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American Morning
Sharon Gravely Ill; Tragedy at Sago Mine
Aired January 06, 2006 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon taking a turn for the worse, he's back in surgery right now. We're live in Jerusalem on this developing story.
S. O'BRIEN: Final words from the Sago Mine tragedy, a dying miner sends his family one last message. We've got a live report just ahead.
M. O'BRIEN: And the sole survivor of the mine tragedy undergoing a somewhat radical procedure. Doctors desperately trying to save Randy McCloy Jr.
S. O'BRIEN: Our top story first, the prime minister's operation. It began just a little over an hour ago. Doctors found more bleeding on Ariel Sharon's brain after a CAT scan this morning.
Let's get right to CNN's Guy Raz. He's at the hospital in Jerusalem.
Guy, what's the latest?
GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the prime minister has been brought back to the operating theater for the third time in 48 hours and the third same procedure, essentially a procedure to drain blood from his brain. It was discovered after a CT scan.
An electric scan was carried out just about an hour and a half ago. Doctors discovered that additional fluid was putting pressure on his brain. And they determined that they needed to bring him back to surgery to return -- to relieve that pressure on his brain, to drain that additional fluid from his brain. Obviously, all of this related to his initial hemorrhage just about 48 hours ago.
S. O'BRIEN: Guy, politically speaking, as you well know, tension very high in Israel, even before Ariel Sharon's stroke. So how do you think all of this, his medical condition, complicates things?
RAZ: It's an enormous complication and increases a lot of political uncertainly, because, by and large, Ariel Sharon was regarded by the majority of Israelis as a stabilizing factor. He is the last living historic leader in this region. He is one of the few active politicians who is a member of the founding generation. And simply put, Israelis trusted him. They trusted him to carryout the necessary measures needed to be taken to resolve the Palestinian- Israeli conflict.
Now the question is who will come next? We can pretty much assume that the political era of Ariel Sharon has come to an end. And Mr. Sharon's Deputy, Ehud Olmert, who is now serving as the acting Prime Minister, may be the man to take the helm.
Mr. Olmert now leads the party that Sharon himself founded, known as Kadima, a centrist political party. Mr. Sharon just founded it last month. And all the polls in Israel today show that even without Ariel Sharon at the helm of that party, a party led now by, essentially, Ehud Olmert, the Deputy Prime Minister, the party would still fare very well in the upcoming March 28 parliamentary elections here in Israel.
S. O'BRIEN: So then even without Ariel Sharon necessarily at the helm, do you think, Guy, that his fill-in, essentially, will continue to work toward ending the Palestinian conflict?
RAZ: Well I think we should treat some of these poll numbers with caution. Of course many Israelis are feeling very sentimental about Ariel Sharon right now. And in fact we can read into this polling data and assume that it is in fact a show of support for Ariel Sharon and the direction that he was taking.
Now whether his successors are strong enough to carryout the kinds of measures that Ariel Sharon presumably would have carried out, we just have to wait and see. But right now it looks good for the party that he founded just a month ago. It looks like this party, if polls hold, will fare well in these upcoming elections.
S. O'BRIEN: Even, at the same time, Raz, it looks very bad for the prime minister himself.
Guy Raz with an update on Ariel Sharon's condition for us this morning.
Guy, thank you -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: And now to the tragedy at the Sago Mine in West Virginia. What was it like for the 12 coal miners facing death in the darkness deep underground? Well we now have an inkling at least. At least one note written by one of the men has been made public. Fifty- one-year-old Martin Toler tries to comfort his family about his own death, saying, "It wasn't bad, just went to sleep."
Kimberly Osias is live at the Sago Mine in Upshur County, West Virginia.
Kimberly, good morning.
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.
