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TV Host Steve Irwin Killed Today by Stingray Barb; Fatal Chicago Fire; Eye on Iran; Bush Speaks on Labor Day
Aired September 04, 2006 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Aussie croc hunter Steve Irwin killed by the knife-like barb of a stingray.
Something new bubbles up in the tropics. This blob of clouds could become Florence.
And the president talks about your pocketbook. See it live this hour.
He snatched thrills from the jaws of danger and turned his passion into prime TV ratings, even a movie. Earlier today, "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin was working on his latest adventure when a massive stingray plunged a barb into his chest. It's believed he died within moments.
Irwin often flirted with danger, but he wasn't today when he suffered his deadly injury. We spoke to Irwin's long-time friend and colleague. He was on the boat when the "Crocodile Hunter" embarked on a seemingly mundane dive this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN STAINTON, IRWIN'S PRODUCER-DIRECTOR: It's been a very bad day, Miles, as you can imagine. It's something that has just come out of the blue and shocked probably not just ourselves but the whole of Australia, and from what I gather, the world is probably reeling from the events that happened today.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, the world over, literally. Tell us about the circumstances. What was going on at the time that he was hurt by that stingray?
STAINTON: Miles, we were currently -- we're in the Great Barrier Reef area off a town called Port Douglas. We've been here for a week, filming a new television program for "Animal Planet" with Phillip Cousteau, who's the grandson of Jacques Cousteau, who'd teamed up with Steve to do a program called "The Ocean's Deadliest," ironically. And it was looking at all the things in a positive way, living in the ocean, that have potential dangers and harm attached to them but for what reason, we had researchers on board. And this morning, because the weather had been quite bad for us the last couple of days and we hadn't been able to film, Steve decided that he would like to shoot a couple of soft stories for a new TV show we're doing with his daughter Bindi. So he and the underwater cameraman went out to do some pieces on the reef on -- on the reef and coral and stuff that would be good for the kids' show and unfortunately, he came on of the top of a stingray that was buried in the sand and the barb went up and hit him in the chest.
O'BRIEN: So this wasn't even the primary focus of the documentary on the most dangerous -
STAINTON: It wasn't, no. It wasn't the primary focus of the documentary at all. It was something that was sideline to the whole thing, which is why we're in shock about it because it just had nothing to do with the program we were making.
O'BRIEN: Tell us what happened after that. How quickly was he out of the water? How quickly did he get some medical care?
STAINTON: He was out of the water within a couple of minutes. We had him back on Croc One. We had to rendezvous with an emergency helicopter on an island, it was the only place they could land and that was 30 minutes away. So obviously, you can imagine it was a desperate effort to save him that ensued for the next 30 minutes to get him to the island for the medevac, but unfortunately, when we got him to the island, it was too late.
O'BRIEN: Was he conscious at all through this?
STAINTON: No.
O'BRIEN: And was it -- did he succumb to the sting itself or the piercing and stabbing? Do you know?
STAINTON: You know, I don't know. I don't know. Those things will probably come out in the next 24 hours. I don't know.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Tune in tonight. CNN re-airs "Larry King's one-on-one interview with Steve Irwin. That encore presentation is tonight at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.
How dangerous are these creature creatures? We have a little stingray 101 for you.
Stingrays are normally placid creatures. They are related to sharks and usually hang out on the sea floor.
Stingrays use their sharp tails and the venom located at their base to defend themselves. The venom is not lethal, but serrated barbs on the tail can be. They tear flesh and can cause extreme trauma as they exit a wound. Fatal attacks are rare, though, as are unprovoked attacks. Experts say they only happen when a stingray is under severe stress. CNN's David Mattingly is at the Georgia Aquarium, where there is an interactive exhibit that allows people to get close to the stingrays and understand them better.
David, good morning.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
Some sad news here at the world's largest aquarium today. Steve Irwin was more than just a TV celebrity and an adventurer and a thrill-seeker. He was one of the world's great educators on wildlife, and he took so many of us so close to some of the world's most dangerous creatures. And typically, on that list you would not find the stingray on there, because getting stung by a stingray is a fairly common occurrence around the world.
It usually happens in shallow waters. It happens typically when someone is out there wading around or accidentally steps on one of these creatures, because they like to hang out in the sand.
They're rarely fatal, but they are almost always very, very painful. And I have someone here who has some personal experience with that. Ray Davis is the resident expert at the aquarium.
