Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Whittington Will Speak to Media at 1:00 P.M. ET; Mountain of Mud Swallows Entire Village in Eastern Philippines

Aired February 17, 2006 - 11:31   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A mountain of mud swallows an entire village. It's a horrific scene in the eastern Philippines as rescuers dig desperately for survivors. Hundreds of homes and an elementary school that was packed with children are buried beneath the thick mud. Officials say the mudslide was triggered by two weeks of nonstop rain.
Joining us on the phone right now with the latest casualty figures and information is Maria Ressa in the Philippine capital of Manila -- Maria.

MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's still conflicting statements about the casualties. The Philippine Red Cross estimates the death toll could go as high as 200 people. There are less than 20 bodies pulled out of the mud at this point.

However, at the scene, eyewitnesses and local officials say there could be as many as 300 people buried alive by thick mud, as high as 30 feet in many areas.

KAGAN: What seems to be the biggest challenge in trying to get to people who are still stuck?

RESSA: Rescue operations have stopped. It's past midnight here now. And in fact, this is a remote area accessible only by helicopter right now. To get there is very difficult from the capital. It's a one-hour plane ride, two-and-a-half hours by land, and then several hours walk if you can't get in by helicopter.

The other problem rescue workers are having is that the ground itself is very unstable, and there are fears that there could be more landslides. They can't bring in heavy equipment.

So once they get in, there's an appeal for volunteers to sift through the mud by hand if necessary.

KAGAN: Oh, my goodness. And what about the weather? Is the rain expected to continue there?

RESSA: It seems, again, they're preparing for the worst. There's been continuous rain for about a week now. And a week before that, rain on and off. So that's one of the major causes that officials are pinpointing, is that the ground itself is very soft and soaked with water.

But in addition to that, this area lies on a fault line. In fact, there was a small earthquake, 2.6 on the Richter Scale, that happened around the time the landslide happened.

KAGAN: Maria Ressa, live on the phone from Manila. Maria, thank you.

(NEWSBREAK)

KAGAN: Are you a bird watcher or just someone who wants to dabble in something new? Well, this could be a big weekend for you. Today kicks off the Ninth Annual Great Backyard Bird Count. And here to talk more about that is Paul Green of the Audubon Society.

Paul, good morning.

PAUL GREEN, AUDUBON SOCIETY: Good morning to you.

KAGAN: Why are you doing this?

GREEN: Why?

KAGAN: Yes.

GREEN: Well, we want to catch a good snapshot of where the birds are this winter. Every winter things change, and if we get thousands of eyes out there watching, we can get an idea of how many birds are with us and where they are.

KAGAN: Let's give some clues. Now if people decide to do this, how long do they need to watch for?

GREEN: Well, that's the nice thing about it. It's really simple. Basically Audubon and Cornell Lab of Ornithology have set this up so that people only need to watch for about 15 minutes, but they can actually watch for as long as they'd like.

And when you've gone outside and watched the birds, you'll go to the Web site, which is birdsource.org, and that's the central point of the whole survey, because we ask people to actually go there before they go out bird watching, because they can get customized checklists.

KAGAN: Paul, I'm sorry to cut you off. We're going to have to do this. You can go to audubon.org for more information.

We do have breaking news out of Corpus Christi, Texas. And we ill bring in Ed Lavandera.

Ed, what do you have?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

We just learned just a short moment ago that in a few hours Harry Whittington will be released from the hospital here in Corpus Christi. And we've also been told that as he leaves, he will make a brief statement to the reporters that have been gathered here all week, following his progress, his recovery. We've just been told about that. As we speak, hospital staff and all the news media gathered here, making arrangements to be able to make that happen. It's kind of a cold, windy, chilly day in Corpus Christi. We've been stuck outside most of the week. So they're trying to move us slightly more indoors, so it will be a little more comfortable for Mr. Whittington to speak as he leaves.

But he says he will make a statement, answer no questions, and then be on his way back home to Austin.

KAGAN: This release a little earlier than had been anticipated, Ed?

