Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Russia Plane Crash; Pandemic Flu Plan; Miners Trapped; Massive Cruise Ship

Aired May 03, 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: An overnight search for survivors turns up only wreckage and remains. More than 100 people are dead in a plane crash near a popular Russian resort. We're live with the very latest on that story.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Carol Costello. The government has a 227-page plan to deal with a possible flu pandemic. Will it be effective? We'll tell you in a minute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM CAMPBELL, BROTHER-IN-LAW DIED IN MINE: They beat on the roof bolts and nobody listened. They waited for the blast from the surface and those blasts never came.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Reliving Sago. The families of those lost in the mine press for some answers again today, day two of an intense, emotional hearing. We'll have a preview.

And a mine story unfolding right now in a very different way, a final push to reach some gold miners trapped alive underground in Australia.

S. O'BRIEN: Plus, an Election Day victory for the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse rape investigation. He says he is ready to push forward with the case.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Chad Myers, 10 tornadoes yesterday, more possible today, severe weather already in the Plains at this hour.

AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

We begin this morning in Russia where divers are in the stormy waters of the Black Sea recovering bodies after an Armenian airliner crashed on approach to landing. Airline officials say it was that bad weather that brought down an Armenian Airline Airbus 320, killing all 113 passengers and crew aboard. It dove into the sea just about four miles from the coastal city of Sochi. CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance live now for us from Moscow.

Hello, -- Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, as well, Miles.

That's right, divers and rescue workers, now recovery workers, in fact, battling heavy rains and high tides and big waves, as well, trying to salvage what they can of the wreckage of this A-320 Airbus aircraft that plunged into the sea just short of the runway. Well, a good few kilometers short of the runway at Sochi into the Black Sea there.

Then onboard, 113 people, all said to be dead by the Russian authorities that are leading the investigation into what actually happened. A number of theories being bandied around at the moment. The first one, of course, is the fact that it was extremely bad weather in which this airline was trying to land. It had already tried once and failed. It had turned back for a second chance, a second attempt to land in Sochi, when it plowed into the seas and fell off radar at about 2:15 in the morning local time -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Matthew, aside from the routine radio transmissions between the air traffic controllers and the crew, were there any distress calls?

CHANCE: No, and that's what is interesting about this crash. Things seemed to be proceeding relatively routinely. The flight had been denied landing permission at the airport in Sochi and so was in progress of turning back to where it had come from, the Armenian capital Yerevan. When it was doing that, it was told again by Russian air traffic controllers in Sochi that the weather had cleared and that it could attempt another landing at Sochi. It turned around and did that.

There was no emergency call. It didn't seem to be in crisis in any way. It was merely a routine redirection of the flight. But as it came in to land, about four miles offshore, it lost -- the air traffic controllers lost radio contact. There isn't any sign at all of an emergency as such.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. And terrorism has been ruled out, for now, at least?

CHANCE: That's right. And investigators say that that's something that they know for sure at this point there's no evidence of any explosion, they have ruled out terrorism, but they are looking at other possible causes, like the bad weather, like pilot error or even possible technical errors onboard this Airbus A-320.

M. O'BRIEN: Matthew Chance in Moscow, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Today, the White House is unveiling a major plan to battle a possible flu pandemic. It assumes the worst case scenario. The numbers are very scary.

Let's get right to Carol Costello. She's in the newsroom with more on this story.

Hey, Carol, good morning.

COSTELLO: I know, when you imagine a pandemic, it is pretty scary.

Now this plan by the federal government is a 220-page-plus plan to battle Bird Flu, if there is a pandemic. The hitch here, while the feds have this plan, they say individual states should not expect to be rescued by the federal government despite the plan. Shades of Katrina here.

Having said that, this is what the federal government says it is preparing for. It looks scary, but this is what it would look like in that worst case scenario. Two million would be dead, 50 million infected, 40 percent of the workplace incapacitated. In other words, 40 percent of the work force would call out sick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We have also requested more than $7 billion from Congress to begin preparations for the possibility of a pandemic influenza. And part of that strategy called for the creation of an implementation plan. This would really be a roadmap designed to take what the principles of the president's strategy -- the principles of the outline in his strategy and put them into action for all federal departments and agencies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. Well let me decipher that for you. To carry out this plan, you heard Scott McClellan say the government has set aside $7.1 billion. It provides for vaccines. In fact, 95 percent of it provides for vaccines, it provides for quarantines and travel restrictions.

