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American Morning
Risky Business?; Miners Trapped; Desperate Search; Arctic Blast
Aired February 20, 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 back from vacation, but Miles has started his vacation for a couple of days. Rob Marciano, though, is helping us out this morning.
So nice to have you, thank you very much.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: It's great to be -- what happened with you guys, he's gone, you're gone?
O'BRIEN: Like ships that pass in the night, so to speak.
MARCIANO: Are you sure there's not a little internal rift going on there?
O'BRIEN: Yes.
MARCIANO: A little divorce in the...
O'BRIEN: I will not work with him. A divorce in the O'Brien family, never.
MARCIANO: I hope not. I hope not.
O'BRIEN: My goodness.
Anyway, lots to talk about this morning, let's get right to it.
We're talking about outsourcing security. Some serious questions this morning about a deal for control of some of this country's largest ports.
Plus, a desperate search is now on for hundreds of school children who could be trapped under tons of mud. We'll take you live to the Philippines with the very latest on this developing story this morning.
MARCIANO: And time is running out, dozens of coal miners are stuck underground for more than 24 hours, but their emergency oxygen supply wasn't meant to last that long. We'll take you live there.
Also, American bad boy Bode Miller is back on the slopes right now. Can he avoid another major Olympic disappointment? We're going to go to Torino.
O'BRIEN: Yes, he's not doing so well. Also this morning, in the 20s. In the 20s.
MARCIANO: Yes, chilly.
O'BRIEN: Well I'm telling you, the meteorologist.
MARCIANO: But everybody...
O'BRIEN: Hey, Rob, it's in the 20s, but it's coast to coast. We're going to be bundling up once again today as bitter cold grips the country. We're going to talk about that, if any relief is on the way as well.
That's all ahead this morning.
First though, security story. Security for six of America's biggest ports could be in the hands of a country with terrorist ties. A company based in the United Arab Emirates has been given the management contract. One of the 9/11 hijackers, you'll recall, accessed money from the United Arab Emirates.
On CNN's "Security Watch" this morning the White House now trying to head off a growing storm of criticism.
Elaine Quijano has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff is defending the Bush administration's decision to approve a deal allowing a state-owned Dubai company, Dubai Ports World, to take over operations at six major American ports.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: The general process that has to work before this occurs requires a very thorough review, and where appropriate, necessary conditions or safeguards have to be put into place.
QUIJANO: The ports affected include ports in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, and New Orleans. But both Democratic and Republican lawmakers say that could make Americans less safe.
REP. VITO FOSSELLA (R), NEW YORK: Imagine if today there was an official announcement that Dubai was to take over security at our airports. Would not the American people question why and be somewhat outraged that we would delegate authority and security of our airports to a foreign nation?
QUIJANO: New York Senator Chuck Schumer is calling on President Bush to personally intervene to block the contract.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Outsourcing the operations of our largest ports to a country with long involvement in terrorism is a Homeland Security accident waiting to happen. QUIJANO: According to "The 9/11 Commission Report," at least one hijacker drew money from bank accounts based in the UAE to help fund operations. And the commission noted one of the hijackers, Marwan al- Shehhi, was from the UAE.
But the Bush administration calls the United Arab Emirates a leading partner in the fight against terrorism. And Chertoff says there are other factors to consider.
CHERTOFF: Certainly Congress is welcome to look at this and can get classified briefings. You know we have to balance the paramount urgency of security against the fact that we still want to have a robust global trading system.
QUIJANO (on camera): The company, DP World, could not be reached for comment. Meantime, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is calling the Bush administration's decision -- quote -- "unbelievably tone-deaf politically."
Last week, Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton and Robert Menendez said they were working on legislation to ban foreign state- owned companies from controlling operations at U.S. ports.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: You want to stay tuned day and night to CNN for the most reliable news about your security.
The remains of 10 U.S. service members killed in the crashes of two Marine Corps helicopters in Africa are being flown back to the United States. They were killed on Friday in a training accident off the coast of Djibouti. Eight Marines, two Air Force personnel died when the copters went down. Two crew members, though, survived. The Marines all members of a counterterrorism unit from the Marine Corps Air Station in New River, North Carolina. At this point, there is no word on just what caused that accident -- Rob.