And you have been stung by one of these in the past. What happened?
RAY DAVIS, MARINE BIOLOGIST: Yes. And first let me say that Georgia Aquarium extends our heartfelt sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of Steve Irwin for this tragedy. The world's lost a great advocate for the animals and their wild places.
I was collecting a little yellow, round stingray from Florida waters and didn't handle it the correct way, and I got invenomated on my hand. And it was very painful.
MATTINGLY: Invenomated, this means that its tail came up, it stuck you with the barb, and there's venom in the tissue around the barb?
DAVIS: Correct. And the other thing that's actually even more dangerous in the long run is that you need to make sure you get medical attention because you need to be treated for a bacterial infection and you need to make sure that no barb is broken off inside the wound.
MATTINGLY: Now, this is something we need to see. You have actually one of these barbs right here, and it looks like about a large toothpick. It's sort of flat on one end, but very sharp on the other.
DAVIS: And you can notice, too, that it's serrated, and those serrations mean it's very much like an arrowhead. It penetrates very quickly and easily, but by pulling back and out, it destroys a lot more tissue. It makes the wound that much larger.
MATTINGLY: This can go very deep into someone's muscle tissue.
DAVIS: Absolutely. If you are in the coastal zone, you're going out, waist-deep water, you want to shuffle your feet so that way if the stingrays know you're coming and you're not stepping up and on top of them.
MATTINGLY: Typically, where are people stung when they get hit by one of these?
DAVIS: The two key areas are the lower legs, calf, foot, or in the hands, because they're caught when fishing and they've mishandled it. And trying to remove the hook or cut the animal free and put it back in the ocean, they wind up getting stung.
MATTINGLY: Have you ever heard of someone being killed by one of these before?
DAVIS: I have to admit that hearing of this tragedy, I was not aware that somebody had actually died from something like this. This is very tragic. It will be interesting to see what the investigation tells.
Something to understand is that all sharks and rays are fish, and there are many fish species that have venom, like a Lionfish or a Stonefish. All acts the same way.
Part of the first-aid, if you're invenomated, hand, foot, is to soak the effected area in as hot a water as you can possibly stand, the victim can stand, without scalding the flesh. It will almost instantly stop the pain, and it also destroys the venom. But you definitely have to seek medical attention because you want to make sure that there's no barb and the tissue inside.
MATTINGLY: Let's say you're on the coast of Florida, like on the Gulf. How often do you see something like this happen?
DAVIS: Where I have worked in the past, we would get phone calls almost daily during the summer where somebody, a lifeguard is helping to treat somebody that has been invenomated.
MATTINGLY: Almost daily. So very common occurrence, very unusual for something like this to be fatal.
Ray Davis, thank you very much for being with us this hour.
DAVIS: Thank you.
MATTINGLY: Tony, we're going to go back to you again. A day of sadness here at the world's largest aquarium.
HARRIS: David, Ray, thank you both. Appreciate it. Thank you.
A blow to the terror network in Iraq. The number two leader of al Qaeda in Iraq is in custody this morning. His name is Hamed al- Saeedi, but he goes by several other names, including Abu Rana. Iraq says he was arrested Friday during a raid. Iraqi officials say al-Saeedi was directly responsible for the bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra last February. The attack inflamed sectarian tensions. Al-Saeedi is also accused of supervising the creation of death squads and ordering assassinations.
A candle to light the dark the likely cause of a Chicago apartment fire that killed six children.
Judy Garcia of affiliate WGN reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALBERT TILLMAN, RESCUER: And I heard a child yelling from the bedroom to the left, and I ran in the bedroom, and I carried the little child out of there. And I brought him downstairs and gave him to the -- to the paramedics.
JUDY GARCIA, REPORTER, WGN (voice over): Rogers Park neighbors did what they could to help rescue the Ramirez family children when fire tore through their third floor apartment in the 7700 block of North Marshfield. Chicago firefighters using ladders to get some kids out.
RAY OROZCO, CHICAGO FIRE COMMISSIONER: They removed a child from the window, brought the child down almost simultaneously at the same time the other members of the crew were forcing entry into the front room, where they found a majority of the children.
GARCIA: The children's mother was at home at the time and had to be taken to the hospital. Meanwhile, paramedics performed CPR and transported the children to hospitals. Before long came tragic news.