And if you're wondering what life might be like if a pandemic occurs, the government will suggest things like staying three feet away from your co-worker, do not shake hands. Interestingly, the government will not close the borders because that wouldn't really stop the spread of the flu. We should find out more later this afternoon. There is a news conference scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

S. O'BRIEN: Lots of pressure, lots of the, I guess, onus of protecting the people. It really goes to local communities which seems to be, for some people, a little concerning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: There's a lot of controversy about that because you know some states are richer than other states and where do they put their money and shouldn't there be one uniform plan across the country and it doesn't seem like that's going to happen.

S. O'BRIEN: Lots of questions, of course.

Carol Costello for us from the newsroom.

Carol, thanks.

CNN is going to have live coverage of the White House unveiling of its pandemic flu plan. That happens this afternoon, 12:30 Eastern Time. CNN Pipeline will also carry the event live so you can get that right online -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning, for the first time we've gotten access to a videotape the police say is a recording of a plot to blow up a New York City subway station in 2004. It was made public yesterday at the trial of one of the suspects. Prosecutors say the plan was to smuggle backpack bombs into the subway station.

Also in New York, historic waterfront property up in flames. A massive fire at a complex of warehouses still burning at this hour more than 24 hours after it started. It's in the Green Point section of Brooklyn. We told you about it yesterday morning. Eight firefighters suffered minor injuries. City developers apparently planning to build high-rises there. Investigators looking into whether it was intentionally set.

In North Carolina, a victory for the district attorney in the Duke rape case. Last night, Michael Nifong narrowly won the Democratic nomination for another term in office. Defense attorneys and some opponents have accused him of using the Duke scandal for political gain. Nifong said the case would go forward with or without him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL NIFONG, DURHAM DISTRICT ATTORNEY: With respect to that is that I feel that I did what was right and I don't have anything to be vindicated for. I mean, obviously, I'm happy that the voters have continued me in this job, but I will tell you that if they had not done so, there would have certainly been a sense of relief, you know, about that, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: A landing to remember in Houston for the people aboard this Embraer plane. Unless, you know, you were on the plane, you might not think it was the best thing to remember either. Continental Airlines Express jet headed for Minneapolis turned around because the tires on the left main landing gear blew during takeoff. The plane circled for about two hours to burn off fuel, get a little bit lighter. There were no injuries. The 45 passengers put on a later flight.

Interestingly, though, the exact same type of plane, an Embraer 145, also had tire trouble in Chicago about the same time. A blown tire being blamed for sending the American Eagle jet off the runway at O'Hare. There were no injuries among the 43 passengers and crew aboard the flight from Arkansas to Chicago.

And in Texas, stormy weather, hail from -- really the size of baseballs, baseballs and golf ball size, too. Lots of cars going to need some repair work this morning, I'm afraid. The severe weather from the panhandle to the state's southwest section. The roofs of two homes were blown off in Mitchell County. No injuries, though.

Chad Myers is back from his golfing trip, and we greet you with baseball-sized hail.

Welcome back, -- my friend.

MYERS: Well, I just hit golf balls into the people (ph), so that was all.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

MYERS: How come it's always a Titleist when they show the golf ball and the hailstones?

M. O'BRIEN: Product placement deal. It must be.

MYERS: I would say I would doubt it, but you know it kind of seems suspicious.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

MYERS: Good morning, everybody.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Soledad, back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thanks. And welcome back, -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes. Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Another emotional day to tell you about in West Virginia, coal-mining country, of course, day two of the Sago Mine disaster hearings today. Yesterday, lots of tears and anguish and pointed questions, too, for politicians and the owners of the mine. They came from relatives of those 12 miners who were killed after that mine explosion the first of the year.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: It's about 12 men who died doing what they were trained to do.