MARCIANO: And we're following a developing story out of Mexico this morning. Hope is now fading for 65 miners trapped underground. Still, rescue workers are continuing to dig frantically looking to find any survivors of a gas explosion on Sunday. The miners were carrying only a limited supply of oxygen.
CNN correspondent Morgan Neill is on the phone at the scene in San Juan de Sabinas. That's about 60 miles south of the Texas border.
Morgan, describe the scene for us.
MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rob, officials say gases in the mine ignited early Sunday, setting off an explosion and trapping those 65 miners some two miles underground, as well as injuring 7 others above ground.
Now it's not known if the miners below ground survived the blast, but rescue workers have been working around the clock to try and get to them. But that's been very dangerous and slow work. They say they have only made it less than one-third of that two miles down to where they hope the miners are.
Meanwhile, family members are standing by waiting for periodic updates from authorities. But many are saying they are not holding out much hope -- Rob.
MARCIANO: A lot of folks though know that Mexico does have quite a bit of coal mining activity, especially in this area. Just how common are these kinds of explosions in this area?
NEILL: Well, sadly, they're not uncommon. It was just some 30 years ago another blast killed more than 150 miners and less than 8 years ago, another explosion killed 37. Now the family members that are here say the miners that are down in that mine know the job is dangerous. But, Rob, that doesn't help them today as they are waiting to hear the worst.
MARCIANO: Dangerous business no matter what country you're in.
Thanks, Morgan Neill, our CNN correspondent down in Mexico -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Another developing story that we're following this morning, a small school now the focus, and really still the focus of those rescue efforts going on in the Philippines. It's believed that more than 250 children were inside that school when the mountainside gave way on Friday. Now reports that rescuers could be hearing sounds from inside that school.
Let's get right to Hugh Riminton. He joins us by phone from Leyte, which is just about 300 miles south of the capital, Manila.
Hugh, good morning, what's happening right now?
HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as we are aware (ph) there is some excitement up on the slopes. It is nightfall here. There was a couple of hours ago some Filipino rescue workers say that they would hear tapping sounds coming from the vicinity of where the school was, where these children were.
Now that's the first sign of anything being reported in 48 hours. The initial indications were that there was no credibility being given to this. They have brought in some sophisticated listening devices. They found absolutely nothing and those sounds are being played down by the rescue officials here.
Now just in the last 15 minutes, a report has come from the mountainside saying they are hearing more tapping noises. They have to be very careful about how we report this. There are all kinds of rocks. It's very unstable. Things can crack down upon each other. But they have called for all of the searchers who are now and had been given their break to go back onto the mountain to help with this. They give it sufficient credence that they think it's worth resuming the search, even under difficult rainy conditions at Leyte. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Hugh.
So then let's recap that, as you say, because it's very critical to get this right. They were hearing some tapping noises in the vicinity of the school. Those tapping noises, though, at first not given any credibility when they brought in the hi-tech listening devices that heard absolutely nothing. More tapping noises followed, though. And so, at this point, they are at least paying attention to these reports of some kind of noises potentially coming from the vicinity of the school.
Obviously this is -- if it's a development, if it's true, if it turns out to be true, it'll be absolutely remarkable. Our best wishes for the people who are there.
I want to ask you one quick question before I let you go, the survivors, there are not that many, what kind of help are they getting?
RIMINTON: I should say that (INAUDIBLE) of the school that the reports were that it is down 30 meters, about the height of a 10-story building, and for an extremely shifting, treacherous amalgam of rubble and dirt and mud. And so the mountain rescue specialists were saying that they were and it's going to be an enormous task to dig down to it.
So exactly where this tapping is coming from, it's just simply not clear at the moment. That is the urgency that they are putting on it, even assuming, and they have to be careful here, that the tapping is real, genuine, intended tapping and not simply random knocking of rocks as they re-shift within the muros (ph) that is this mountainside.
O'BRIEN: Got it. We can imagine. It must be very chaotic.
A quick final question for you, which I just asked you a moment ago, the survivors, the handful, dozens that there are, what kind of help are they getting -- Hugh?
RIMINTON: I'm sorry, I cannot hear you on this line. It's a difficult line from this place and...