LAVANDERA: Absolutely. You know a couple of days ago, they had said after he suffered the mild heart attack, that he'd be leaving the hospital probably after seven days. They wanted to keep him here. But they started sounding much more confident yesterday as he showed a lot of signs of progress. Yesterday they said they were waiting for the results of a final CAT scan, and if they liked the results of that, they'd be perhaps letting him go earlier than expected. So that has clearly happened here today, as he's hours away from heading home.

KAGAN: So between Corpus Christi and Austin, he has a little bit of a ways to go before he gets home.

LAVANDERA: Yes, we're trying to figure out if he'll be flying or driving. It's quite a drive. It's probably about a four-hour drive. If he flies, it's probably a 30-minute flight. So I would suspect he'd much rather fly.

KAGAN: Yes, you would think. All right, Ed, thank you. That's 1:00 p.m. Eastern?

LAVANDERA: 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Yes.

KAGAN: All right, Harry Whittington, the man that was shot in that hunting citizen with Vice President Dick Cheney, encouraging news from him, being released from the hospital a bit early, and also plans to make a statement to the media, 1:00 p.m. Eastern. You will see that live here on CNN.

Going for gold, athletes train for years to get to the Games. But one small glitch in a skate and they're finished. Who's responsible for making the boots float on ice? We'll visit the manufacturer in Minnesota.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: This just in to CNN. Harry Whittington, the 78-year-old man that was shot in the hunting accident with Vice President Dick Cheney last weekend, is being released from hospital in Corpus Christi. Not only that, he will speak to the media. And that's going to happen in about an hour and 15 minutes. You will see it live here on CNN at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

From Torino to Daytona, U.S. snowboarder Hannah Teter, who won gold in the women's half pipe, will be the honorary starter for the Daytona 500 on Sunday. She'll be joined by her teammate, Gretchen Bleiler, who won the silver medal in the same event.

Teter appeared on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," and talked about what has inspired her to take up snowboarding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNAH TETER, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: The secret for me was just I grew up with four older brothers and they were just always, you know, pushing me. And I always watched them and they were always going so big, so I was like, I want to go big, too. So I just kind of from the beginning strived to get the amplitude and just go huge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Go huge, go big. For Miles, that means to do big jumps. We'll translate for you. As every Olympian know, talent can take you only so far. Having top notch sporting equipment is also key for a successful performance.

Mark Daly from our affiliate KARE reports on specially fitted skates. They're made in Minnesota, but get plenty of ice time in Torino.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIEGELMAN, V.P., RIEDELL SKATES: We're actually a skate manufacturer, primarily ice figure skates.

MARK DALY, KARE REPORTER (voice-over): It's a fact of life that some have to work so that others can play. The dedicated crew at Riedell Skate Company shows up each day willing to carry that burden.

RIEGELMAN: My grandparents, who started our business, were show skaters, so they knew how skates were fit. And through the years, we've had a lot of experience working with skaters, working with coaches and helping design skates.

DALY: We're not talking any old skates here. Try the ones gracing the feet of a bunch of Olympians, including American medal hopeful Johnny Weir.

LEE OLSON, RIEDELL SKATES: The most obvious thing is the fit. It's designed to fit his foot. We have some extra strength in certain areas, right where he needs it to be.

DALY: Riedell prides itself on strong, form-fitting boots, custom tailored to each skater. Hand tracings of feet are turned into molds that reflect every bump on that skater's feet.

RIEGELMAN: And when you have a skater such as a Johnny Weir or Plushenko or some of the female skaters, as well, where you're coming down with anywhere from seven to nine times your body weight. So a freestyle level skater on a high end Olympic level needs a boot that's going to stand up to those types of pressures. DALY: While customers like Mr. Weir get special treatment, each of the 65,000 pairs built in the factory every year comes with a personal touch. Humans do the work, people who take pride in their skates and the athletes who wear them.

OLSON: Every year we get a few new skaters that we get to work with. Always look forward to the Olympic year.

DALY: Mark Daly, KARE 11 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Here's a question for you, though. Are you watching the Olympics? Is Torino a tuneout? NBC's ratings for the first week of the Olympics are down 36 percent from Salt Lake City in 2002. So what's going on? Well, you have the time difference, instant Internet coverage and then the big named stars, they're just not doing so well. And finally, there's "American Idol." Fox's monster hit is beating the Olympics 2-1. Amazing.