Well, I'll tell you, when we first saw a picture of this letter, I mean it was just absolutely gripping. It was probably one of the very last communications from way down in that mine. And you just can't help but have your heart go out to these families.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Tell all I see them on the other side, JR." Final words from 51-year-old Martin Toler Jr., one of the 12 miners who died in the Sago coal mine in West Virginia. Toler apparently wanted his family to know he wasn't suffering. He wrote, "It wasn't bad, just went to sleep." And at the bottom he wrote, "I love you."
Martin Toler was a section foreman and spent more than three decades working in the mines. We're told he was a proud father, seen here at his daughter's wedding, and a wonderful grandfather.
Toler's family received the letter after identifying his body. His nephew, Randy Toler, says the note was written on the back of an insurance form Martin had in his pocket. Thursday night, Randy told CNN's Anderson Cooper he hopes his uncle's last words speak loudest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY TOLER, NEPHEW OF DECEASED MINER: Well, it was the most precious thing that I believe I've ever seen. I think he wanted to set our minds at ease and that we knew that he didn't suffer. And I just think that God gave him peace at the end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OSIAS: Now even for the families that didn't get the notes, for them, some of them at least, there's a sense of peace as well.
Miles, I've been talking with the family of Jerry Groves. His sister, Becky Rogers (ph), tells me she at least believes now that he had time to pray -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Kimberly, are there other notes that we know about?
OSIAS: Well, we believe, at least from Associated Press reports, that there are a handful of families. Now I've been working to try and confirm this. We don't have an exact number yet, but hopefully we'll be able to have that soon -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Kimberly Osias at the mine in Upshur County, thank you very much.
More on the final words of the lost miners tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360." Begins at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
And now the sole survivor, Randy McCloy, completely unclear, that's how one of the doctors treating survivor Randy McCloy summed up the prospects for his recovery. He's been transferred from a hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia, West Virginia University, to a hospital in Pittsburgh, Allegheny General Hospital, where he is undergoing hyperbaric oxygen treatment. That is he puts -- he's put in a chamber and oxygen is forced upon his body in order to saturate his organs with that oxygen. Of course he was deprived of oxygen during that 41-hour ordeal. Doctors do believe that he has suffered some sort of brain damage from all this and definitely not out of the woods yet. Is in a coma this morning.
In just a little while, we will speak with members of his family, including his wife, and ask how they are doing and how he is doing and how he is responding or not -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: We're also beginning to hear stories now from the second crew at the Sago Mine. You'll recall the six miners who escaped the explosion on Monday morning.
Brian Todd talks to one man who made it out, but he wasn't able to save his brother.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Owen Jones looks out over these hills and thinks about what he lost and what he could have lost. Jones was deep inside the Sago Mine early Monday morning, not far behind his older brother, Jessie.
OWEN JONES, MINE BLAST SURVIVOR: There was no warning, no nothing, just like an incredible amount of air, more than what you can possibly imagine, and dust and you could not see. It absolutely blew me -- I got up on the man trip to try to get off and get out of it somewhere, somehow, and it blew me off of it.
TODD: In the darkened chaos, Jones says he collected himself and was able to walk out of the mine with the rest of his crew. They all knew with carbon monoxide swirling around how dangerous it was inside.
JONES: They begged me to go, but I said, I got a brother in here. I want to see if there's -- I got to stay. I'm going to see if there's anything I can do.
TODD: Jones says he and some others pushed back inside slowly, but the air was too poisonous to breathe and he couldn't get close enough to save Jessie.
(on camera): Forgive me for asking this, do you feel any sense of guilt that you got out and your brother didn't?
JONES: You always feel that. Yes, it's going through my mind like a tape recorder just over and over that they had tried this, wish that I could have done that, you know. Yes, it hurts you.
TODD (voice-over): Jones says he's worked these mines for 16 years, his two older brothers even longer. He does not believe Jessie died instantly.
(on camera): What do you think he was doing in his last moments?
JONES: Probably thinking of his family, his daughter and all -- he was a good dad. He loved his little girl very much.