OROZCO: There were nine children and one adult. Six of the children were in cardiac arrest when they left here -- left the scene. And we've just been notified that five of the children have perished in area hospitals.
GARCIA: By dawn, the total number of child fatalities was six, including 14-year-old Vanessa Ramirez (ph), 12-year-old Eric Ramirez (ph), and 10-year-old Suzette Ramirez (ph). The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office says the other three fatalities are 3-year-old Kevin Ramirez, 6-year-old Idaly Ramirez, and 3-year-old Escarlet Ramos, a little girl who was apparently spending the night.
The Ramirez family had apparently been without electricity for months, using candles for light. Fire investigators say a candle in the third floor hallway may have sparked the blaze. Firefighters did not hear smoke detectors going off.
Alderman Joe Moore visited the building this morning.
JOE MOORE, ALDERMAN, 49TH WARD: The common areas have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers and emergency lights. I also visited a number of the other units -- other units occupied by residents of the building. They did have smoke detectors that were hard-wired. GARCIA: Today some of the children's teachers are among those coming to terms with the loss of six young lives.
DIANA NOBLE, NATALI'S TEACHER: A family that really loves each other. The mom loves her children, has struggled for many years to try to make ends meet to provide for her kids. She had 10 children. She recently had a baby, and, you know, we've just been there for the family as much as we can to provide, you know, in any and every way that we can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eric was a wonderful child. He really was.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And still to come this morning, a call to clean house at the Pentagon. Democrats restless about Donald Rumsfeld.
Find out about the letter on CNN NEWSROOM.
Juice, energy drinks, sodas. One nutritionist says sugary drinks are making us fat and he says we should be made to pay.
That's coming up on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A deadly friendly fire incident to tell you about in southern Afghanistan this morning. NATO says its warplanes killed a Canadian soldier in Kandahar province. It happened during an operation designed to drive Taliban fighters out of the area. Several other Canadian soldiers were wounded. Operation Medusa launched on Saturday.
In another development, NATA says a British soldier was killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul, along with at least four civilians.
A biting critique of American foreign policy from a former president of Iran, and it came during the start of Mohammad Khatami's trip to the United States. Khatami spoke to Muslim groups over the weekend in suburban Chicago. He says U.S. foreign policy triggers terrorism and violence in the world. Khatami, a reformer, later gave an exclusive interview to CNN's Zain Verjee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is Iran pursuing a nuclear bomb?
MOHAMMAD KHATAMI, FMR. IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I think these questions have been answered enough times by the supreme leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and it has never been the policy nor the mindset of any branch of the Iranian government to pursue atomic weapons, which can be the source of vast numerous deaths in the world.
We have no interest in building such weapons. What is the question here is that the technology that we want to use, which is the nuclear civilian technology, according to the NPT, is all right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, Iran pushes ahead with its nuclear program today. In weekend talks, U.N. chief Kofi Annan failed to sway Iranian leaders to halt activity. Meanwhile, at the U.N., the issue it still a key concern for U.S. Ambassador John Bolton.
He joined our U.N. correspondent Richard Roth earlier this morning on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Ambassador Bolton, how do you read Iran's response to Secretary-General Kofi Annan? They want to have some more dialogue, but they're not willing to freeze uranium enrichment programs.
JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: I think the answer is consistent with what Iran has been saying for months and months, and up to a year now, that they'd love to talk about positive aspects of the European Union's offer to them, but they don't want to talk about the fundamental precondition established by the Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and that is, they must suspend their uranium enrichment activity. So no change that I can see.
ROTH: Because of that, and probably no change down the road, what makes you think sanctions will work?
BOLTON: I think the issue is how to put increased pressure on Iran to isolate them internationally in an effort to get them to change the strategic decision they've been following this past 20 years of trying to seek nuclear weapons. I think if we move in the Security Council, move elsewhere, that that increases the pressure on Iran, increases its isolation, and increases the possibility for that to occur.
ROTH: China and Russia said they would be always willing to talk if Iran didn't cooperate with that last resolution deadline, which they didn't do, but what makes you think China and Russia are going to accept sanctions?
BOLTON: Well, remember, in June, the foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany agreed that they would follow the course of action that we've seen unfold, that they would give Iran one more chance to take up this very generous offer that the Europeans have given them. And that if Iran failed to do that and failed to meet the precondition of suspending Iranian enrichment, they would all come to the Security Council seeking sanctions. That's what they agreed to, and that's what we expect them to do.