SHELLEY GROVES ROSE, FATHER DIED IN MINE: Our hearts are broken, more than just broken, they've been ripped out of our chests and shredded.

(END VIDEO CLIP) S. O'BRIEN: The Governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin, says the hearings should help improve rescue operations.

Rescue workers are drilling a tunnel in the hopes of reaching two trapped miners in the Australian state of Tasmania. It's believed that the men survived the mine collapse because they were in a steel cage. If we have an animation, we can show you how that kind of works. Do we have that, guys? Yes, there you go. Steel cage right there. See the collapse. They were protected. They have been trapped underground now for eight days.

Let's get right to Chris Reason. He's with Australia's Channel 7. He joins us by phone from the town of Beaconsfield.

Chris, thanks for being with us by phone. Bring us up to speed on the latest rescue efforts, please.

CHRIS REASON, AUSTRALIA CHANNEL 7 REPORTER: Yes, sure.

Look, 80 minutes ago, around 80 minutes ago, rescuers actually began the drilling in earnest here in Beaconsfield, Tasmania. They have been underground now about a half a mile below the feet -- my feet where I'm standing now, trapped for about eight days.

And it was only until Sunday that they discovered these two guys were still alive. They heard them in their little pocket of air down in this trapped part of the mine. And basically have been spending the last two days preparing a special drill that is being transported from around Australia and brought down to Beaconsfield here, set up and about to start the process of drilling through the final 12 meters, or about 40 feet, to get these guys out of there.

S. O'BRIEN: They know they're alive. Do they know the condition that they are in, what kind of shape they are in?

REASON: They are in extremely good condition. The steel cage you mentioned, that has absolutely protected them, 100 percent. They are absolutely unscathed, unscratched. But after eight days underground, there are a couple of fears about things like hydration, DVT, deep vein thrombosis, where the two of them are in an extremely small space, about four feet by four feet, and they are crushed in together. But they're still in absolute good health.

They have managed to drill a small hole about 10 centimeters wide and 12 meters long and they have been feeding water, food stuff, nutrients, some bedding, giving them some dry clothes, some topolins (ph) to put around themselves to stay warm. And as I say, 80 minutes ago, the drilling began to get a much bigger hole through the air cavity that they are in and get those two guys out of there.

S. O'BRIEN: It's great when you hear these stories, at least look like they're going to end very well.

Chris Reason from Australia's Channel 7 joining us.

Thanks, Chris, appreciate it. He didn't mention, Miles, they have also given them iPods to keep them entertained, as well.

M. O'BRIEN: To while away the time down there,...

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: ... they got some iPods. I hope they got the songs they wanted from the staff (ph), anyway.

S. O'BRIEN: Could you imagine?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I know.

S. O'BRIEN: I hate this download.

M. O'BRIEN: Hey, send this back up, I hate country music, you know.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, a bold new plan to help fight childhood obesity means cutting out the sugar at school. We'll explain how they're doing it just ahead.

M. O'BRIEN: And we heard Carol just talking a moment ago about what the government's plan is in the event of a flu pandemic. What is your emergency plan? What will you do if the government fails you in that eventuality? We'll get into that.

S. O'BRIEN: Plus, the world's biggest cruise ship is hitting the high seas today. It's 15 decks high, the length of 37 buses. Going to give you a little tour of what's inside.

First though, a look at what else is making news on this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: A big change in diet is ahead for students all across the country. There's a new plan that's being announced today and it eliminates sodas and sports drinks and sugary juices from the lunch menu and from vending machines, too. Major soda companies have agreed to the plan, which calls for them to sell only water and healthy juices and low fat milk to elementary and middle school students. Diet sodas can still be sold to high school students.

Fighting childhood obesity is also the reason behind a request from the government to limit junk food advertising that's aimed at kids. Companies already voluntarily limit some of those ads. Well new recommendations include greater enforcement and investigations into whether the ads are truthful. The government is also suggesting that companies set minimum nutritional standards.

There are some foods that just have no nutritional value.

M. O'BRIEN: When was school food ever good for you, though? Beanie wienies? I mean, let's face it, this has not been a nutritional hotbed over the years.