TODD: Owen Jones does not blame the mine company for the accident and says it responded as well as it could. He doesn't know whether he'll work as a miner again, but says he'll never go back to the mine where his brother died.
Brian Todd, CNN, Tallmansville, West Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Ten minutes past the hour, it's time for a look at the forecast.
Chad has that.
Hey, Chad, good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: No complaints there.
MYERS: That's right.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Chad.
Coming up on the program, we're following a developing story in Israel, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon taking a turn for the worse. Doctors are operating after finding more bleeding again on his brain. We'll have the latest.
S. O'BRIEN: Also, many people think a lightning strike was to blame for the explosion at the Sago Mine. Now there might be some evidence to prove it. We'll take a look at that.
M. O'BRIEN: And later, after the deadliest day of the Iraq war in nearly four months, are Iraqi forces really ready to take over and let U.S. troops go home? We'll have a closer look for you ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: We continue to follow a developing story out of Israel now, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon fighting for his life at this hour. Just a short while ago, as we look at live pictures of the Hadassah Medical Center, he was taken back into surgery following a brain scan. That scan showed new bleeding. Also higher blood pressure for the 77-year-old Israeli leader. This is the third round of surgery for the prime minister. We'll take you back to Jerusalem for more on this in just a few moments.
In the meantime, we'll get some other headlines in.
Kelly Wallace in this morning.
Good morning -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
And we begin with President Bush who will be talking about the nation's economy today. The president will be in the windy city where he will be visiting the Chicago Board of Trade. He's expected to talk about job growth and the upswing in the economy. And he is also expected to credit his tax cuts for helping push the economy along. The speech coming at the tail end of a week in which the major focus has been on Iraq and the war on terror.
CNN of course will have live coverage of the president's remarks beginning at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Terror suspect Jose Padilla heads to federal court later today after being held without charges for more than three years. And this is the first time we're seeing video of Padilla, labeled an enemy combatant by the Bush administration. He was transferred from a military brig to civilian custody in Miami on Thursday. Padilla, who allegedly has ties to al Qaeda, was indicted in November on charges of conspiring to murder U.S. citizens and provide support to terrorists. His arraignment is set for 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
Families of the victims of the West Virginia coal mining accident are preparing to lay their loved ones to rest. At least one memorial has been set up. And a touching note has also surfaced, left by one of the men who died. Martin Toler Jr., seen in this picture, scribbled a note that said in part, "Tell all I see them on the other side. I love you."
The lone survivor, Randy McCloy Jr., is at a Pittsburgh hospital where he's getting specialized oxygen treatment.
And the investigation into this mining accident goes on. We'll hear more about a possible theory leading to that tragedy just ahead.
And another step toward recovery from Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast. You probably remember this, that five-mile Interstate 10 bridge over Lake Pontchartrain linking Slidell, Louisiana to New Orleans. Less than five months ago it was pretty much in ruins.
Well, it's been reopened. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco among the officials on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony. And it is now handling two-way traffic as of just about 15 minutes ago. The bridge eventually will be replaced by a six lane span in the next three years.
Time to get another check of the forecast.
Chad Myers in Atlanta.
Chad, what are you focusing on?
MYERS: Good morning, Kelly.
(WEATHER REPORT) S. O'BRIEN: Wow, West Palm Beach at 30?
MYERS: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: That is just sad news for the folks there.
M. O'BRIEN: Got to bundle up the citrus crop or something, yes.
S. O'BRIEN: You don't move there for that, that's for sure.
M. O'BRIEN: No, that's for sure.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Chad.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk business news now. Airline news, really.
Carrie Lee has got a look at that.
Good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of air news this Friday morning.
First of all, Northwest, a lot happening here. The carrier wants to start a new regional airline that would cover mid-distance routes, things like Albuquerque to Detroit. And this is going to be a 100- seat plane, 70 to 100 seat planes, probably about a hundred regional jets to start.
