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American Morning

Firefighters Desperately Trying to Stop Wildfire From Burning Homes in Arizona; Interview with David Hasselhoff

Aired June 22, 2006 - 09:30   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Roberts in for Miles O'Brien this week. It's Thursday. One more day to go until the weekend.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: These pictures just into CNN. Let's take you to these live shots. You're looking at Route 5 in East L.A., where there has been a big crash. You're looking right now at the live pictures of the traffic backup. But maybe, guys, we can show some of the pictures. There you go. A tanker that's overturn there. Two big rigs collided, it appears. One's overturned. That one there seems to have been carrying some kind of scrap metal, and maybe even crushed vehicles. And that the debris field you can kind of see in the upper-left portion of your screen looks all the stuff that fell out of that.

There are other pictures as well showing the other vehicle still upright, but very badly mangled, and it looks as if the car was involved in that crash, as well. We can see if this tape rolls forward a little bit. We'll get a chance to see that. Looking just devastating.

Now the word from the CHP that there are no reports of any injuries. But when you see some of the damage to the other vehicle, that is really, really hard to believe, because...

ROBERTS: You see the car there right up against...

O'BRIEN: Yes, exactly that car kind of right near the front right-hand side of that vehicle. And again, you can see, obviously, they've closed down parts of Route 5, and happened about 90 minutes ago. So about 5:00 a.m. California time. They think it could easily take seven or eight hours before they could get that cleared and reopen up those lanes. So that means huge, big mess for anybody who's on that road today.

ROBERTS: The five is not the place to be this morning.

(NEWSBREAK)

O'BRIEN: Firefighters are desperately trying to stop a wildfire from burning homes in Arizona. The giant blaze has been burning since Sunday. It's only seven percent contained at this point.

CNN's Rick Sanchez is in Sedona for us this morning.

Rick, good morning. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): More than 2,500 acres have now burned. You can see the mountain actually on fire behind me. That's Wilson Mountain. And you can see the smoke. And throughout the day we've been watching as much of those plumes of smoke come out. And you can see it in flames from time to time.

Hotshots -- those are fighters that specialize in wild land fires -- have been here. They've come from all over the country. They've helped evacuate some of the residents. That happened Sunday night. Since then, what they're trying to do is build a containment line to separate the fire from a community called Oak Creek Canyon, where some 500 homes have been evacuated. Let me show you what they're doing. There's a road there. It's called 89A. It's no different than a roadway like this one, with two lanes. They're trying to use it to keep the fire on this side. Since there's no vegetation, the homes are on this side. Of course there's always a fear that an ember or something could fly over and spark a fire over there. So they're monitoring it daily.

As to what's burning, well, this is some dried out mesquite wood, similar to what you see up there on the mountain. Turns into something like kindling, and that's what they're saying that they're having to work with. On top of that of course wind that have been, at some points, gusting up to 35 miles an hour.

I'm Rick Sanchez in Sedona, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That is a bad combination.

Rick Sanchez for us this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

ROBERTS: Just outside of New Orleans, there's a dockyard that has been building ships for decades. Its current project, a billion dollar Navy warship that has extra-special meaning for the workers.

With the story this morning, CNN's Sean Callebs live at the Northrop-Grumman dockyard.

Good morning, Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John.

Indeed, take a look at this ship that we're standing in front of, the USS New York. It's still about two years from being commissioned or actually hitting the water. Look at how large this is. We've give you a wideshot of this, close to 700 feet.

However, what really has the attention of the workers here, the passion that drives them so much, the 7.5 tons right here in the front of the ship, the bow section, steel that came from remains of ground zero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOMMY DUFRENE, CONSTRUCTION SUPERINDENDENT: Ship building is hard, hot dirty work.

CALLEBS (voice over): Extremely hot, dirty work for more than 400 folks at Northrop-Grumman's shipyard outside of New Orleans, but motivation isn't a problem. Crews just need to look at the bow of the ship, the small, white section covered by primer. It came from the remains of the World Trade Center and weighs seven and a half tons. The steel is now the centerpiece on a billion-dollar warship that dubbed the USS New York.

JOHN LOTSHAW, DIRECTOR, SHIP DELIVERY: The bow stem (ph) leads the way. It's the point. The World Trade Center comes back, if you will. The people, spirit of the United States, the people of New York leading the way in the fight against terrorism.