S. O'BRIEN: No.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: But you know it would be nice if some kids had options that weren't going to lead in, you know, to...

M. O'BRIEN: Like they could use them, too. Give me the fries, baby.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, but if you take it out of the vending machines and you don't have, you know, there's a bunch of students -- they're going to be stuck, they have to eat something, they have to make healthy choices, like at home.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right...

S. O'BRIEN: If you only stock it in your, you know, pantry, what are you going to do?

M. O'BRIEN: Carrie Lee, that's not why you're here.

LEE: No.

M. O'BRIEN: You're here to tell us, interestingly, car sales and the impact that gas prices are having. And yet I read that the GM SUVs are doing well. Go figure. What's that all about?

LEE: You know it's interesting,...

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

LEE: ... some carmakers seeing SUV sales actually strong, certainly some bright spots here.

Now this isn't what we're seeing industry wide across the board, but some auto and truck makers are doing well. Others are seeing some affects of high gas prices.

Let's start with General Motors. They say their new lineup of SUVs did do well. Sales up 36 percent for the Yukon truck. Also Toyota and Honda saw truck and sales for SUVs do better than cars.

Ford, a couple of bright spots here, they did post overall a 15 percent drop in SUVs, but they're doing well with some hybrids. The hybrid SUVs have sold well, up 68 percent. And the Ford Escape saw its best sales month ever for April. So some bright spots at Ford.

Now Ford sales helped, in part, by 0 percent financing deals, kind of taking back that hybrid premium. You know hybrid cars are more expensive. Zero percent financing helps balance it out. Those 0 percent financing deals, by the way, coming back at DaimlerChrysler, as well. Interest financing helping.

Overall, the industry did see sales down 4 percent for April. That's compared to April a year ago when big incentives made for a pretty tough comparison.

So that's the latest for autos.

Oil prices back near $75 a barrel. Once again, worries that Iran could cut into supply. Today, the Department of Energy releases weekly oil and gasoline inventory data. Gas levels expected to decline for nine months in a row. So that comes an hour once trading gets underway.

Also, a good day for stocks yesterday, the Dow up 73 points, another six-year high. And futures are looking flat to slightly lower this morning. We will be hearing from our own parent company. Time Warner expecting a little bit of a boost in year-over-year profits.

S. O'BRIEN: Well that's a little good news for anybody who owns that stock.

LEE: Yes. We'll see what they have to say later this morning.

S. O'BRIEN: And you called it when you said futures were looking good yesterday.

LEE: Yes. Yes, a nice reversal from the...

S. O'BRIEN: Andy sent you a little shout out later in the day and you were right. What did you say, 74 points up or something?

LEE: Nice reversal from earlier from the prior day.

S. O'BRIEN: Well good.

M. O'BRIEN: The Carrie Lee rally we'll call it.

Thank you very much.

LEE: I wish it were up to me.

M. O'BRIEN: More on gas prices in just a moment, as a matter of fact. Coming up, the fight to get more bang for the buck when it comes to mileage. We'll find out why some states are suing the federal government.

And is the biggest cruise ship ever almost ready to set to sail. I'm thinking Poseidon, are you? We'll go to England for a sneak peak at the massive "Freedom of the Seas."

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Here's a look at some of the most popular stories right now at CNN.com.

New Orleans' new hurricane disaster plan can be summed up in about four words, get out of town. Officials say they are not going to provide any shelter for those who stay behind. More on that story just ahead.

Also, it is end of story for a young author from Harvard. We've been talking about this. Her publisher has now cancelled her two-book deal. This follows accusations that she borrowed, which I guess is a nice way to say plagiarized, several passages for her novel which is called "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life." There's no word if she's going to have to return the six-figure advance.

And a new study says that middle-aged white Americans are sicker than their English counterparts, and that's despite the fact that Americans spend twice as much money on healthcare -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: We've got a big boat to tell you about. The world's largest cruise liner is nearly ready for launch. This thing is so big it has an indoor skating rink. It has a wave pool that you can surf on. It has a Ben & Jerry's ice cream parlor. And you and about 4,300 of your nearest and dearest friends can go off and have a great vacation on it.