And this is their plan. The company is called Newco (ph) for now. That's a temporary name. Well, the pilots union is not happy about this and they are actually threatening to strike if Northwest goes ahead with this plan. The pilots feel that this plan would compromise their labor contracts. That's one issue for Northwest.
The second issue here is that the carrier is already trying to save $1.4 billion worth of labor money and they are trying to renegotiate contracts. If they can't do this, Northwest is asking to have these labor contracts voided on January 17 when they meet with the bankruptcy judge. So a lot happening at Northwest, a lot of very unhappy workers there.
S. O'BRIEN: So they are negotiating getting out of their contracts while creating a whole new company at the same time...
LEE: Exactly. Exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: ... the pilots are saying not so fast?
LEE: Exactly. The pilots are afraid that they are going to make less money. Northwest says, well the planes we have right now are either too big or too small for these routes, trying to increase efficiency. Who knows, maybe they'll buy some planes from Independence Air. Not -- I don't mean that seriously, but Independence Air flew its last flight last night landing at Washington at 9:00 p.m. Apparently the pilot played the Vera Lynn song "We'll Meet Again." Everyone was crying. A very sad story.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
S. O'BRIEN: That is a sad story.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
S. O'BRIEN: All right.
LEE: Yes, I'd sing it for you, but I'm not familiar with that song.
M. O'BRIEN: No, no, that's...
S. O'BRIEN: No, that's OK.
LEE: Too early for that.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks for offering, though.
LEE: All right.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, really. Thank you.
Let's get to Kelly, and no singing from Kelly either, but she's got a preview of what's coming up in "Morning Coffee."
WALLACE: No, no, not going to -- we're not going to be having a singing "Morning Coffee," that's for sure. But coming up, what we will have, a test of faith in an Italian courtroom, and that's all because Jesus is on trial. That's right, Jesus. The story just ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: All right. George Michael, right? Did I get that right? I got that "Name That Tune" game. I haven't been doing so well.
WALLACE: That's the most stressful part of the day, isn't it?
M. O'BRIEN: It is. It's very tough, very tough.
Kelly Wallace is here, "Morning Coffee" time.
WALLACE: Yes, "Morning Coffee" is back.
And we begin with what could be a real test of faith in an Italian courtroom in Viterbo, Italy, because a judge is going to decide whether Jesus Christ really exists. Why, because a former seminary student and current atheist is suing a local priest for what's called abuse of popular belief. In other words, he says the priest is conning people into believing that Jesus existed.
M. O'BRIEN: What sort of a crime is that, abuse of popular belief? That's a...
S. O'BRIEN: Really it's a crime in Italy.
M. O'BRIEN: Apparently so. Apparently.
WALLACE: Apparently it is. He is saying that the church made up Jesus based on another man who fought the Romans in the first century. What's also interesting here, both men are in their 70s. They attended the same seminary school, but obviously they clearly parted ways after that.
S. O'BRIEN: Probably they were...
M. O'BRIEN: Settling an old score.
S. O'BRIEN: ... clearly rivals from a long time ago will settle in the courtroom. Interesting.
WALLACE: This one is likely to outrage both of you and many people at home, because some churchgoers in Rhode Island are scratching their heads today over a series of thefts. It seems they were robbed while receiving communion.
S. O'BRIEN: What?
WALLACE: I can't even believe this.
M. O'BRIEN: Pickpocketed or...
WALLACE: This woman pictured here. Now take a look.
M. O'BRIEN: ... left the thing in the pew?
WALLACE: The church -- I think they left their handbags in the pew.
(CROSSTALK)
S. O'BRIEN: I think you left your handbag in the pew.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
S. O'BRIEN: Every time I go up for communion, I wonder, should I leave my handbag in the pew?
WALLACE: Well now maybe you need to take your handbag with you.
