Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Sunday

Baby Noor Progress Report; Mining Accidents Prompt State and Federal Action; Gerald Ford's Condition; Problems for Ford Motor Company; PETA Wants to Outlaw Horse and Buggy

Aired January 22, 2006 - 16:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NICK RAHALL, (D) WEST VIRGINIA: I hardly think that in today's climate we can continue to allow these tragedies to occur without addressing the causes and how we can prevent it from occurring again in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Renewed calls for better safety in U.S. coal mines after 14 deaths in West Virginia this month alone.

She's fondly known at Baby Noor, the Iraqi girl rushed to the United States to have life-saving surgery. This hour, an update from her doctor.

And dramatic scenes from Utah: One by one, four hikers stranded on a snow-covered mountaintop pulled to safety.

Hello, and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Here are our other headlines at this hour:

More recrimination today about a CIA attack against suspected al Qaeda members along the Pakistan border. Pakistan's prime minister says the U.S. explanation for the bombing is "bizarre." He says there's no evidence any terrorists were there. U.S. officials contend four to eight members of al Qaeda were killed, and their bodies were removed by comrades.

The trial of Saddam Hussein resumes Tuesday. Former members of his regime are expected to take the stand this week. Hussein and seven others are on trial for crimes against humanity.

All eyes are on Ford. The auto giant is expected to announce sweeping job cuts tomorrow. Ford Motor Company is due to release details of a restructuring plan which Ford's chairman admits will be painful. More on this story coming up.

But first, this hour -- calling for change in the nation's coal mines. Fourteen men are dead after two West Virginia mine accidents in three weeks. Now, the state's governor is pushing for reforms. And Congress is getting ready for a hard look at mine safety. CNN's Chris Huntington is in Melville, West Virginia. Chris?

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Fredricka, good afternoon.

Indeed, coming out of the tragedies at Sago and now here at the Aracoma Mine, pledges in this state and soon to be in Washington to overhaul mine safety in the United States. Here right now, outside the Aracoma Mine in Melville, it's a still and now rainy day, a very sad day here, following the news of the last 24 hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): All is quiet around the Aracoma Mine now. Rescue teams have pulled out. There were no services Sunday at the Bright Star Freewill Baptist Church, which for days had been the sanctuary for the miners' families, their hopes and their prayers. Just silent remembrance for Don Bragg and Elvis Hatfield, two veteran miners who could not escape a conveyor belt fire.

But the quiet in Melville may be the quiet before a storm -- a storm the governor is unleashing to overhaul mine safety.

GOV. JOE MANCHIN, WEST VIRGINIA: These two men that perished in this mine, the 12 men that perished -- the 12 men that perished in the Sago Mine -- I can only say to each one of their families, that they have not died in vain. They're going to look back and one day say, Because of my dad or because of my uncle or my brother or my cousin, we have laws now that other people will be saved.

HUNTINGTON: Manchin is demanding more rapid response to mine disasters, electronic tracking for underground miners and mandatory reserve oxygen stations in the mines.

MANCHIN: We are doing and will do everything humanly possible to make sure they're able to return home every night to their family and loved ones.

HUNTINGTON: Manchin has the power to push that through in West Virginia. He's counting on his state's congressional delegation to make it federal law as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): The technology to make coal mining safer is readily available, but critics of the coal companies point out that they are often reluctant to spend what is really needed to substantially upgrade safety procedures. That's why Governor Manchin and other West Virginia lawmakers say, it's time to force the cola companies to invest in new safety equipment.

RAHALL: It's unfortunate that every coal mine health and safety law on the books today is written with the blood of coal miners. It takes a tragedy, unfortunately, to toughen these laws and to pass them in the first place.

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D) WEST VIRGINIA: Coal mining has to be done. It needs to be done. It's in America's interest that it be done. And it has to be done safely and responsibly, and it shall be.

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): But too late for the men who died in the Sago and Aracoma Mines.

(on camera): The only word from the company -- the Massey Energy Company -- that runs the Aracoma Mine was a statement yesterday expressing their support for the families of Elvis Hatfield and Don Bragg. As we mentioned in the report, Governor Manchin is expecting to take his proposal to the West Virginia State Legislature tomorrow. He has expressed confidence that those will pass in this state rapidly.