ROTH: But Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, says sanctions overall are a dead end. Is he just playing for national consumption, or is he also now saying that sanctions really don't work in many situations? Even though I know you have cited international history that in many cases they do.
BOLTON: I think you have to go back to what the foreign ministers agreed, and that is that they committed to come to the Security Council if Iran has done what it's doing, which is refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. And I know there's been rhetoric from Moscow and Beijing that they don't -- don't think sanctions will work. Let's see what happens when we actually put a resolution on the table and get to down cases.
ROTH: What about the United States getting bogged down in Iraq? Does that embolden Iran to challenge the U.S. or even overall U.N. moves in authority?
BOLTON: Well, I'm not sure I can read the mind of President Ahmadinejad and the Iranian leadership. I do think that the efforts that the Bush administration has been making for four years now to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons status are not affected by the situation in Iraq. Obviously, that's a circumstance that Iran causes a lot of trouble in on their own. But in focusing on Iran's nuclear weapons program, we're focusing on a distinct problem.
The president has rallied international support to our position. We're going to continue to pursue it.
ROTH: The Kofi Annan diplomatic swing also took him through Damascus. Syria says it's willing to make sure the border with Lebanon works so that there's no illegal smuggling.
Do you trust the Syrian word and do you want U.N. troops on that border?
BOLTON: Well, if Syria's now concerned about preventing smuggling across its border with Lebanon, this would be the most significant change in Syrian attitude about Lebanese independence that we've seen in some number of years. What we have seen as a possibility coming out of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel is the possibility of actually restoring Lebanon to full sovereignty, take its democratic government and put it in full control of its territory.
One of the key aspects of the resolution that ended the hostilities, 1701, was an arms embargo that would preclude arms from going to Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or other militias inside Lebanon. If Syria is willing to cooperate and makes sure that Hezbollah and others are not rearmed, that would be a step forward, but I'll wait for the actions, not just their rhetoric.
ROTH: They're beginning to arrive, the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. The conservative base, which loves you in the United States, always attacks the U.N., but if this operation works, do you think there -- this is a major step forward in the U.N. prestige that it can work, as you and the U.S. and other countries had to go to the Security Council and get this force in there to separate the parties?
BOLTON: The concept for the enhanced UNIFIL that's embodied in Resolution 1701 is that together, with the armed forces of the government of Lebanon, that they will provide sufficient security in southern Lebanon. That is, the Israeli forces withdraw, Hezbollah will not be allowed to re-infiltrate. This is a very difficult assignment.
It's going to be a very dangerous assignment. It was one of the reasons why there was some hesitation on the part of European countries to put troops in.
So I think we need to see how it unfolds. We've worked hard with these governments in Europe. We're providing logistical support. It's a very difficult assignment, though.
ROTH: All right. Less than 20 seconds.
Sudan, another country with a tough resolution, government doesn't want to let U.N. peacekeepers in. Today Sudan said when the African Union deployment ends, it's time for them to get out, no U.N.
How are you going to overcome that?
BOLTON: Well, President Bush has made it clear he wants to stop the genocide in the Sudan. We're going to continue to pressure on the government of Sudan, work with the African Union and others who are interested. We're not going to give up on this.
ROTH: And this month you want to try to get the Security Council to put Burma, Myanmar on the agenda, which it hasn't really done at the council.
BOLTON: We think Burma's actions constitute a threat to international peace and security. We're going to push hard to get it on the agenda. We take it very seriously.
ROTH: He's Ambassador John Bolton of the United States.
I'm Richard Roth here in New York.
Thank you very much, Ambassador.
Now back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And still to come, a call to clean house at the Pentagon. Democrats restless about Donald Rumsfeld. Find out about "the letter" on CNN NEWSROOM.
Also this hour, a Labor Day message from the president. Mr. Bush on the economy. We will dissect his speech here on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, top congressional Democrats want change. They're calling on President Bush to change direction on Iraq and change the Pentagon's leadership. Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel is looking into this for us this morning.
Andrea, good morning.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Tony.
Well, this is it. It is a two-page letter addressed to President Bush by Harry Reid, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate, and by Nancy Pelosi, who's the Democratic leader -- minority leader over in the House.