M. O'BRIEN: You think, no, you're insured. It couldn't happen, right?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
WALLACE: Well you're looking at -- well you're looking at this woman, Patricia Wilcox.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
WALLACE: She's under arrest after she was apparently caught trying to cash a check she allegedly stole from one parishioner. But that might not have been her first robbery. She's also suspected in thefts at two other churches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FATHER RONALD BRASSARD, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH: Anyone who would do what this person has done is someone that needs prayers and help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY ANN SHERIDAN-WOODS, PARISHIONER: What she would do is, if you went to communion, she would take either your wallet or the money out of your wallet. So you know you would get home, you'd be having dinner, you wouldn't realize it was missing until -- unless you stopped for gas or something on the way home or groceries. And the pattern just escalated, and we just asked her not to come back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I still think we need to welcome people, even though occasionally it has negative results.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRASSARD: The first thing that we need to pray for is that she be forgiven for what she has done and that she be helped in some way to understand the wrongness of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: We forgive her. We don't want her back in our church, thanks.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
WALLACE: I liked when she said we asked her not to come back.
M. O'BRIEN: Asked her. How many acts of contrition would you have to say I think to get off of that one? That's...
S. O'BRIEN: Wow.
WALLACE: I mean there's no place safe anymore. S. O'BRIEN: I've thought about that. But come on, tell me you haven't thought about that before, you leave your handbag to go up to get communion?
WALLACE: Never. Never. Never.
S. O'BRIEN: Pete is nodding his head. No, never.
WALLACE: Never. You have? Never.
S. O'BRIEN: No.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, Pete has been tempted to steal the wallet.
WALLACE: In church? I just...
M. O'BRIEN: He's thinking...
WALLACE: All right. All right.
S. O'BRIEN: We're paranoid the most.
WALLACE: I want to save a few minutes,...
S. O'BRIEN: OK, go ahead.
WALLACE: ... because this is a marriage unlike any I've heard. Not like my marriage. I don't know, maybe it's like your marriage.
Take a listen to this, a Florida couple might be headed to court after 61-year-old Sally Erickson sued her ex-husband for fraud. It seems she didn't know they were divorced. They married back in 2001. Listen a little more. Part of their pairing included a very odd prenuptial agreement. It called for Erickson to cook breakfast for her husband four times a week. In turn, he'd rub her back the same number of times. Sounds...
M. O'BRIEN: This was in the prenup?
WALLACE: This was in the prenup. Sounds like...
M. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE) about this marriage.
WALLACE: Well it sounds like they have a good deal.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
WALLACE: But then four months after signing the papers, the husband, 62-year-old Renzie Davidson, filed for divorce, but he then told his wife he changed his mind. A year and a half later, they were officially unhitched. So...
M. O'BRIEN: So I say the divorce proceedings continued, even though he said that it hadn't, and...
WALLACE: It continued. Exactly. M. O'BRIEN: Wow. So what was it, the eggs were a little too runny? I mean what happened?
WALLACE: I don't know. And then they continued living together. And now you know they are officially unhitched. They lived together and now he's asking a judge to dissolve that divorce.
S. O'BRIEN: Imagine being married to someone, but you're actually divorced, but they never told you. That's kind of interesting.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. I still don't get the prenup, though, the backrubs.
WALLACE: I like the prenup.
M. O'BRIEN: You want that deal.
WALLACE: I like that deal.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
S. O'BRIEN: Especially now that you've got a little baby on the way.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: You need your back rubbed.
WALLACE: I do. I do. Any way.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Kelly.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
WALLACE: Sure.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks a lot.
Coming up, has the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito hit a snag? Details and a possible delay in his confirmation hearings. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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And there's video-on-demand. Pieces from various correspondents all around the world over the past months and years, for that matter, much less 24 hours. And as of about 8:00 Eastern, up comes some of the live feeds which we use to put together our newscasts. You can sort of be your own producer and director all in one if you go to CNN.com/pipeline. It's commercial free for a nominal fee. And we think you'll enjoy it, so check it out.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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