceiling so that Hawaii's refiners would not -- would set wholesale prices closer to the rates on the mainland. Some critics, including the state's governor, warn that the caps could lead to supply shortages.
It's been said that gas prices are like the weather. Everyone complains, but no one does anything about it. Well, apparently, that's changing.
CNN's Kareen Wynter introduces us to some folks who are being driven to alternatives. Kareen, good morning. KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Some extreme measures that we noticed here. Are you willing to give up your car for good with the option of biking, maybe even walking to work? Well, some working class families say it's a small sacrifice that's paying off big for them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER (voice-over): This dad on the go starts each day by taking his daughter to school, a two-minute car ride.
JEFF JOHNSON, COMMUTER: Wait. Don't get on.
WYNTER: The trip has gotten a bit longer, because Jeff Johnson relies on this new set of wheels to get around town. He also sold his SUV and bought a scooter. The price of gas was eating away at this consumer's pocket.
JOHNSON: I just feel like, hey, I shouldn't be burning up all of this gas just to get back and forth.
WYNTER: Jay Wind also started biking to work this week, fed up with having to fill up his gas tank.
JAY WIND, COMMUTER: But really, it's the only way to go. You get fresh air, you get exercise and you save $2.50 a gallon.
JOHNSON: Oh, see these two women, we passed them yesterday.
WYNTER: Americans are spending more money on gasoline, and experts say it's hit working families the hardest.
ROBERT PUETES, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Nowadays with gasoline prices and all kinds of transportation costs getting much more expensive, we are beginning to look at transportation costs as a percentage of household budgets.
WYNTER: Puetes says while some people can afford to stop driving their cars, many commuters can't, such as those who live in suburbs or areas with minimal public transportation.
Jeff Johnson says while his scooter isn't ideal for road trips, it serves its purpose. For now, he's riding high on his new savings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER: Now that they've broken their driving habits, some families say they're actually realizing, Daryn, that they really didn't need their cars that much after all, and that when they add up the savings, it amounts to hundreds of dollars each month -- Daryn?
KAGAN: Kareen, thank you for that. Kareen Wynter.
Well, speaking of cycling, we're going to talk about Lance Armstrong. The greatest bicycle racer ever or just the best cheater? Just ahead, we're going to take a look at why new questions are being raised about Armstrong's stunning performance through the years in the Tour de France. Or is it just the bitter French?
And a doctor in New Hampshire is under scrutiny because of his diagnosis offended a patient.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: A New York nurse has confessed to violently shaking two newborn babies in her care. Both infants suffered broken bones. The tiny Sarah Jane Donohue also suffered severe brain damage. Her parents say they took care to hire a nurse with all the right credentials, but that wasn't enough.
Vanessa and Patrick Donohue appeared earlier on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: What is in your heart right now? Because as a parent, and I have to imagine every parent would want to kill this person, would want retaliation, would want her put in prison forever.
VANESSA DONOHUE, PARENT OF SHAKEN BABY: We're in so much pain right now, at least I'm in so much pain right now, that I haven't even gotten to the point of anger. I'm in shock. I'm devastated. I'm just trying to focus on my baby. The fact that someone could be so evil is beyond my comprehension.
PATRICK DONOHUE, PARENT OF SHAKEN BABY: And we're really letting the criminal justice system take care of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: The nurse is now charged with three criminal counts, including endangering the welfare of a child. The nurse confessed to shaking the baby, because Sarah wouldn't wake up and take her bottle.
Tour De France champ Lance Armstrong is defending his title and his honor against claims he used performance-enhancing drugs. The seven-time winner calls the idea preposterous and the head of the Tour De France claims Armstrong fooled race officials and owes an explanation.
CNN's Zain Verjee has more on the controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The paper claims it has evidence Armstrong took a performance enhancing drug during his first Tour de France win in 1999. Prior to this win, Armstrong had successfully been treating for testicular cancer. Today, reacting to the L'Equipe report, tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc was quoted as saying, "for the first time, and these are no longer rumors or insinuations, these are proven scientific facts, someone has shown me in 1999 Armstrong had a banned substance called EPO in his body." It's an accusation Armstrong flatly denies. In a statement on his Web site, Armstrong calls the newspaper report tabloid journalism, saying, "the paper even admits in its own article that the science in question here is faulty," and adding, "I will simply restate what I have said many times. I have never taken performance-enhancing drugs."
And some of Armstrong's former competitors are also questioning the claims. Four time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain said on a Web site, quote, "it seems wrong that they are starting to dig over tests from years ago."
The allegations are surfacing now, because EPO tests on the 1999 samples are only carried out last year when the scientists in a lab in Paris used them for research.
The drug, which builds endurance by boosting the production of red blood cells, was on a list of banned substances at the time, though there was no effective test to detect it.
In 2004, after a book made doping allegations against Armstrong, the cyclist had this to say.
LANCE ARMSTRONG, CYCLIST: I can absolutely confirm that we don't use doping products. I can also remind everybody here, and everybody listening, that this is not the first time it's happened. This is not the first time I've lived through this. I heard it in 1999, I heard it in 2001, again in 2003.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Lance Armstrong will have more to say about those accusations tonight in an exclusive interview with Larry King and Bob Costas on LARRY KING LIVE. That's 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Pat Robertson says he's sorry. The Christian broadcaster now apologizing for his remarks earlier this week that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez should be assassinated. In statement, Robertson says, quote, "Is it right to call for assassination? No. And I apologize for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him." Robertson then went on to compare the Chavez situation to Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein.
Let's check the time, 10:54 in Florida. That's where residents are keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Katrina. 4:54 in Honolulu, where the state public utilities commission has slapped a cap on the wholesale price of gas.
Still to come on CNN LIVE TODAY, a doctor in the hot seat for diagnosing his patient's weight problem. The unbelievable story straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Let's take a look at other stories making news coast to coast. The doctor in New Hampshire says he was just doing his job when he told a patient she needed to lose weight. Actually that is not the right video. There's the doctor we're talking about. Actually that is not the right video. There's the doctor we're talking about. The woman was offended. She filed a formal complaint. Dr. Terry Bennett apologized, but refuses to say his comments were wrong.
So you mix hundreds of pounds of unsalted butter, 80 hours in an refrigerated cake.
No, not that one. That's the sand castle. We need the butter. There we go.
OK, a lot of artistic determination, and you get the annual butter sculpture at the New York State Fair. This year it shows a family enjoying their milk, a fellow dairy product. The fair opens today in Syracuse.
OK, now cue of the sand castle. Thank you.
From butter to sand, this giant display of Harry Potter's Hogwarts School will be part of a Champlain Valley Fair in Vermont. The sculptors are tackling it one layer at a time. They plan to work down to the ground level by the time the fair opens on Saturday.
Ahead on the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY today, we're going to have a live update on the progress of Katrina from the National Hurricane Center. CNN is your hurricane headquarters, and we'll hear from two mothers on opposite sides of the Iraq war issue.
The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.
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