This is a letter which, as you said, lays out what the Democrats believe President Bush needs to do in terms of changing his strategy in Iraq. In particular, they have four points that they go to that they say will help the president if he makes those changes, and they include transitioning the U.S. mission to counter-terrorism, beginning the phased redeployment of U.S. forces before December 31st of 2006, working with the Iraqi leaders to disarm militias, and eventually to amend the constitution to include more Sunni participation, as well as convening an international conference and contact group to work towards a political settlement in Iraq.
It also calls for a change in the civilian leadership at the Pentagon. And while it doesn't mention Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld by name, we know as recently as late last week, Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer of California said that she was going to move when Congress reconvenes tomorrow -- she was going to move for Secretary Rumsfeld to resign.
So this is something, Tony, we're in a political season here, we are 10 weeks away from midterm elections. Democrats feel, especially in the House, this is their best opportunity to take over the leadership for the first time in 12 years. And the Democrats, you could call this almost an opening salvo before they come back into session tomorrow. They want to take away what had been the Republicans' trump card for the last six years pretty much, and that is national security -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. So Andrea, this is interesting. So does this become -- for a long time we wondered, OK, Democrats, you don't like what the president is doing in Iraq, so what's your plan? How do you change the game in Iraq?
So does this become the document that all Democrats promote moving forward through the rest of this cycle leading up to the midterm elections?
KOPPEL: I think it is more of the same. Nothing that's in this letter is something that we haven't heard before in one form or another.
Earlier this summer, you know, the Democrats had a resolution that they put forward on Iraq in which they called for the withdrawal to begin of American troops before the end of this year and have an eventual timeline for the withdrawal of all American forces out of Iraq. So in bits and pieces, we have heard some of these ideas, but I guess you could say that it's one of the first times that it's all been put in one place.
HARRIS: Yes.
CNN's Andrea Koppel for us.
Andrea, thank you.
Still to come, a Labor Day message from the president. Mr. Bush on the economy. We will dissect his speech later this hour.
And the "Crocodile Hunter" in his own words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE IRWIN, "CROCODILE HUNTER": I see wildlife. I know that if I'm respectful and I understand and I'm well researched and well rehearsed, that the animal is not going to just swing around and knife me in the back, unlike some people will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Aussie Steve Irwin on his visit with Larry King. We will re-queue that tape, candid comments that have such resonance today.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: He snatched thrills from the jaws of danger and turned his passion into prime TV ratings, even a movie. Earlier today, crocodile hunter Steve Irwin was working on his latest adventure when a massive stingray plunged a barb into his chest. It's believed he died within moments. Irwin was filming under water on the great barrier reef. As usual, he was in his element, far from civilization, but still in the spotlight. He called himself a wildlife warrior on a mission.
Here's a closer look from reporter Alex Smith of Australia's Channel 9.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX SMITH, CHANNEL 9, AUSTRALIA: Steve Irwin was more than extraordinary. He was an international phenomenon.
STEVE IRWIN, CROCODILE HUNTER: I can't stop, mate. I'm on fire! I wake up in the morning, and I'm on fire. I just can't do enough.
SMITH: And the world couldn't get enough. Long before he was a household name at home, he was star of the week on U.S. television.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Irwins are the real crocodile dundees of Queensland, in Australia.
SMITH: It all started at his parents' Australia zoo on the sunshine coast. That grounding, and his boots and all approach --
IRWIN: Pull, push, go, go, go!
SMITH: And that trademark style --
IRWIN: Crockey, that's the biggest crocodile upheaval in Australia Zoo's history!
SMITH: Made Steve Irwin one of Australia's most successful exports.
IRWIN: I want you in there with me, Charlie, mate, all right? You're coming in with me.
SMITH: Even Hollywood beckoned.
IRWIN: There you go, mate!
SMITH: But along with wife, Terri, and their two children, Steve's heart was never far from the Aussie bush and his beloved Australia Zoo. There were controversies along the way. But no controversy could shake his self belief.
IRWIN: Life is all about keeping peace, trust and trying to keep a nice, level, happy playing field and surround yourself with your family.
SMITH: He leaves behind a massive nature conservation project funded by his multi-million dollar empire, but perhaps his greatest legacy will be to encourage others to follow their dreams.
IRWIN: I am the proudest Australian bloke on the face of the earth.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Irwin called himself a wildlife warrior, but his passion sometimes seemed at odds with common sense. He ignited a firestorm -- remember this -- for feeding a crocodile while holding his infant son in his arms. Months later, he answered his critics and explained his trust in animals. It came in an interview with CNN's Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IRWIN: My parents actually guided me in the direction that I've gone. They started Australia Zoo in 1970, so I was running around in the wilderness since the day I was born.