Look at this thing. It is, as you see...

S. O'BRIEN: It looks good to me. Look at that.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, yes, you're sitting here working, got up at 3:00 in the morning, anything would look good right now.

S. O'BRIEN: This has vacation all over it.

M. O'BRIEN: This is Royal Caribbean's new floating city, 240 feet high, more than 1,000 feet long. It is taller than the Statue of Liberty, taller than the Eiffel Tower. And you know what more could you ask for? It's got it all right there. And imagine the buffets.

S. O'BRIEN: How is the food?

M. O'BRIEN: Imagine the buffets.

Robyn Curnow live from Southampton where "Freedom" is about to set sail.

Robyn, I expected you to be there with a bottle of champagne to hit across the bow.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I wish. That's only going to happen in New York in a week's time. And, actually, it's really good timing that you've come to me now, Miles, because this ship, this world's largest cruise liner is just edging away from the docks here at Southampton. There we are. Anchors are up. Ships ahoy.

This is a big old beast, Miles, as you were explaining. And it's unbelievable to just see it pulling away here.

We -- I want to give you some perspective of just how big it is. I'm about 5 foot 10 and this ship here behind me is you know over 240 feet high, so we're really being dwarfed by it as it slowly makes it way out here into the waters. It is a big old beast.

And as you said, you know there's a lot to do on this ship. I mean, I was on it on the upper deck a few days ago, and it was amazing to see that surf pool. There was a rock climbing wall, even. So lots to do on there, that's for sure.

But I want to also point out to you that there are no passengers on this ship at the moment as it's on its way to New York for that official naming ceremony. Then it's got to go to Miami where it's based. And only then it's going to have its maiden voyage with paying passengers around the Caribbean in about June.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, a couple things. First of all, there are plenty of lifeboats, right?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

CURNOW: Absolutely.

M. O'BRIEN: OK, just...

CURNOW: I think that's the first question any of us would ask.

M. O'BRIEN: ... wanted to make sure.

CURNOW: And you can see them. I don't know if you can see those yellow things down there.

M. O'BRIEN: With 4,300 people onboard, that's a lot of lifeboats.

CURNOW: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's -- and that's -- it's sort of a flip way of asking about the logistics of a ship of this magnitude. How do they -- I mean is there a line for everything?

CURNOW: Well, I mean that's the big -- that's of course the big question. And I think there will be, particularly when it comes to embarking and disembarking. Because with security measures and just making sure that they know who is onboard and what people are bringing aboard, it's a pretty slow process. A couple of hours to get over you know 4,000 people onboard. So that is a concern.

Also, getting people's luggage onboard. I mean that takes a good old while to do. And also, I think, as you mentioned, there are real issues about lines and queues at the buffet table and that sort of thing.

I think if you are looking for the kind of holiday where you can play bridge and sit on the upper deck and get a quiet suntan, this is probably not it. You're going to be literally sharing the space with over 5,000 people, which is not everybody's cup of tea, I'm sure.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm sure it's somebody's cup of tea, undoubtedly. It's -- there we go, cue the whistle. Robyn Curnow.

CURNOW: Here we are.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Looks like everything is going very -- just swimmingly there, so to speak.

CURNOW: See you, Miles. I'm going to watch this.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Yes, enjoy and we'll see it on the other end in New York in a few days, I think.

S. O'BRIEN: I like that rock wall they were showing pictures of that climbing wall.

M. O'BRIEN: It's a big rock wall.

S. O'BRIEN: That's huge.

M. O'BRIEN: A big climbing wall, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: It's nice.

M. O'BRIEN: Everything is big on that ship. It's all big.

S. O'BRIEN: And everything. I bet even the price tag.

M. O'BRIEN: It's all big, including the bill, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.

The morning's top stories straight ahead, including two British grandmas arrested for alleged terror activity. There they are. We'll talk about what they've been doing.

Also, several states say the Bush administration is just too soft on SUVs. We'll take a look at what they are doing to get more mileage for the money.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in just a moment.

(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