Well, take a look who is palling around with U.S. skier Daron Rahlves at the Olympics. His butterscotch and white Siberian Husky. The dog's name is Chevy. The big dog got his own official issue Olympics pass, complete with a picture. The U.S. Olympic Committee made the pass for Chevy kind of as a joke, but it gets him into the team's hotel and office areas without much paws. We apologize for that pun there.

Let's move right on to today's "Daily Dose" of health news. A warning to women that are using the Ortho Evra birth control patch. Researchers found that women who use the patch face twice the risk of developing blood clots than those who take the pill. The makers say the risk of clots is rare, and there's some risk with all hormonal contraceptives.

And Bristol-Myers Squibb is been warning diabetics about the antibiotic drug Tequin. The FDA says Tequin can cause both low and high blood sugar levels in patients. That warning comes after reports of several fatalities linked to the drug company, to the drug. And the company is adding a contraindication warning, which means the medicine could aggravate the patient's diabetic condition.

Your "Daily Dose" of health news is always just a click away. Log on to CNN.com/health for the latest medical news. You'll also find special reports and a health library.

It is a canine conundrum, a Westminster cliffhanger. What happened to the Whippet known as affectionately as Vivi? Jeanne Moos is on the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We're looking at live pictures. That's national intelligence director John Negroponte. He is speaking at Georgetown University. We are listening in to see if he makes any news. There is news coming out of Corpus Christi, Texas. Harry Whittington, the man shot in the weekend hunting accident with Vice President Dick Cheney, is being released from the hospital, and he also plans to speak to the media. That's going to happen in about an hour and 10 minutes. 1:00 p.m. Eastern is the time set for that. You will see that live here on CNN.

(MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: It is a missing dog case. The whippet was competing in the dog show in New York, and then it got lost at the airport.

None other than our Jeanne Moos joins the search.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the Whippets of Westminster, she was a runner up. Now she's a runaway.

JIL WALTON, DOG OWNER: I just want my dog back.

MOOS: Her name is c'est la vie, that's life. But her co-owners call her Vivi. Vivi somehow got out of her cage at JFK as she was being transported to a Delta plane for the flight home to California. Airport workers chased her in a vehicle. What was she doing?

WALTON: Twenty five.

PAUL LEPIANE, DOG OWNER: Miles an hour.

WALTON: Miles an hour.

MOOS: Whippets are known for their speed. Vivi apparently panicked and though one worker got within a few feet of her, she escaped through a fence headed into the marshlands surrounding the airport. By foot, then by chopper, they searched.

Co-owner Jil Walton confessed to fibbing out of desperation about the show dog's worth.

WALTON: I said she was worth $150,000 because I needed that helicopter in the air.

MOOS (on camera): Its not really worth it?

WALTON: No, but...

MOOS: ... I heard $175,000. It's going up by the minute.

(voice-over): The real number is around $20,000. Vivi's co- owners are worried she'll get run over, worried she'll drown in the marsh. They posted the Whippet's picture in neighborhoods next to the nearly 5,000-acre airport.

(on camera): You seen this dog? Gentlemen, have you seen this dog? He's wearing a brown sweater coat. (voice-over): Hard to miss a Whippet in a sweater. But her co- owners fear the sweater could weigh her down in the marsh waters.

(on camera): You just call it, you know? Here doggy. It won't bite or anything if you see it.

(voice-over): Vivi is described as an extra-friendly dog.

LEPIANE: She thought Westminster was put on for her enjoyment, you know? And she loves the crowd.

MOOS: Vivi is a dog who's obsessed with squirrels, who can tell left from right, likes to sleep under the covers.

(on camera): She sleeps in your bed.

WALTON: In my bed between me and my fiancee. She's part of my family.

MOOS (voice-over): Driving around, we saw a stray or two. But folks here are probably more familiar with "Whip It" the song.

(SINGING)

MOOS: Than with Whippet the breed.

(on camera): Hey guys, have you seen Vivi? Vivi. They haven't see her.

(voice-over): If only this show dog would show up, you can bet her owners wouldn't whip it.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Stay tuned for YOUR WORLD TODAY. And I'll be back with the latest headlines from the U.S. in about 20 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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