CALLEBS: The legions, welding and working, called the 684 feet of ship The 21. It will carry close to 700 Marines. And all the equipment needed for an amphibious attack.

TONY QUAGLINO, CRANE SUPERINTENDENT: This winds it up.

CALLEBS: Tony has logged 41 years here in the yard. He was set to retire a couple of years ago, but says that a chance to work on the ship with steel from ground zero was something he couldn't walk away from.

QUAGLINO: I'm one of those people that cry at the national anthem and just enjoy being American.

CALLEBS: Retirement went on hold.

QUAGLINO: I personally felt as though it was in some ways sanctified by those folks that perished on that day. And it was very symbolic that this ship would be built to their memory.

CALLEBS: Chances are, you have seen nothing like it. Make no mistake, this ship is being built to go into harm's way.

CMDR. CHRIS MERCER, U.S. NAVY PRODUCTION OFFICER: It is designed to operate very close to land. So we've put a lot of different survivability enhancements in this ship.

CALLEBS: The hull is designed to make it hard to pick up by radar, stealth-like. Attack helicopters will line the flight deck. It's still two years away from being complete and Tony Quaglino will have retired by then, but none of that seems to matter.

QUAGLINO: It's the one ship I want to remember. It's the one ship I want to tell my grandchildren that I worked on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS: It is the most modern ship, too, for the Navy. There are more fiberoptics in this than an aircraft carrier. Actually it started out with 25 tons of steel from the World Trade Center. Worked it down to 7.5 tons to have all this made.

And one other thing, John, the terrorist attack up in New York and then the hurricane down in this area. So the workers here feel that they forged a certain bond with the people of the city. They know, to a degree, the kind of suffering.

For example, people like Tony here, who is operating the lift. He lost his house and in east New Orleans, but they said they were back working on the ship within two weeks after the hurricane punished this area.

ROBERTS: Taking an enormous amount of pride in their work. And you're the beneficiary of that, getting a very up close look at that ship. Sean Callebs, thanks very much, appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: That's about as up close as you get.

ROBERTS: Yes, without it running you down if you're in a rowboat.

O'BRIEN: Exactly, exactly.

Happening in America this morning, the court hearing in the Duke University lacrosse rape case. The lawyer for Reade Seligmann is trying to get his client's bond lowered from $400,000 to $40,000. He also wants the judge to unseal the accuser's cell phone records.

A Baltimore woman and her boyfriend are in jail this morning on child abuse charges after police found the woman's teenage daughter chained to a bed in this house. And you get pictures right there. The 15-year-old told police she'd been there for more than two days with no food and water, and that she was being punished for bringing home a bad report card.

Police in Columbus, Ohio, plan to question a man today in connection with the deaths of a woman and her three children. All bodies were discovered on Wednesday. They had all been shot. The man's already in custody. He's suspected in two separate assault cases. He might be linked to the victims, police say. They think he might be the father of one of the young victims.

The state of Florida may investigate a hospital in Melbourne. The family of a 95-year-old patient claims the critically ill man was left in a semi-private room for nearly six hours with a roommate who had died. The hospital admits that proper procedures were not followed.

Take a look at these pictures in California, near San Diego. An Encinitas woman narrowly missed being run over by a runaway dump truck in her own living room. Pat Richardson (ph) says she just walked out of the living room when the truck plowed right through. The truck's driver reportedly passed out at the wheel.

And just one official day into summer, we're already complaining about how hot it is. Can you guess which city is the sweatiest city in the country? This will be no surprise to Chad. It's Phoenix. Phoenix wins, followed by Las Vegas and Tucson and Dallas and then Corpus Christi, Texas.

ROBERTS: So nothing to that "it's a dry heat," right?

O'BRIEN: Apparently that doesn't seem to play a role. P&G, Proctor & Gamble, which obviously makes soap and laundry detergents, did the study.

ROBERTS: Interesting.

Coming up, Andy is "Minding Your Business." He's going to tell us why fans of Apple computer may soon have reason to be a whole lot happier, moreso than even just the ads.