We spoke directly with Senator Rockefeller yesterday and he said that he would do everything he could to rally support in Congress for the measures at the federal level -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Chris, there was a lot of criticism about the International Coal Group, which owns the Sago Mine, that they had a lot of violations leading up to the accident that led to the 12 deaths earlier in the month. What about this group that owns the Aracoma Mine? Do they have a similar track record?

HUNTINGTON: Let me be cautious about the way I phrase this. The Massey Energy Group, which is the fourth largest coal company in the United States, and is a dominant, dominant economic power in this part of West Virginia, is, shall we say, not exactly the most popular public citizen in this region. We have heard from miners, miners' families, companies, other folks that live in this area, and there have not been a lot of kind words for Massey Energy, nor the people that run the company.

As for the company's safety record, it has a record that, indeed is considerably better than ICG's record at Sago. There are lists of violations. We spoke directly with a miner -- in fact, one of the miners who escaped from the fire on Thursday -- and he said he felt that this mine, the Aracoma Mine was a safe mine.

But Massey Energy has been embroiled in lawsuits throughout the states of the Appalachia with regard to environmental problems resulting from coal mining. It's a big company. It has a lot of people that have a lot of different and strong opinions about the way it runs its coal business -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Chris Huntington, thank you so much, from Melville.

A closer look now at what West Virginia's governor and lawmakers may be hoping to achieve. On the phone, is Davitt McAteer. He's a former assistant secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Thanks for being with us.

DAVITT MCATEER, FMR. ASST. SECRETARY FOR MINE SAFETY ADMIN. (via telephone): You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Accidents are no anomaly when it comes to mines across this country, but when you have two deadly accidents within three weeks in one state alone, you have to wonder if this is exposing one singular problem that many of the mines are experiencing these days?

MCATEER: Unfortunately, I think we have the potential for this kind of increase in fatalities, rather than decrease, because of the increase in the production levels of coal and the increase in the number of miners entering the mines given the last two or three year upturn in the mining process.

WHITFIELD: Do you see that these accidents are exposing yet another challenge or another problem that perhaps there are mines that are operating with many violations that are being unaddressed? These mine companies are not being prosecuted for these violations, or being held accountable?

MCATEER: I think it's fair to say that there are companies who operate mines safely year in and year out that do it on a continuing basis. There are some other companies who've had difficulties -- have not addressed the difficulties of safety and health, and those companies need to be brought to task and required to comply with the law. And that's the federal and state agency's responsibility to do that, but it's also the responsibility of the company to look at their own records, and if they are having problems of safety with accidents, they ought to change the way they do business.

WHITFIELD: And I must say that these two recent accidents in West Virginia are still under investigation, involving Massey and ICG. So we don't know if any negligence on the part of the companies may in any way be blamed for the recent accidents.

Meantime, the Senate Appropriations Committee is hoping to discuss or at least try to resolve any potential mining problems, I guess, that the mining regulators either couldn't or wouldn't address? Is that how you see it?

MCATEER: What the Senate Appropriations Committee has asked us to do is to look at the questions of technology, look at the questions of enforcement, look at the questions of how do we improve mine safety. Learning from these accidents so that these men don't die in vain. That's precise what we're trying to do: first steps, those things we can do immediately and then the second steps, the things we can do over a period of time.

WHITFIELD: Are there certain things that can be done more immediately that perhaps have gone unnoticed or ignored in recent years?

MCATEER: It's truth to say we've not put the money and energy into the safety and health side of mining. We've done a very good job with the productivity side but not the safety and health. And there are technologies out there today that the governor's going to propose tomorrow and that I will be testifying about, including a personal emergency device, which is a device that allows the surface to communicate with each miner underground to warn them that something's gone wrong.

WHITFIELD: That is a device that's been available since the early '70s, right? Why hasn't it been readily used? MCATEER: Well, there hasn't been an incentive on the part of the agencies to push the regulations through, and I must say that some of our friends in the industry have been resistant to pushing it through. A number of companies have purchased it and put it in the mines themselves.

WHITFIELD: It's a cost factor, perhaps?

MCATEER: It is not a terrible -- not terribly costly.

WHITFIELD: And in the end who would bear the burden of the cost? Would it be something shared by federal unions or labor unions and/or these mining companies?

MCATEER: It would be the mine operator's cost. It's a cost of doing business.