O'BRIEN: Don't worry about it. Obviously we're grateful to have your report at all.
Hugh Riminton for us, updating us, and clearly some difficulty getting that report.
Obviously some fascinating information if indeed this tapping noise coming, they believe, in the vicinity of that school where hundreds of children had just begun their school day in the Philippines. That would be just remarkable.
Again, some questions about credibility, because the hi-tech listening devices weren't able to confirm that information. Now they're hearing tapping, they're not sure where it's coming from. We're going to follow that with Hugh reporting for us live of course -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Soledad, unless you live in the deep, deep south, you know what I'm talking about, it's chilly outside. A huge chunk of the country is below...
O'BRIEN: Chilly doesn't even cover it.
MARCIANO: Yes, to say the least. A huge chunk of the country, you know it's not just us, it's all the way down in Georgia, all the way through Texas.
O'BRIEN: Brutal.
MARCIANO: Below freezing.
O'BRIEN: Brutal.
MARCIANO: A chilly Arctic blast coming in. Came in over the weekend. With it, whiteout conditions in spots, wind damage and dangerously icy roads.
Osakis, Minnesota hit 21 degrees below 0 on Friday, that's without the wind chill. Wind chill is probably closer to 50 below.
The big chill reaches from California all the way to New York and Texas to North Dakota.
And Allan Chernoff drew the short stick this morning. He's live out in the frigid streets of New York.
Allan, how you feeling out there -- buddy?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm feeling that maybe you ought to be out here on the street. Rob, isn't this your gig?
O'BRIEN: That's love.
MARCIANO: Yes. It's your -- it is, but it's your turn -- my friend.
CHERNOFF: Yes, I guess it is. It's...
MARCIANO: And you look fabulous in that hat, I've got to say.
CHERNOFF: Thank you much. Well fabulous, but freezing as well, 14 degrees right now here in New York, I understand with the wind chill it certainly feels that cold. And people here in New York City are wondering what is going on? Four days ago the temperature was up into the 50s. Our 26.9 inches of snow was rapidly melting. It's entirely gone here in midtown Manhattan.
We do have one New Yorker with us who is freezing along with me.
Christopher (ph), good morning to you. How are you doing?
CHRISTOPHER, NEW YORKER: Good morning, sir, I'm freezing to death.
CHERNOFF: How many layers do you have on now?
CHRISTOPHER: I have on about three layers -- sir.
CHERNOFF: Three layers. OK, now I understand you're originally from Denver.
CHRISTOPHER: Yes.
CHERNOFF: Did you experience this sort of weather there? I mean you ought to be used to pretty cold weather.
CHRISTOPHER: I was used to the snow, but it's a little bit bitterly cold here in New York.
CHERNOFF: You've softened up now that you're in New York.
CHRISTOPHER: Right.
CHERNOFF: OK, well stay warm today. I know we're keeping you very cold just standing there, so thank you very much for joining us this morning.
CHRISTOPHER: Thank you.
CHERNOFF: Of course it's not only here in New York City that we've got absolutely freezing temperatures. The winds in fact in upstate New York have been violent, 77 miles an hour tracked in Rochester. And people had trees knocked down, power lines down, so they were without power.
In fact, at one point over the weekend more than 300,000 people without power in upstate New York. The power is back on around Rochester, but still about 30,000 people without power in Saratoga Springs, in Glens Falls, New York. So certainly a very tough situation upstate there right now.
Rob, back to you.
MARCIANO: Allan, that is just solid, solid weather reporting. I think you've earned yourself a full time gig, my friend, nice work.
O'BRIEN: He needs a scarf and he needs something over his ears, hello.
MARCIANO: Bundle up, come on, you're not setting a good example.
CHERNOFF: OK.
MARCIANO: We're going to check back with you, Allan. All right, thanks, man.
Let's go to the warm and cozy weather studio down in Atlanta. Bonnie Schneider is in the CNN Center down there with a check on the obviously chilly temperatures. Hi -- Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Rob, good to see you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Yes, definitely. My gosh, I'm glad to see that.
MARCIANO: Looks a little better.
O'BRIEN: We'll have to wait until Wednesday, but...