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: But you didn't have to like it. Some kids are born into a family situation, their father's a lawyer, they don't want to be a lawyer.
IRWIN: Yeah, absolutely. My two sisters -- KING: So obviously you liked it?
IRWIN: Loved it. Not only did I take to it like a fish to water, but when I was 4 years of age, my dad noticed that I had a gift with wildlife that he'd never seen nor encountered ever before.
How many singles you got back there, dad?
We were out catching snakes for the Commonwealth Serum Laboratory, I found this big brown snake and I sunk my foot, bang, right on it! And I was like barefoot, I had these little sandals on and I'm going dad, dad, I've got one! And he comes over and he goes whack! Knocks me out of the way, broke my heart, I ran away crying.
The snake was at my leg, poised but it wasn't biting. And from that moment when he saw that, he thought to himself, what's this kid got? And then when I was 9 years of age, he allowed me to catch my first croc and I guess I must have made him proud and I demonstrated to him that I had a gift with wildlife and he nurtured that with my mom. And now I am who I am.
KING: What, Steve, is the gift?
IRWIN: The gift. Firstly, Larry, you know I'm a wildlife warrior. You know, a warrior is someone who is trained or engaged in battle. My battle is conservation. Ok, so I'm a wildlife warrior, and anyone can be one, but I have a gift. God put me on this planet with a mission, and my mission is to educate people about conservation --
KING: But the gift to communicate with animals. Where did that come from?
IRWIN: That's right -- who knows, couldn't tell you.
KING: Animals like you.
IRWIN: Yep. It's in my genetic makeup. That's where it comes from. Now I can do stuff with animals that no one else in the world can do. I've got this, I've got the ability to be attracted to wildlife and vice versa. And then on top of that, I've got a gift that I didn't know I had of communicating to cameras, which is in essence looking to millions of people and combine those two, and there you see my mission is to educate people about conservation.
KING: Ivan Torres, the famed founder of "Flipper" was an old friend of mine. He told me that he trusted animals more than humans as long as they were fed. He would walk into wild animals easier than to Hollywood film producers.
IRWIN: Here here.
KING: You feel the same way?
IRWIN: Absolutely, 100 percent, yep. I'm lucky in that respect. I see wildlife, I know that if I'm respectful and I understand and I'm well researched, I'm well rehearsed, that the animal is not going to just swing around and knife me in the back, unlike some people will.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And you can see the entire interview tonight, CNN re- airs Larry King's one-on-one with Steve Irwin. That encore presentation is tonight at 9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific.
Let's take you to Piney Point, Maryland, the president there on stage. He is going to give a speech in just minutes to promote his economic policies. The president is set to visit the Maritime Training Center there in Piney Point. That is a vocational training center for U.S. marines. When the president begins his speech, we will bring that to you live.
Well, days after tropical storm Ernesto made landfall, its remnants are still bringing a lot of grief to parts of the east coast. Homes and businesses, fields and roads still flooded in eastern North Carolina. Forecasters expected the blow to Cape Fear River to start dropping today. Right now it's more than 5 feet above flood stage.
High water also causing problems in Virginia. Dozens of roads are still blocked by downed trees and power lines. Some were washed out by the storm's floodwaters. Tens of thousands of homes from the Carolinas to New York still don't have power this morning. Let's take you back now to Piney Point, Maryland and the president. Should we go there now? And the president is speaking.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I hope you understand why I needed to be there than up here last year. Now he invited me again, and I couldn't wait to say yes and couldn't wait to come here. I must confess, Michael, I didn't realize how strong your facilities are here. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this is a fantastic facility. It speaks to your leadership and the leadership and the importance of your union.
And so here on Labor Day, I say to the union members who are here, happy Labor Day, and thanks for supporting leadership that is progressive, smart, capable, and has your best interests at heart. I'm proud to be here with the family members. Michael, thanks for inviting family members. As you know, I think family is an important part of life, and that to invite the families here today was a smart thing to do. I look forward to shaking as many hands as I can this morning.