WHITFIELD: All right. Davitt McAteer, thank you so much, former assistant secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Now to a high-seas chase. The U.S. Navy says it has captured suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia. The USS Winston Churchill began following the ship Friday after reports of an attempted attack. It radioed the crew, but got no response. The ship finally stopped, after the Churchill fired warning shots. More warning shots were needed for the crew to start responding to radio calls. U.S. sailors finally boarded the ship and discovered small arms weapons onboard.

The search continues for an American journalist kidnapped in Iraq. There's no word on the fate of Jill Carroll, abducted more than two weeks ago in Baghdad. Her captors have threatened to kill her unless all Iraqi female detainees are set free. Iraqi officials say they expect six of nine women held by U.S. forces to be released this week. U.S. authorities are not confirming that.

Guilty of negligent homicide but not murder. That's the verdict in the trial of a U.S. Army interrogator. Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer was accused in the death of an Iraqi general back in 2003. Prosecutors say he put a sleeping bag over the prisoners head and sat on his chest as the man suffocated. Sentencing is set for tomorrow.

Israel is taking responsibility for a deadly air strike near the Gaza border. One Palestinian was killed in the attack, two others injured. Israel claims the men were armed and trying to cross into Israel to carry out an attack. But the Israeli army denies it had anything to do with an air strike in Gaza City today. Palestinian security sources claim Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at a car, killing one person and wounding three others.

A scan of Ariel Sharon's brain today shows no change from a week ago. The Israeli prime minister is still in critical but stable condition. He hasn't regained consciousness since suffering a major stroke two and a half weeks ago.

The nation's oldest living former president, Gerald Ford, remains in a California hospital. He's been there for more than a week getting treatment for pneumonia. CNN's Ted Rowlands is in Rancho Mirage, and what is Mr. Ford's condition?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, we have not received an update today. Typically President Ford's chief of staff releases an update to the media in mid-morning. We've not received any update today as to Mr. Ford's condition or his possible release from the hospital. In fact, the last update we received was yesterday afternoon. It was very short. It simply stated that President Ford is still a patient here at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage.

Typically those updates are accompanied by more information about his condition. They had hoped that President Ford would be released by now, at least early last week, it was forecasted that he possibly could be out as early as Thursday. Now they are saying that it will be a day-to-day decision from doctors as to whether or not the president will be released.

As you mentioned, he was admitted here to the hospital last Saturday -- so this has been eight days now -- for pneumonia. And throughout last week, all of the updates we received were very positive, saying that the president was responding favorably to the treatment for pneumonia. But again, the last update we received had nothing either positive or negative attached to it, saying simply he's still here in the hospital. And we are still waiting for the latest update on his condition -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Ted Rowlands in Rancho Mirage. Thank you so much.

Angry voices in Atlanta.

DENISE HERBERT, MOTHER MISSING FROM KATRINA: I want the governor, I want the mayor and I want the president. I want all three of them to come before her six children and tell us where she is!

WHITFIELD: The governor of Louisiana traveled hundreds of miles to hear from victims, just like that woman, of Hurricane Katrina. Find out what the governor is telling evacuees.

Later, a live update from the American doctor treating an Iraqi baby hospitalized here in the states.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Victims of Hurricane Katrina speaking out in forums across the South: they're telling federal and state leaders what kind of results they want. Our Gary Tuchman reports emotions ran high at one meeting in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Louisiana's governor came to Georgia to visit some of the Louisiana diaspora.

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D) LOUISIANA: When do you think you'll be back?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was hoping yesterday, but I guess it won't be for a while.

TUCHMAN: Louisianans have lost their homes, moved to Georgia, and got a chance to talk to Governor Kathleen Blanco.

BLANCO: Nice! Hello. How are you? Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you? I can't wait to get back home. I'm trying really hard now. But -- I'm out here by myself. I've never had to be out here by myself.

TUCHMAN: This was all part of Louisiana Recovery Planning Day. Hurricane victims showed up here and at 30 other locations in Tennessee, Texas and Louisiana to offer suggestions about the rebuilding of their neighborhoods and their lives.

But it was emotion that captured the occasion. I talked with one woman whose 82-year-old mother is still missing. Ethel Herbert was a stroke victim who could not talk. She was on a hospital bed at the Superdome when her daughter last saw her leaving with medical personnel.

