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American Morning
Tragedy At Sago Mine; Saving Baby Noor; Buying Big; Phenom of the Opera
Aired January 10, 2006 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Beautiful skyline shot there of New York City across Central Park.
Welcome back, everybody. Good morning.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good to have you with us.
We have an update on baby Noor coming up. That little girl has kind of captured all of our hearts.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Three months old and looks as if the surgery went very well yesterday. Get an update on her condition this morning.
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, we'll tell you what's ahead of her as well.
And let's -- before we do that, let's get some news in. Carol Costello has some headlines for us.
Good morning, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I do. Thank you, Miles.
Good morning to all of you.
She is a journalist on assignment in Iraq and she has been kidnaped. Jill Carroll was abducted Saturday in Western Baghdad. It seemed she was going to meet a source and it never happened. Her Iraqi interpreter was killed. Her driver managed to escape. Carroll is a writer for the Christian Science Monitor. Editors are calling for her safe return. Michael Holmes will join us live from Baghdad in a half hour to tell us more.
President Bush is predicting a year of more sacrifice in Iraq. In just under three hours, the president will deliver another speech on victory in Iraq. You can watch it live by logging on to cnn.com in our Pipeline video service.
Also in Washington, tough questions for the president's nominee to the Supreme Court, Samuel Alito. Senators on the Judiciary Committee want to know his views on abortion and executive power. Stay tuned to CNN for complete coverage of today's hearing. A special edition of "the Situation Room" opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Cough drops and syrups could be something just to sneeze at. The American College of Chest Physicians is advising people there is no evidence over-the-counter syrups and drops relieve cold symptoms. The advice is part of the new guidelines laid out in this month's issue of the journal "Chest." Of course, cough syrup makers say that's no so. That the medications provide relief for millions of people.
And it was one of the best selling books in 2005. Now allegations it's a fraud. We're talking about James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces." The website, The Smoking Gun, reports the nonfiction memoir is filled with lies and exaggeration. Frey says the article is "the latest attempt to discredit me." For more on this story, go to our website. It's one of our most popular stories on cnn.com. And you might remember, he was on "Oprah."
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, he was in the book club.
COSTELLO: The book club.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And it sent him to a multi-bagillion dollar best seller, that book.
COSTELLO: Yes. It was a very moving episode. I actually happened to watch it. He had e-mailed a viewer of "Oprah" who was a drug addict and he helped her out of it. I mean they -- I mean to put a lot of credence in what this guy had to say in his book on the "Oprah" show. So I don't know. It's controversial.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Really interesting to see how it all ends up.
All right, Carol, thank you.
COSTELLO: Sure.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Well today there are funeral services for two more men who died in the Sago Mine in West Virginia. Meanwhile, the governor is calling an investigation into the tragedy, including the miscommunication with the miners' families. Christopher King is live for us this morning in Buckhannon, in Upshur County, West Virginia.
Christopher, good morning.
CHRISTOPHER KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
That's right. As families mourn their dead, the West Virginia governor launches a state probe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING, (voice over): The federal officials are already trying to determine what caused the disaster at Sago Mine. And now, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin says the state is launching its own investigation. The governor promised answers to the families of the 12 who died.
GOVERNOR JOE MANCHIN, WEST VIRGINIA: And I assured them, as the governor of the great state of West Virginia, they can be assured that the loss they have and the loss they suffer might be the loss that (INAUDIBLE) suffered by another family in America.
KING: J. Davitt McAteer, the former head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration under President Clinton, will lead the state probe focusing on what caused the explosion of Sago Mine and the miscommunication that followed once the group of 12 men were found, taking families through an emotional roller coaster. The report will also give an assessment of the mine rescue effort.
J. DAVITT MCATEER, FORMER HEAD, MINE SAFETY & HEALTH ADMIN.: The mine rescue system was designed for a period of time that has passed.