Today on Labor Day, we honor those who work, and we honor those who work because in so doing, we recognize that one of the reasons why we're the economic leader in the world is because of our workforce. And the fundamental question facing the country is how do we continue to be the economic leader in the world? What do we do to make sure that when people look around the world next year, 10 years from now, they say the United States is still the most powerful economy in the world? I think that's an important goal to have, because when we're the most powerful economy in the world that means our people benefit. It means there's jobs opportunity, that's what we want. We want people working. We want people to realize their dreams. So the best thing to do is to keep pro-growth economic policies in place, is the first step to making sure we're the most powerful economy in the world, and I think that means keeping those taxes low, letting you keep more of your own money. See, when you have more money in your pocket, you get to spend the money, you get to make the decisions. And the fundamental question facing government is who best to spend your money, you or the government? I believe you've got to do it. So we ought to make the tax relief permanent. I like it when people that are working for a living have more after-tax money in their pocket. That's what I like, and I think that ought to be a policy of the United States government. So to make sure that we're the economic leader of the world, we've got to keep taxes low.
But we also have to do some other things, and it starts with making sure our workers have the skills necessary to compete in the 21st century. And that's one of the primary reasons I came to this facility. Now, I just happened to be over here at the training building, and they put me behind the wheel of a Coast Guard cutter in Baltimore harbor, and they made the boat rock a little bit. And I got slightly discombobulated. It's one of the most amazing training tools I have ever seen, but it shows this union's commitment, along with industry's commitment, to making sure that those who pile up the boats, those who are engineers on the boats have the absolute best training possible.
See, as we constantly -- as the world constantly changes, we better make sure that our workforce has the skills necessary to compete if we want to be the world's leading economy. And so I applaud the Sea Fairs Union and I applaud the employers working together to make sure that those who work for a living have what it takes to be competitive. And we've got to make sure that's the case throughout all the workforce, and we've got to make sure that our community colleges are accessible to people who need to gain new skills of the 21st century.
See, as the workforce stays productive, in other words, if you keep getting a good education, it increases your standard of living. But also, helps this country remain strong economically. Couple of other things we need to do as well, we've got to do something about energy. In order to make sure that we're competitive, that this economy remains strong that, people are able to find work. By the way, the unemployment rate is 4.7 percent. That's a good sign for somebody looking for a job. It means people are working here in the United States. But one thing is clear is that dependence on foreign oil jeopardizes our capacity to grow.
I mean, problem is, we get oil from some parts of the world, and they simply don't like us. And so the more dependent we are on that type of energy, the less likely it will be that we are able to compete, and so people have good, high-paying jobs, and so I've got a plan to work with, to spend money on technologies. See, the technological development here at this school has been dramatic. Where we can achieve the same technological breakthroughs when it comes to energy, and that starts with how we drive our automobiles. One of these days you're going to have batteries in your automobile that will enable you to drive the first 40 miles without gasoline, and your car doesn't have to look like a golf cart.
I mean, I bet the people down in this part of the world like to drive pick-ups. Well, we can have a battery that makes those pick-ups go. And the reason why, is that we're spending money to develop new technologies to enable us to become less dependent on oil. And that makes sense. And so in order to think about how we remain competitive as a nation, we've got to be aggressive in promoting new technologies, particularly on the energy front.
You know, in the Midwest, a lot of people are beginning to fuel their cars with more and more ethanol. Ethanol is derived from corn, so you've got a guy out there growing corn, the corn goes into an ethanol plant and out comes fuel to drive the car. It seems to make a lot of sense to me to say in order to become less dependent on foreign oil, why don't we become more reliant upon America's farmers to produce energy for our automobiles? And that's the kinds of things we're doing.
You know, we flew over coming here -- we flew over a nuclear power plant. And it's a modern, safe plant. In my judgment, this country ought to continue to expand nuclear power if we want to become less dependent on foreign sources of energy. Nuclear power is safe, nuclear power is clean, and nuclear power is renewable. And so what I'm telling you is, and what I want the country to understand is that technologies, technologies has enabled this workforce, this union to become, to have a more productive workforce. Technology is going to enable us to become less dependent on oil and we've got to continue to pursue technologies.
And finally, one of the ways to make sure that we're a competitive nation is to continue opening up markets for U.S. products. If I was somebody who was driving a ship or an engineer on a ship, I'd want to hear a president say, we want you to be selling U.S. products, transporting U.S. products around the world. See, we've got 5 percent of the world's people here in the United States, which means 95 percent are potential customers. And therefore, it's important for us to be aggressive about opening up markets. And my message to the world is this, just treat us the way we treat you. That's all we expect. We just want the rules to be fair. Because I believe this country can compete with anybody, anytime, anywhere, so long as the rules are fair.