HERBERT: They took her hospital mattress and put it on this truck, and they took her around to the Super dome.

TUCHMAN: How does that make you feel?

HERBERT: I'm very angry, because everybody in America got a mama -- where is mine? That's what I want to know today! Where is my mother? And I'm angry with the world! They can parade around here and talk about Mardi Gras, and what they want to do in New Orleans. Well what about these 3,000 and some people missing, and one of them is my mama! I'm sick of these people. I really am sick of these people!

You can save whales, you can save all these animals, but you couldn't save all these people. And I'm tired, and I want the governor, I want the mayor and I want the president. I want all three of them to come before her six children and tell us where she is. We didn't leave her in a house. We left her in the hands of what they call the world's finest.

TUCHMAN: Denise Herbert's outrage quickly caught the attention of the governor, who took over my seat. They talked about the chaos in the days after Hurricane Katrina, and then Governor Blanco called her secretary of Health and Hospitals and told him to get on the case.

BLANCO: He will make a few calls and call me back, and we'll -- we'll just pray with you. Try to find something out.

TUCHMAN: Almost five months after Katrina, the nightmare is still fresh. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: A rocky trip to the mountains. We'll have the latest on the rescue straight ahead.

And Iraq's Baby Noor was back in an Atlanta hospital this week. Straight ahead on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, her doctor is here to explain why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: High drama in the mountains today southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah. After spending a frigid night on the slopes, four stranded hikers are found alive near Mount Olympus and airlifted to safety. The Korean climbing group went up the mountain yesterday. A fall injured several of the hikers and prevented them from climbing down the 9,000-foot peak. Rescuers with special gear stayed with them overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. JON FASSETT, SALT LAKE CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT.: They were just prepare ford a day hike, and when they did not get down at about 4:00 yesterday afternoon, the family got concerned, they did some checking. They called us about 6:00 last night. Because it was dark by then, we realized we couldn't get them off the mountain, and because of their injuries we wouldn't want to try to get them off the mountain. We got some cold weather gear and took that up there for them overnight so they would have some way to stay warm overnight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Three other hikers from the group did manage to climb down the mountain on their own yesterday.

An update now on the tiny Iraqi infant known as Baby Noor: she suffers from a severe form of spina bifida and has already had two medical procedures in the U.S. Dr. Roger Hudgins is chief of neurosurgery at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and he is one of Baby Noor's surgeons. Perhaps we should say, the primary surgeon, right?

DR. ROGER HUDGINS, BABY NOOR'S SURGEON: Through most of it, so far, yes.

WHITFIELD: How is she doing?

HUDGINS: She's doing well. She did have to come back into the hospital this week, because there was some fluid that had built up under the incision below her back. And that's not uncommon when you have to close such a large defect as this. And we were able to get the problem under control by making a small incision and putting a drain in. It's my hope that that drain will come out in the next couple of days.

WHITFIELD: You had to do a few things: not only did you want to connect that gap in the spinal cord, but you had to first remove the tumor. We know, successfully, that went well. This kind of fluid buildup, you were hoping something like this would happen? Does that at least indicate the recovery or her healing, the first stages of healing are good?

HUDGINS: Yes. It's not uncommon when something like this happens after the surgery. But the fluid was progressively getting larger. In fact, it was the grandmother in the office visit that brought it to my attention and said, Hey, do something about this. I said, you're right -- again.

WHITFIELD: And then when you check that fluid, you're also looking for any kind of traces of meningitis, because that is something that could be a consequence?

HUDGINS: Right. We did send a culture, and that culture was negative. There's no evidence of infection at this point.

WHITFIELD: Long term: Baby Noor has been here now a little over a month, with all of this taking place, these various surgeries, et cetera, what's the length of recovery for a surgery like this for a little 3-month-old like her?

HUDGINS: I'll tell you, she's done remarkably well. It's not uncommon that after a first surgery like that most of the babies are in the hospital for two weeks. She was out in five days, eating by the next day. She's a very good eater. So --

WHITFIELD: That's good.

HUDGINS: Her recovery has moved along quite rapidly.

WHITFIELD: It's a really remarkable outlook for her, because from the beginning, she really did beat the odds, didn't she. She lived longer with this kind of condition than most babies would, and now she is doing great, post surgery. So long-term, what kind of recovery are we talking about? I know earlier on that you told me that she probably would not have the ability to walk prior to surgery or even postop. So -- how -- what kind of care is she going to be able to get?