KING: As investigators try to unravel the events around the disaster, new reports have emerged indicating the miners could possibly have survived. "The New York Times" report the men were perhaps about 2,000 feet away from breathable air, when experts say those miners probably had no way of knowing clean air was possibly nearby. The miners, they say, were surrounded by a toxic mix of smoke containing carbon monoxide and methane.
In the mean time, families continue the grim task of burying their dead. Twelve ribbons hang at the mine honoring the victims. In nearby Barber County where four of the miners live, a memorial stands in front of the courthouse. Allen Jones helped with the tribute. His friend, Jack Weaver, died at Sago Mine.
What was going through your mind when you thought about the fact that your friend was down there, suffocated, died?
ALLEN JONES, FRIEND OF MINER: I kept hoping that there was a chance that they would get out, you know? You just hope that they can, you know? Hope that they find some air.
KING: And later, a candlelight vigil as people who lost their loved ones and live nearby pray a disaster like this one never happens again.
JONES: People around here care. We're concerned about the miners, about the safety, maybe something can be done to make it safer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Now that vigil was at the Barber County Courthouse in Philippi, West Virginia. A church pastor said the disaster has touched everyone in their region.
Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Christopher, we know that the last of the funerals are going to be held today. What do you know about the men who are going to be remembered today?
KING: Sure, Soledad. Terry Helms. He's 50 years old. He spent 35 years in the mining industry. Now he wouldn't let his son become a miner, that's how much he thought that the industry had its perils. And Fred Ware. He's 59 years old. He worked in the coal mines for six years. He was planning a Valentine's Day wedding with his fiancee.
Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Christopher King for us this morning.
Christopher, thanks for their updates.
Well, doctors treating Randy McCloy, Jr., the lone survivor in that disaster, say that he is showing signs of improvement. McCloy remains in a coma in Morgantown West Virginia Hospital. The hospital's head of neurology says, we are quoting, "we're generally optimistic or guardedly optimistic." We're expecting a hospital news conference in just about an hour. Going to tell you if there are any changes in his condition.
MILES O'BRIEN: Also on the medical update front, little baby Noor, the three-month-old Iraqi girl brought to the U.S., underwent her first surgery yesterday. Doctors say it was a success but she's not quite in the clear just yet. Rusty Dornin with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Baby Noor's journey from Iraq was shrouded in secrecy. Her arrival made headlines across America. The infant's grandmother and father came here for what may be a two-month recovery period. This is the first of possibly three surgeries at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. This one was to reposition her spinal cord and close the hole in her back.
DR. ROGER HUDGINS, CHILDREN'S HEALTHCARE OF ATLANTA: It did go very well. It was as difficult as I thought it was going to be because, again, this was not the time that we typically close a defect such as this.
DORNIN: Her family is staying in seclusion for now and a spokesperson says they were very anxious but full of hope.
CHRISTINA PORTER, CHILDSPRING INTERNATIONAL: There were tears of joy. I wanted just to share one thing that the grandmother did say which was, shockrah (ph), America, shockrah.
DORNIN: It's Arabic for thank you.
But while the first hurdle has been cleared, there are more to come.
HUDGINS: It does look like she's not going to be able to move her legs. That is, she's going to be paraplegic.
DORNIN: The immediate concern is fluid buildup in her brain. Doctors will watch her closely and could possibly perform another surgery to drain the fluid as early as Wednesday. Her doctor, now one of her greatest advocates, say he and his staff are growing to love what they call a special baby.
HUDGINS: She looks you in the eye. She's smiling now. She's cooing in the most delightful little way. It is my hope that she will be developmentally and mentally normal.
DORNIN: A hope now shared by many here and around the world.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN: Doctors in Atlanta will scan baby Noor's brain today to see if there's any fluid buildup there. That scan will help them determine if she has to undergo more surgery tomorrow. We'll keep you posted. We promise.
Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: About 39 minutes past the hour and that's time to get a check on the weather. Chad Myers is at the CNN Center this morning.
Hey, Chad, good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Andy is "Minding Your Business" just ahead this morning.
What you got coming up?
ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, forget about SUVs, hybrids, mini vans. We're going to show you some of the hottest cars on the planet. Hint, it's back to the future. Stay tuned. AMERICAN MORNING is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MILES O'BRIEN: All right. George Foreman.
SERWER: I like that, and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," Pat Benatar to George Foreman, right?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And it worked. And it worked.
MILES O'BRIEN: We all got that. That was, excellent, excellent work.
SERWER: Very good.
MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Great job, team.
Take a look at the -- this is what the future's going to look like according to Detroit. Take a look at this picture. This is the Ford Super Chief concept vehicle pickup. It's meant as an homage to railroad locomotives. SERWER: Really?
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.
SERWER: A homage to railroad locomotives?
MILES O'BRIEN: And, you know, this just goes to shows you that Detroit can't figure out what is up anymore. It's big stuff, it's muscle cars, it's SUVs, it's hybrids. What is it?
SERWER: It's big, it's fat, it's dope.
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: I mean, it was something. I'm sorry.
MILES O'BRIEN: In any case, before we get to you, let's check in with CNN's Jonathan Freed, who took a trip to Cobo Hall in Detroit and saw what is big for this year's auto show.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No worries, my fit (ph) will get us there in time.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Small vehicles are a big deal at the Detroit Auto Show this year. And it's no wonder with gas prices being what they are. Now, head out to the suburbs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you get one of my cards?
CHRISTIAN GENTRY (ph): I did, thank you.
FREED: And meet Christian Gentry, father of six. He needs a new car.
For some people, gas mileage is everything. For other people, the function of the car is everything. Where are you on that spectrum?
CHRISTIAN GENTRY: I think I fall more into the function of the car. You know, you pay what you have to pay for gas mileage to, you know, get people places and do things.
FREED: Gentry would love to drive a small, inexpensive, fuel- efficient car, but he knows that's not going to happen. What his family needs is a wide ride.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a demo. It has 2,400 miles on it roughly.
FREED: Gentry's the kind of consumer who's keeping the full- sized SUV market vibrant despite sobering pump prices these days.
ROXANNE GENTRY (ph): So this is, what, the loaded version? It looks like the loaded. FREED: CNN arranged for Gentry and his wife, Roxanne, to visit the auto show. Normally closed to the public in its first week.
ROXANNE GENTRY: This is nice.
FREED: For automakers at the show, the Gentry's are statistics come alive, the target market for things like large SUVs.
FRANK KLEGON, EXEC. VP, DAIMLER CHRYSLER: We definitely see that there's a marketplace that still has a big market pull for people that have functional needs for sport utilities. FREED: It's not just SUVs. The industry says the consumers need to pull is translating into steady truck sales, too.
DOUG SCOTT, MARKETING MGR., FORD TRUCK GRP.: These people put a higher priority on things like towing and hauling and they need full- sized pickups to perform that task.
FREED: So for people like the Gentry's, it's not a question of if they'll buy big.
CHRISTIAN GENTRY: These are nice ideas. Just it's not for me.
FREED: It's a matter of who's going to get their business.
Jonathan Freed, CNN, Detroit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN: So I can't figure out, we've been sitting here talking, what is the theme? You know, Bob Lutz (ph), a famous auto executive, he said everybody's schizophrenic.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, it's multi-theme this year.
SERWER: Yes.
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: So people who want SUVs are going to stick with SUVs regardless of the gas mileage. I think that, you know, people who need the space are going to go for the space and want bigger cars.
MILES O'BRIEN: Well, once you get used to it, it's hard to give it up.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It's hard to go back.
SERWER: Right, especially if you have a family, right?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It's like those Mcmansions (ph). I mean it's kind of like the car version of a Mcmansion. It's just a big, old car that can hold a lot of stuff.
SERWER: Yes, go to Costco, there's all that -- people buying things in bulk. That's another theme. SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Right. Exactly. And then people who want smaller are going to go even smaller. And then you have people who want the hybrid, even though it doesn't necessarily translate into saving you money at the end of the day, it's a good thing to do certainly for the environment.
MILES O'BRIEN: Makes a statement.