MARCIANO: You know it's winter, it's holding on.
O'BRIEN: I hate when weather people say it's winter. We know it's winter. It could still be in the 40s and 50s -- Rob.
MARCIANO: We'll get it to you.
O'BRIEN: Yes, thank you.
Ahead this morning, an overnight raid has stunned one of the teams at the Winter Olympics. We've got a live report about that coming up from Torino this morning.
MARCIANO: Also, there's plenty of buzz surrounding Vice President Cheney's hunting accident. How is it affecting public opinion? Stay with us for that on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: That is a gorgeous shot.
O'BRIEN: Isn't it beautiful?
MARCIANO: It's pretty up here in New York.
O'BRIEN: Yes, that's our...
MARCIANO: The sun coming up over Central Park.
O'BRIEN: Yes, the shot right outside of our window. Not...
MARCIANO: But that steam makes it look cold.
O'BRIEN: Because it's cold. Looks cold because it is cold.
Lets' get right to Carol Costello. She's in the newsroom with an update of some of the stories making headlines this morning.
Hello, good morning.
MARCIANO: Hi -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. Good morning, Rob. And good morning to all of you. There has been a bombing in northern Iraq. At least three people were killed when a bomb exploded at a restaurant in Mosul. Six others were hurt.
Further south in Baghdad, a bomb detonated near a group of workers, wounding at least 20 people. Iraqi police also found a car bomb in the area but were able to remove it before it exploded.
President Bush on the road this President's Day. He heads to Milwaukee this morning. He'll highlight his State of the Union message that we're addicted to oil. Later today, the president heads to the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. He'll push for advances in technology and highlight initiatives such as solar and wind power.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading to the Middle East. She'll try to convince Arab allies to block financial aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority. Some Arab leaders want the U.S. to soften its stance. Secretary Rice is set to arrive tomorrow in Egypt.
Another Alabama church damaged by arson, but this one doesn't seem related to the string of fires we've been seeing over the past couple of weeks. Officials say something was thrown at a Church of God on Sunday, but it didn't cause any major damage. This was the first fire in east Alabama. The other 10 fires were in the western part of the state.
FEMA says it will continue to house police officers and other first responders in New Orleans. Some 1,500 families have been living and eating on two ships that FEMA rented after Katrina. The cruise ships will go back out to sea next month, so everyone must disembark by March 1. FEMA says it will provide trailers or apartments for them for 18 more months.
And a carjacking in central Florida turns into a three-county car chase. Take a look. Sheriff's deputies chase this SUV as it went southbound on Interstate 95. You can see the tires blown out. Well officers blew out three of the tires, but the SUV kept going. And then the suspect finally got out, as you can see. He was swinging a baseball bat. Police surrounded him, though, and he simply gave up. So it all ended peacefully. And that's a good thing.
Let's head to the Forecast Center to check in with Bonnie Schneider in for Chad this morning.
Good morning -- Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: All right, thanks very much, Bonnie Schneider, talking about winter weather.
Let's go to the Winter Olympics, or we will go to that for an update in Torino, one of the Olympic teams was stunned by a police raid, a little controversy there. We'll have the latest. Plus, Hamas gets ready to take control of the Palestinian government, but it's facing some financial issues. We'll go live to Jerusalem ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
Time for a little "Morning Coffee."
COSTELLO: Hey, welcome back stranger.
MARCIANO: Hi, Carol.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: And Rob is here.
O'BRIEN: I know.
COSTELLO: And Miles went on vaca.
MARCIANO: You don't think there's something going on, she's gone for, what, two weeks?
O'BRIEN: Yes, I had a vacation.
MARCIANO: I think Miles is going for a month.
COSTELLO: Well (ph)...
O'BRIEN: I worked a lot of holidays last year, if you didn't notice. I got a couple of weeks off.
MARCIANO: You are one of the hardest working women in television.
O'BRIEN: No, not really, but I did get a couple of weeks off.
COSTELLO: But we like to think we are.
MARCIANO: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Miles is just taking a few days, though. He'll be back soon.
COSTELLO: Yes.
MARCIANO: Nice to have you.
COSTELLO: But any who, it is time for "Morning Coffee."
O'BRIEN: Please.