HUDGINS: Well, we're concerned about that, and we hope that this situation will stabilize in Iraq enough so that we can get physicians who will take care of her. We've been very fortunate so far in that she has not developed progressive hydrocephalis -- that is, the buildup of fluid inside the brain. That would have required a shunt, which is something that she would always have to have a neurosurgeon nearby to take care of. But to date, that's not been necessary.

WHITFIELD: Because the family's plan -- Baby Noor came over with her grandmother and father. The plan is that they would actually return back to Iraq. Will they be equipped with the right kind of apparatus for this little girl to grow, to be able to develop?

HUDGINS: Well, Child Spring International is the group that brought her over here. I've had discussions with this on multiple occasions. They are committed to providing her the needs and the things she does need to grow and develop normally. So I think with their backing, she should have what she needs.

WHITFIELD: What about for you personally? We know professionally, while this has been a challenge, this is typical of the kinds of challenges that you are dealing with as a pediatric neurosurgeon. But have you developed a certain personal relationship with this family, with this little girl? It's going to be hard letting go, wouldn't it?

HUDGINS: I'm not ready for that to happen. She needs to be with us a couple more months, medically, but it's going to be difficult I think, at the time when she does leave, because she tugged at a lot people's hearts, not just mine: The nurses at Children's Healthcare have just fallen in love with her. So, yes. We're all going to have trouble, but she's got to grow and she's eventually got to leave our nest I guess.

WHITFIELD: At the same time, we know the family has expressed in so many different ways how grateful are for this opportunity, and they also expressed their fears of what it's going to be like for them when they do go back, because you know, this is the kind of treatment, medical treatment, and otherwise that they really couldn't afford or had no access to anyway.

HUDGINS: That's right. That's right. We're all concerned about that and we're concerned about the turmoil that's taking place in that country. It's our hope, though, that we will be able to find a place for the family and for the baby that will provide at least some measure of safety for all of them.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Roger Hudgins, thanks so much. And of course we'll be checking back with you to see about Baby Noor's progress.

HUDGINS: My pleasure, Fredricka. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Bad news from another major American car maker. Find out what's behind the latest cutbacks Ford is expected to announce tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's what's happening now in the news.

The U.S. navy is questioning 26 suspected pirates; they were captured in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia. Navy officials say the men onboard the boat seized -- were seized yesterday after a U.S. destroyer chased it down.

New calls for improved safety in mines following two deadly coal- mining accidents in West Virginia in less than month. Tomorrow a Senate subcommittee begins hearings on mine safety. West Virginians came together today to remember two miners killed last week. Their bodies were found yesterday.

A setback for a hit TV show before a new president is decided and the show, NBC has determined the future of its once popular television series "The West Wing." network official say the Emmy Award winning show being canceled after seven seasons. Ratings for "The West Wing" dropped when the show was moved from Wednesday to Sunday nights.

Ford Motor Company is expected to announce major job cuts tomorrow. America's second largest auto make has been hurt by falling sales of cars and sport utility vehicles and company officials admit the change is being planned will be painful. Here's CNN's Ali Velshi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Here we go again. Just two months after GM announced 30,000 job cuts and a dozen plant closings, Ford looks like it's also about to stall. On Monday, Bill Ford, the great grandson of Henry Ford and now the company's CEO and chairman is expected to announce a massive restructuring plan that could include 25,000 layoffs. About 20 percent of Ford's North American work force could be wiped out. One analyst we spoke with said plants in Atlanta, St. Louis, Minnesota, Canada and Mexico are likely targets.

REBECCA LINDLAND, GLOBAL INSIGHT: It's hard to really point the blame at any one particular issue that's facing Ford right now, but certainly good products solve a tremendous amount of issues.

VELSHI: But good products don't outweigh soaring healthcare and pension costs and sales are still stuck in reverse. Detroit tried waging a price war introducing zero interest financing and paid what the employee pays pricing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I have left is black with this color interior.

VELSHI: But Ford has now lost market share to Toyota and Honda among others for ten straight years. It now has the lowest market share it's had in 80 years. Ford's problems don't necessarily point to the death of auto making in the U.S., just dire days for Detroit.