Anyway, Andy Serwer is here to tell us about one other dimension to this, which is bringing back those cars that when we were of the age . . .
SERWER: Right.
MILES O'BRIEN: We dreamed of in posters in our rooms of these Camaros, right!
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Maybe you boys did.
MILES O'BRIEN: Not you.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I didn't have a poster of a car in my room.
SERWER: Farrah Fawcett, you know . . .
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Exactly.
MILES O'BRIEN: Side-by-side. Camaro with Farrah.
SERWER: No, this trend is pure indulgence tough, you guys, and it's a return of the muscle cars. And we were also seeing this at the Detroit Auto Show. Check out this new Camaro which invokes the 1969 vintage Camaro.
MILES O'BRIEN: The SS.
SERWER: Yes. This thing -- they're not sure. GM's not sure it's going to roll this out but that's pretty bad. It's 400 horses. A manual six-speed.
MILES O'BRIEN: Wow.
SERWER: And, you know, the car was discontinued in 2002.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That's a nice looking car.
SERWER: I think that's pretty cool. Now, some of this has to do with a Mustang, Ford bringing the Mustang back, which did so well.
Another one I want to talk about this morning is the Dodge Challenger, 425 horsepower. This is based on the 1970 classic car.
MILES O'BRIEN: Remember the Road Runner too?
SERWER: I was going to say, I drove around in a Road Runner one summer with a friend of mine. I remember the Cougars. El Caminos. I like Trans Ams. And my favorite was the '66 Chevelle that a friend of mine had.
MILES O'BRIEN: Oh, sweet.
SERWER: And we used to just - and, you know, with the engine out of the hood . . .
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Right. Right.
SERWER: We used to drive around town. It was pretty bad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Because you thought you were all bad, right?
SERWER: Pretty bad, yes. My friend's car, not even mine, right? Of course not.
MILES O'BRIEN: Push down the gas, open up that 4 barrel and off you go, huh?
SERWER: Yes, and they'll sell some of these. You know, it's kind of a niche market but, you know.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I bet they'll do pretty well actually on some of them.
SERWER: Yes.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, the secret for success for a record-breaking Broadway musical. Do you know what I'm talking about?
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, it keep showing up, I guess, right?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAMERON MACKINTOSH, "PHANTOM" PRODUCER: Wonderful, wish fulfillment in the darker recesses of our mind and touches a chord with everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, we're talking about "The Phantom of the Opera." It is now officially the longest running show in Broadway history. Just trampled "Cats." We're going to show you how "The Phantom" became a phenomenon.
First, though, a question about another show. "The Fantastics" has been staged more than 17,000 times or about 10,000 times more than "Phantom." So why is it not considered the longest running Broadway show? Here are the answers. A, is it because it wasn't a consecutive run? Is it, b, because it ran off-Broadway? Or, c, because it isn't a musical?
I know the answer to this.
SERWER: Try to remember.
MILES O'BRIEN: Don't give it away. Don't give it away.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That's right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: "The Phantom of the Opera" is now the longest running show in Broadway history. With Monday's performance, number 7,486, "The Phantom" won upped the record that was previously held by "Cats." One of the cats actually came on stage to symbolically pass along the Broadway baton. So what is it about "Phantom" that's made it such a phenomenon? AMERICAN MORNING's Kelly Wallace has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): "The Phantom" has become a phenom. After 18 years, it's now the longest running show in Broadway history. Cast member George Lee Andrews has been with the show since opening night in 1988.
Eighteen years ago, 1988, Ronald Reagan's in the White House. "Rainman" is in the theaters. I mean.
GEORGE LEE ANDREWS, ORIGINAL CAST MEMBER: My kids are six and 10, which is crazy because they're now 24 and 28. These are all our kids and animals.
WALLACE: You could consider Andrews the unofficial mayor of "Phantom." It was his idea, after all, to start collecting photographs of everyone who's been in the cast.
ANDREWS: Eighteen years later there are, you know, about 250 or something pictures here.
WALLACE: I think you're running out of wall space.