O'BRIEN: Plus, former "Baywatch" and "Knight Rider" star David Hasselhoff. Oh my god, I loved him on "Knight Rider." He's going to be here live in the studio. We're going to ask him about his new movie. It's called "Click." He stars with Adam Sandler. That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Here's a question for you. Who is the world's biggest TV star? No doubt about it, it's David Hasselhoff of "Knight Rider" -- oh, I loved that show -- and "Baywatch" fame in Europe. As Donald Trump might say, he's huge. Hasselhoff is also a busy man these days. His autobiography is coming out, he's a judge on "America's Got Talent," and he's playing Adam Sandler's boss in the new movie "Click," getting a taste of how a universal remote can kind of be used for sweet revenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM SANDLER, ACTOR: These documents -- it's going to take me months.

DAVID HASSELHOFF, ACTOR: Then you better get started.

Wow, I just got a big headache!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: David Hasselhoff joins us this morning. Nice to see you.

HASSELHOFF: Nice to be here.

O'BRIEN: You're a big jerk in the movie. You're not nice.

HASSELHOFF: No, no, I am nice. I'm just an over-the-top womanizing boss who is full of himself. And I think everybody can relate to someone like that.

O'BRIEN: OK, so I was right. He -- not nice guy at all.

HASSELHOFF: But he's not -- no, he is nice. He's very nice, you know.

O'BRIEN: No, he's not nice.

HASSELHOFF: He's very happy.

O'BRIEN: But I mean, when you compare to "Knight Rider" and "Baywatch"...

HASSELHOFF: Well, "Knight Rider" was a hero. "Knight Rider" was the hero of all the kids. In fact, "Knight Rider" still runs. I mean, it runs around the world to this day.

O'BRIEN: Right, right, it's like 140 countries or something ridiculous like that.

HASSELHOFF: But, no, I play a womanizing boss.

O'BRIEN: More fun to play like -- kind of the bad guy? He's not bad. He's not the bad guy. But not nice...

HASSELHOFF: I'm the guy that Adam Sandler gets to pick on and hit and I get to come back with the jokes.

O'BRIEN: Is that more fun than playing, you know, the hero?

HASSELHOFF: It was a lot of fun because I had to figure out a way to make this guy likable and not a jerk. You know, but -- like, wow, I just got a big headache. And then make him -- not just be an A, you know what I'm saying, and make him fun. And that was the fine line I had to walk here.

And it was really nice, because Adam gave me a shot of not playing myself. I'm used to playing David Hasselhoff, you know, in "Spongebob" or in "Dodgeball." So he says -- he calls me up and he says I'd like you to be in my film. I said, I'm not playing Hasselhoff, am I? He says, no, you're my evil boss. I said I'll take it! And it was a lot of fun and...

O'BRIEN: Was ti funny on the set? Because I always think....

HASSELHOFF: Making a movie is like watching the grass grow. "Baywatch" was fun, "Knight Rider" was fun...

O'BRIEN: Adam Sandler is so funny.

HASSELHOFF: Oh, I know, but they're...

O'BRIEN: Like in between takes, aren't you just cracking up?

HASSELHOFF: No. They're trying to figure out another joke. You know, there's a dark side to all this, comedians. O'BRIEN: Really.

HASSELHOFF: Oh, yes. They come in, "ha ha ha," and then they walk away, like, "What's my life about?" you know? I'm a happy guy, but -- it was happy on the set, but it wasn't like, you know, ha ha, all fun and jokes. Because they're trying to figure out the joke.

But the good news was he gave me the spot to let me run with my humor, you know. And we were shooting digital so you can do like 40 takes. So, you know, what -- who's got a joke? You know, even the crew members were coming up with jokes. And then in the end, bam! This little diamond comes out and you go, yes.

O'BRIEN: That's the one we're keeping.

HASSELHOFF: But it's -- if you've ever done "Saturday Night Live," it's not a fun set.

O'BRIEN: No, I haven't.

HASSELHOFF: Well, if you ever do it, backstage is all...

O'BRIEN: No, I know, everybody is very intense and very stressed.

HASSELHOFF: All the -- yes, I'm like, come on, guys, lighten up, it's TV! You know, hello!

O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question the other show that you're doing, "America's Got Talent."

HASSELHOFF: Oh, that's funny.

O'BRIEN: Overall, do Americans have talent, or not have talent?

HASSELHOFF: I've seen the world's worst talent in the last two weeks.