LINDLAND: You may say, well, this is the death of the American automotive industry, and the jobs that manufacturing jobs, but it's really not. This is not an outsourcing issue because Honda's opening new plants. Hyundai just opened a plant in the south. Toyota is adding a new plant in Texas. Nissan just opened a plant in Mississippi.

VELSHI: Car making dollars are still coming to the U.S. The problem is the bucks just aren't stopping in Detroit anymore.

Ali Velshi, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oversea, a major search is underway for a missing helicopter chartered by Red Cross International. The chopper had just finished an earthquake relief mission in Pakistan and was headed to Turkmenistan when it lost radio contact before crossing the Afghanistan border. There were seven people on board, all worked for Turkmenistan Airlines, which has been flying earthquake relief missions for several months now.

It's playoff time in the NFL and some fans are taking the results to heart. Coming up, we'll hear from a Steelers' fan who survived a heart attack while watching his favorite team.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: It was 20 years ago this week that the space shuttle "Challenger" exploded seconds after launch, all seven crewmembers were killed. Among them, Christa McAuliffe who was to be the first teacher in space, for the first time her family, friends and colleagues reveal a side of her we never knew. Here is a preview of tonight's "CNN Presents."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her payload was education. She herself was the payload, and she was carrying experiments that were typical kind of experiments that a teacher would conduct in a classroom. And the shuttle was going to be her classroom in space.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard for kids to realize that you can build something that's not attached to anything, but in zero gravity you can do that, or, you know, space you can do that. So that at that point I wanted to be able to let it go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was very important to her to write her own lesson plan, and I don't remember all the details, but there was some headquarters involvement, and they had their ideas on what Christa should do, but she made it clear that she had her ideas on what she should be doing as the teacher in space in this classroom in space.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just would never script out what you're going say and we would laugh and say, you know, we're not -- Chris would say I'm not an actress, you know, I'm not pretending I'm a teacher. I am a teacher. Teachers don't do this.

if I'm much more comfortable when I'm teaching in front of a class loom. I'm much more comfortable talking about something and doing something at the same time. That's not distracting for kids if you're talking about the thing that you're doing. It's OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In zero gravity -- one leapfrog. Two leapfrogs! Whoa!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time I'd like to introduce you to perhaps a person you came to see. And that's Christa McAuliffe. My payload specialist teacher in space.

CHRISTA MCAULIFFE: Well I am so excited to be here. We watched "Columbia" go over the Houston area this morning. That was a thrill. I don't think any teacher has ever been more ready to have two lessons in my life. I've been preparing these since September, and I just hope everybody tunes in on day four now to watch the teacher teaching in space.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's when it really struck me. Oh, my god. She's actually going in to space! And then I asked her if she was afraid. I said are you afraid? She said, no. She had complete faith in NASA, that they wouldn't let anything happen to her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Watch "CNN Presents: Christa McAuliffe Reach for the Stars" it airs tonight at 8:00 Eastern.

Now other stories making news across America. Demonstrators on both sides of the abortion issue are marking the 33rd anniversary of the Roe versus Wade ruling that made the procedure legal. It comes as tensions run high over Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. Women's rights groups and others contend the confirmation of Alito, which swing the court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Family and friends say Michael Schiavo married his longtime girlfriend this weekend. Schiavo's former wife Terry Schiavo died last March. She suffered brain damage back in 1990 and became the focus of a right to the life debate in this country.

Official's say seven firefighters and one civilian suffered minor injuries when a fire roared through a commercial building in New York's Soho district last night. Officials say it took nearly five hours to get the five-alarm blaze under control.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are battling the Broncos in Denver at this hour. The winner goes on to the Super Bowl. Well, the Steelers earned their spot in today's game by eliminating Indianapolis last week. Well, that game really proved to be a heart-stopper for one Pittsburgh fan. And earlier today, CNN's Betty Nguyen talked with him about his ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, with less than a minute to go in last Sunday's Steelers/Colts game, Colts linebacker Gary Bracket hitting Steelers running back Jerome Bettis on the Indianapolis goal line forcing a fumble. We'll show it to you. Oh! Right there. The play gave the Colts a new chance to win and gave super fan Terry O'Neil a heart attack -- literally.

But for O'Neil, the game ended on two positive notes. The Steelers won and he survived. There he is live joining us from Pittsburgh this morning. Thanks for being with us, Terry. So glad you're here, period.