COSTELLO: And you know after watching the Winter Olympic Games, maybe some of you are wondering what the Olympics are really all about. Is it national pride? Is it team play? No, this year's Olympics seem to be all about me.
Let's start with Bode Miller, shall we? He was supposed to win five gold medals. You know about the partying, but this. Did you hear about this?
O'BRIEN: What happened?
COSTELLO: After skiing into a barricade during Saturday's super- G, he decided not to finish the race. He didn't go over the finish line. Instead, he skied off the course and through the woods and simply disappeared.
MARCIANO: He's having a meltdown.
COSTELLO: He's having a big time meltdown.
MARCIANO: You know?
O'BRIEN: Yes, you can't do that.
COSTELLO: But it's -- but you know he never really wanted to compete in the Olympics, so he says, so why is he there?
MARCIANO: Right.
COSTELLO: Stay home.
MARCIANO: Exactly.
COSTELLO: That's what I would say. If you don't want to be there and you don't want to be a team player and you don't care, because he's staying in an RV, he's not even staying with the team.
MARCIANO: Right.
O'BRIEN: That's what...
MARCIANO: Not really representing the U.S. the way we need him to.
O'BRIEN: Not so well, no.
COSTELLO: So all about me.
And then there is Lindsey Jacobellis. She was well on her way to gold in the inaugural women's snowboard cross. Just as she was about to cross the finish line, she hot-dogged it. She jumped into the air and grabbed the back of her board. She fell...
MARCIANO: No.
COSTELLO: ... and it cost her the gold.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Now here's the all about me thing. She said I really don't care what people think of me, I won a silver and no one can take that away.
MARCIANO: What happened to the American competitive spirit that we want to be the best at everything?
COSTELLO: Well, and good sportsmanship? Do you hot dog it at the end because you're so far ahead of the other guys you're like -- I don't know.
O'BRIEN: I don't know.
MARCIANO: You know I've seen Soledad on a snowboard.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
MARCIANO: She can hot dog it with the best of them.
O'BRIEN: That clearly wasn't me, if you saw me on a snowboard.
COSTELLO: Well we can't forget about figure skater Johnny Weir either.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: He was second after the short program and he had his eye on the gold medal, but he had an error-filled long program and he ended up in fifth place. Afterward, he went so far as to blame his poor performance on the Olympic bus system.
MARCIANO: Right.
COSTELLO: Yes, he blamed it on the bus.
And then there's...
O'BRIEN: On the -- on the -- wow. Why on the bus?
COSTELLO: Because he said they changed the bus schedules and he missed the bus and he couldn't get there in time and it threw off his...
O'BRIEN: Always the bus (ph).
MARCIANO: Don't we have a driver for him? He's like our best hope for a medal in that sport.
COSTELLO: Evidently not.
O'BRIEN: People take the bus there.
COSTELLO: Then it would really be all about me if he had his own driver.
O'BRIEN: Right.
MARCIANO: Well...
COSTELLO: And then there is Shani Davis.
O'BRIEN: This guy.
COSTELLO: Shani Davis.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: He won speed skating in 1,000 meter.
O'BRIEN: Right.
COSTELLO: But he skipped the team race because he wanted to prepare himself to win an individual medal, and he did, he won the gold. So, again, all about me.
MARCIANO: All about me.
COSTELLO: So it makes you wonder what are the Olympics really about?
O'BRIEN: Me. My takeaway from your report this morning...
MARCIANO: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... is all about me. It is...
COSTELLO: Yes, isn't that something else?
O'BRIEN: Kind of crazy.
COSTELLO: Maybe you can ask Larry Smith about that when we go live to Torino later.
MARCIANO: There is a me in team. They do say there's no I in team, but there is a me, if you mix it around.
COSTELLO: That's true. I never thought about that.
O'BRIEN: That doesn't excuse it. That's shocking, though.
MARCIANO: Thanks -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
O'BRIEN: All right, Carol, thanks.
A look at the morning's top stories are straight ahead today, including more fallout from Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident. We're going to take a look this morning at just how it's affecting public opinion.
Plus, a CNN "Security Watch," should U.S. port security be put in the hands of a country with alleged terror ties? A look at that is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
A short break and we're back in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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