ANDREWS: I am running -- I'm very definitely running out of wall space here.
WALLACE: But not running out of fans. Eleven million people have flocked to The Majestic to see the story of the deformed figure who lurks beneath the Paris opera house and falls madly in love with the beautiful soprano Christine. Many, more than once. Members of this Long Island family were just about to see the show for the fourth time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the music. It's charismatic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the only music you remember.
WALLACE: But what is it about "Phantom" that has also led it to break Broadway and worldwide box office records? The man who produced "Phantom" and "Cats," now the number two record holder, says it's simple. It has to do with love.
CAMERON MACKINTOSH, "PHANTOM" PRODUCER: We've all, in our life, wanted someone and it hasn't worked out. So I think this is a sort of wonderful wishful film in the darker recesses of our mind and touches a chord with everyone.
WALLACE: Eight shows a week for 18 years. If you tally the time on stage, Andrews has spent the equivalent of two solid years of his life performing "Phantom."
How do you keep from getting bored? From doing the same role for so long?
ANDREWS: You know, it has to do with the fact of trying to improve every night.
WALLACE: So 18 more years for him?
ANDREWS: Oh, no, I don't think so. Now let's not get silly.
WALLACE: Why not?
ANDREWS: Well, I think "Phantom" will be around 18 more years.
WALLACE: Well, OK. OK. You do?
ANDREWS: Yes, I think "Phantom" will be.
WALLACE: You do? Really?
ANDREWS: Yes, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't. You know, it's timeless.
WALLACE: Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: "Phantom" has taken in more than $3.2 billion in the box office earnings worldwide. It makes it the most successful entertainment venture of all time.
MILES O'BRIEN: Really?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Of all time.
MILES O'BRIEN: More than "Star Wars"?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Of all time.
MILES O'BRIEN: More than all the . . .
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Most successful entertainment venture of all time.
MILES O'BRIEN: It is it. Wow.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Earlier we asked you about "The Fantastics."
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, we're been on the edge of the our seat waiting for the answer.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: "The Fantastics" staged more than 17,000 times, which is really about 10,000 times more than "Phantom." So why is "Fantastics" not the number one show on Broadway?
MILES O'BRIEN: No $3.2 billion for them, huh?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: No $3.2 billion. In fact, because "Fantastics" played in a theater with fewer than 500 seats, making it an off- Broadway production, it's also way off Broadway too, being downtown.
MILES O'BRIEN: So really it's the seat count that makes it a Broadway play?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes. I always thought it was the location, like on Broadway or off Broadway, but it is seat count.
MILES O'BRIEN: It is seat count. There you go.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And it's a teeny, tiny theater.
MILES O'BRIEN: A little piece of trivia.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Kind of -- and you're right on the floor with the performers right there. It was kind of neat.
MILES O'BRIEN: So it doesn't count. But that doesn't seem fair.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I know. Bummer, huh?
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes. All right.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Jerry Orbach was in the early version of "The Fantastics." A little piece of trivia.
MILES O'BRIEN: Wow, there you go.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE).
MILES O'BRIEN: Well, thank you.
Coming up, Dr. Sanjay Gupta will join us live for -- well, we could quiz you on this. What do you think it would be? It's "New You" time. We're going to be seeing a lot of him and our "New You" participants. We're going to focus in on this pair. A lobbyist and his friend, the assistant. Do you know what she likes to do after she runs? She has a smoky treat. We'll leave it at that.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: She has a cigarette?
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, she has a butt after she smokes. That's not a good thing. We're going to try to kick her of that habit.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Kick that in the new year.
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, in the new year. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Good morning. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Samuel Alito in the spotlight today. The Supreme Court nominee will face tough questions from senators on abortion and wiretaps. We're live in Washington for a preview.
MILES O'BRIEN: I'm Miles O'Brien.
Missing in Iraq. The search is on for an American journalist kidnaped from a Baghdad street. We'll take you there live.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And a dangerous daylight robbery caught on tape. We're going to tell you what the victim did to try to get her own measure of justice. That's ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
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