TERRY O'NEIL, STEELERS FAN: Good to be here.

NGUYEN: Yes. OK. So take us back to this time -- well a little later this time last week when you were watching the game. What happened?

O'NEIL: Well I was watching the game, and I was getting a little upset with some of the officiating and there was a bad call --

NGUYEN: Those refs can do that to you can't they?

O'NEIL: Yes they can. There was a bad call on Randle El and then the one on Polamalu got me a little more excited. I felt a little flush but dismissed it, and the next thing you know, Jerome popped the ball up which is way out of character for him, and --

NGUYEN: He's one of your biggest players. I mean he is the guy that you watch. Right?

O'NEIL: That's my man. Yes. Well, there are -- so many heroes on the team, but I -- I just think so much of Jerome. He's like the elder statesman on the team, and you just got to the love him.

NGUYEN: All right. So this was happening. You were starting to get flushed. You started feeling different. What were you saying when this heart attack was coming on?

O'NEIL: Well, I was just glued to the TV, and I was among friends and I wasn't saying much of anything. I was kind of in shock at what I had seen and it all happened so quickly, and I saw whoever picked the ball up running down the field and big Ben tackled him, and I'm told I turned to my friend and said, Jerome's a pro. He can't do that, and that was the last -- the last thing I said. And I just fell backwards on to the floor, and -- I don't believe I'm the first one that fell to the floor down there. They thought I was kidding around, and one of the fireman there says Terry's turning blue and --

NGUYEN: That's never a good sign, Terry never a good sign. Do you know these firemen? Do you know those that helped save you?

O'NEIL: I grew up with them. They're my best friends. If you're going have an incident like this I couldn't have been in a better place at a better time.

NGUYEN: That is true. All right. So when you get to the hospital. This is what floors me, you get to the hospital. They're working on you. You finally start to come back and what do you ask the doctor?

O'NEIL: Who won?

NGUYEN: That's the first thing you were concerned about? Come on!

O'NEIL: That was the first question I asked, and I think he said something like; you have bigger fish to fry.

NGUYEN: All right. So here what I want it know. Are you going back to the bar today?

O'NEIL: Yes. I'll be drinking this water here and -- or -- and my wife's going to be with me, but I've got to be there to support the guys. I don't think I'll be there for the whole game, but I do want to go out and have some fun, and it got my body straightened out pretty well. UPMC and the University Pittsburgh Medical Center did a wonderful job on me. As long as I'm, I behave myself and try not to get too excited, I'm sure I'll be OK.

NGUYEN: We know you're a die-hard fan just don't take that to heart. All right, Terry? So when you go back today and of course bless your wife. She'll be by your side. Are you going to do anything different? Kind of sit back or -- this is the playoff, they could go to the Super Bowl. This is a big game for you!

O'NEIL: I can't see me -- I don't think I'll yell as loud, because my chest still hurts. Not my heart, but -- they did chest compression, maybe cracked some cartilich. I won't be doing the typical screaming and yelling which is a good thing. Other than that, I'll be in it heart and soul, watching the game and having the same excitements, but I think it's going about to blowout, anyway.

NGUYEN: You think so? What do you think the score is going to be?

O'NEIL: Oh -- about 31-17, something like that.

NGUYEN: All right. 31-17.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Yes. That's a passionate fan. I'd say if Pittsburgh wins, they owe him some Super Bowl tickets!

All right. Later on today, the Carolina Panthers meet the Sea Hawks in Seattle for the other spot in the Super Bowl that O'Neill hopes to be in attendance of.

They've been described as the perfect short story. Straight ahead, meet a man who was a master of the craft.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A casual stroll on a horse-drawn carriage, irresistible to some die-hard romantics. But some animal activists say there's nothing lovable about it and they are trying to get the horse and buggy band from the streets of New York that story now from CNN's Adoir Udoji.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADOIR UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ignoring frigid temperatures, tourist clamor to horse-driven carriages in New York City's Central Park.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a lovely tradition in New York.

UDOJI: A romantic symbol of the big apple. But the people for the ethical treatment of animals wants it outlawed.

MICHAEL MCGRAW, PETA: Because of the extreme cruelty that is involved in this industry and also the public safety threat that the carriage horses pose.