O'BRIEN: What was the worst thing you saw in the audition?

HASSELHOFF: Oh my God, I think the guy whistling with the nose. And then after I buzzed him out, he insulted me. Or the lady -- the 75-year-old lady who was calling the birds and she had binoculars, going hoo, hoo. And I said, excuse me, darling, the birds aren't coming. And she goes, I know, they must be busy. And I said, are you on medication? And she said no. And I said, well, you should be.

But out of all of that, we found amazing talent. If you've seen the show, which was on last night, people on the street are coming up. I love the street singers and that girl, you know...

O'BRIEN: Yes, some people really had it. And there's a whole lot who really don't.

HASSELHOFF: Yes, but that's the fun of the show. It's like the "Gong Show," you know. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question. Because this has been a time in your life that has been brutal. I mean, really rough. I mean, you're going through a very public divorce that's in the...

HASSELHOFF: Public, yes.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I mean, right. Public doesn't even come close to describe it.

HASSELHOFF: Yes, "The National Enquirer" really prints the truth, right?

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, and there have been, you know, allegations that are very nasty. She said -- your wife claims -- Pamela Bach, who used to work...

HASSELHOFF: Right.

O'BRIEN: You physically abused her.

HASSELHOFF: Oh, you know...

O'BRIEN: She says you broke her nose.

HASSELHOFF: The only person who broke my wife's nose was a plastic surgeon, darling. And that's not what I'm here to talk about. And unfortunately, but they -- you know, when you get -- when you have a direct line to -- I'm going through this right now with "The National Enquirer." They print whatever they want. And what happens is they call you up and they say, she said this.

And then you go and you say, gee, I'm going to sue you. And then say, oh well, we'll print a retraction. So all they have to do is they say, she said this, and I dent it, but the story is still out there, you know. It's a very personal thing in my life, and it's not really what I'm here to talk about.

O'BRIEN: And you've got little kids.

HASSELHOFF: Right. And you conned me into this, because you said you weren't going to talk about this.

O'BRIEN: No. Oh gosh, I never agree on conditions before I do any interview. It's one of the things...

(CROSSTALK)

HASSELHOFF: Yes, well, it's one of the things that's personal. And the reason I don't talk about it is because it gets back to my children who get abused at school.

O'BRIEN: I would also imagine, too, at some point you want to sort of be able to get on record and say...

HASSELHOFF: I have gone on the record, but would you go on the record with "The National Enquirer" or "The Star." They're just scavengers who print lies. They'll print anything, anything that anybody says. She could say I was out in the back with a goat and they'll print it, and I'd have to deny it. Well the goat -- by the way, those goats are liars.

O'BRIEN: Let me get back to asking you about -- you do movies, you do TV, you have done -- your on stage as well. What is your favorite thing to do?

HASSELHOFF: What my favorite thing to do is?

O'BRIEN: Yes. I mean, now you're writing your autobiography, too. What else did I leave out? Because there's a lot.

HASSELHOFF: I think my favorite thing is -- today my favorite thing would be jumping out of an airplane skydiving. I enjoy everything I do. My favorite thing is spending time with my children. My daughter is with me, and I love traveling the world, and I love showing them things that, you know, about history, and I love life here. I think the most amazing moment in my life next to the birth of my baby or singing on the Berlin Wall was when I walked on Broadway. And I love proving people wrong. You know, my wife, soon to be ex- wife...

O'BRIEN: OK, that was your bringing it up, not my bringing it up, just for the record.

HASSELHOFF: ... said if you say no to my husband, he will stand on a corner and sell CDs until he get as million to prove you wrong. So I like challenges. And for some reason or another, I'm an adrenaline junkie. I like being scared.

O'BRIEN: Really, I didn't notice it at all.

HASSELHOFF: Yes.

O'BRIEN: It's so nice to see you. We're out of time.'

HASSELHOFF: Great to see you.

O'BRIEN: Good luck with the movie.

HASSELHOFF: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for talking with us.

"Click" opens tomorrow. We're going to take a short break.

HASSELHOFF: And you never saw it.

O'BRIEN: I haven't seen it.

HASSELHOFF: It's good. You'll like it.

O'BRIEN: No, I've heard...

HASSELHOFF: You'll love it. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

ROBERTS: We'll be back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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