UDOJI: He's talking about a horse that recently got spooked and crashed into a car, seriously injuring the carriage driver. The horse was injured, too, here in Midtown Manhattan and put to sleep. PETA says all of the horses endure long hours in the cold and in the heat. Alexis Stewart, daughter of media maven Martha Stewart has joined PETA writing to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, "Horses simply don't belong on the bustles streets of New York City."

IAN MCCEEVER, N.Y. HORSE & CARRIAGE ASSN: A lot of talk about our business.

UDOJI: Ian McCeever a carriage driver for 20 years says the 300 city licensed drivers follow strict guidelines, they don't work their 220 horses to hard or too long, or in temperatures above 90 degrees or below 18.

MCCEEVER: I've been with horses all my life and get upset when people say I am an animal abuser. I love my horses. They're my life.

UDOJI: Unfortunate accidents happen rarely he says, though PETA says at least seven horses have died with others injured since 1985. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals examines the horses daily. They say they're fine, could be better, but they don't support a ban.

STEVE MUSSO, ASPCA: We understand about tourism. We want them out there at Central Park. It's a safer environment. They're not exposed to traffic.

UDOJI: PETA's call for a ban might not get far either. Mayor Bloomberg who told CNN a horse and carriage tradition is precious to New York City.

Adori Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: For some it's the only story that will ever be written about them. In our industry we call it an obituary or an obit for short. The man who set the standards for the obit at the "Washington Post" passed away on Tuesday. His impact remains. Here's our Gary Nurenberg.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Joe Smith was dying when he made this tape.

JOE SMITH: What's going to happen to me, it's going to happen to all of us.

NURENBERG: But he wasn't dead yet.

SMITH: I wrote obituaries about famous people that weren't dead yet so we'd be ready, for example, for the Pope.

PETER SMITH, JOE SMITH'S BROTHER: He was drawn to the contradictions, and John Paul, he's a complicated person. You like complicated people.

NURENBERG: Smith wrote Pope John Paul II was "A defender of the faith who insisted that the church confront the sins of its past to prepare for the third millennium." J.Y. Smith became the obituary editor at "The Washington Post" in 1977 and helped revolutionize Obits. Readers got the facts, comfortable or not.

ADAM BERNSTEIN, "THE WASHINGTON POST:" He felt very strongly about presenting the news as it was.

NURENBERG: Adam Bernstein wrote Joe Smith's obituary this week, the facts comfortable or not about Smith's earlier fight with alcoholism.

BERNSTEIN: It wasn't just a former editor to who died. It was an editor who struggled.

SMITH: He would have loved it. He would have loved the candor.

ALANA BARANICK, CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER: It's my favorite. Rule number one; make sure they're dead.

NURENBERG: Alana Baranick has published a guide for obituary writers.

BARANICK: The obituary should be celebrating the life and not dwelling on the deaths.

CAROLYN GILBERT, INTL ASSN OF OBITUARISTS: People in general don't realize how important the obituary is.

NURENBERG: Carolyn Gilbert founded the International Association of Obituaries.

GILBERT: It is the ultimate short story, so it requires every aspect of good writing that would be for an epic novel.

NURENBERG: Adam Bernstein who lives next to a cemetery knows getting the facts is hard.

BERNSTEIN: I start from a perspective that nobody's honest with me about their relatives and I work from there.

NURENBERG: One man's family told Baranick he was a former Ohio Supreme Court justice. The real story came from a friend.

BARANICK: He said, well you see, about 13 years ago he met this young lady, and he wanted to impress her. And then he ended up marrying the woman and the woman said, well, he was an Ohio Supreme Court Justice. She didn't doubt it.

NURENBERG: What should her obituary say?

BARANICK: She wrote stories about thousands of people. She wished she had known.

NURENBERG: Joe Smith would probably have liked that line too.

Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Ahead in the next hour of CNN LIVE SUNDAY, I'll speak with the Reverend Al Sharpton about more churches opening their doors to gay men and lesbians. Join us for that and all the top stories right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: U.S. navy ships come across modern-day pirates off the coast of Smallia. The story straight ahead on CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

Also trapped on Mt. Olympcius, the dramatic rescue of four hikers in Utah.

She came to church for spiritual comfort instead she said the leader of the congregation did the unthinkable and justified it as gods will.

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