So Mike asked me to come and talk about ways to make sure we're competitive. So what are you going to do, Mr. President? There you are, things are going ok now, but what about five years from now, what will the world look like? And I hope here are some good ideas for you to think about, about how to make sure that the United States is competitive. In the meantime, it's important for presidents to embrace the Jones Act, (INAUDIBLE) constantly talking to me about that. I have so far 5 1/2 years as a president, supported the Jones Act and will continue to do so as the president.
I can't help but look at a man over there in uniform and think about our military right now on Labor Day. First, thank you for serving. And our soldiers and sailors and Coast Guard men and marines and air force have got to understand this, that this country supports them in the mission, that they may hear all the political discourse going on but the people of this country, the people of the United States of America stand squarely behind the men and women who wear our uniform. And on Labor Day we think about those who are sacrificing for our freedom and peace, and we think about their families, too.
And so I want to thank you for greeting me. I lock forward to coming to say hello to you. I appreciate you taking time out of your day to say hi. I know you're a little disappointed that Laura didn't come. You probably wish she would have come and I stayed at home. But she sends her greetings. God bless you all, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
HARRIS: There you have the president making his comments today on the economy from Piney Point, Maryland. The president visiting a maritime training center there, a vocational training center. The president talking about ways to keep America competitive in the years to come, touting the fact that we now are enjoying a 4.9 percent unemployment rate and also stressing the need to reduce dependency on foreign oil and also the need to expand nuclear power. Susan Lisovicz joins us now to talk more about the president's speech. Susan, it was quick, it was to the point. The president didn't break any new ground there, would you say?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. The president emphasized that there has been slow, steady growth. And you know, the president, Tony, really does -- he can say quite factually that the U.S. economy, the world's biggest, is growing at a moderate pace. The jobless rate is 4.7 percent, which is low. The latest read we got on GDP, which is the broadest read on the economy, came in at 2.9 percent, which is a moderate expansion, which is basically what you would hope for after 17 consecutive interest rate hikes. We have stellar corporate profits for more than two years now, double-digit increases. And the latest read we got on job creation for the month of August was 128,000, which some economists consider the sweet spot, not super fast growth where the Fed would have to step in again, but not showing that the economy is in danger of a recession. So sort of that goldilocks scenario, not too hot, not too cold.
HARRIS: You know what though Susan, for most Americans, it comes down to job creation and standard of living. How's the president doing there?
LISOVICZ: Yeah, and I think that this is where you start to get some criticism, some real criticism about the Bush administration for its six years in office. For instance, we just got the census report last week, and that is a vast encyclopedia of information, but one of the headline numbers that you would have to say is that between 2001 and 2005, the latest economic expansion, the income of the typical median household when adjusted for inflation fell by 1/2 a percent. Now, when you compare that to the last post-recession economic recoveries, we see a much different picture. Between 1991 and 1995, the median income rose by nearly 3 percent. And the one before that, again, this is the post-recession economic recovery between '82 and '87, it was nearly 10 percent, and these are under two different presidents, both a democrat, President Clinton, as well as President Reagan. So there's some real fire there about just how many Americans are benefiting in this expansion.
HARRIS: Susan Lisovicz. Susan, is that a new cut?
LISOVICZ: It is.
HARRIS: Looking lovely, lovely. Susan Lisovicz.
LISOVICZ: It's the holiday, a holiday attire I broke out today.
HARRIS: I couldn't resist. All right Susan, thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
HARRIS: Still ahead, juice, energy drinks, sodas. One nutritionist says sugary drinks are making us fat and he says you should be made to pay. That is coming up on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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JON BIRGER, SENIOR WRITER, FORTUNE: The reason the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is on the list this year is because this is the first year it's been eligible. The CME went public in January 2003, so finally they have three years of financial data on which it can be judged. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is actually the world's largest financial market. They trade things like grains and pork bellies, but what's been a big rower in recent years for the CME has been stock index futures. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has a very exciting partnership with Reuters. They think that there could be a growing market for a centralized exchange for growing currency.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
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HARRIS: Well, Americans are gulping down more sodas, fruit juices, boy, that's the case in our house and other sugary drinks more than ever. One nutritionist concludes we're drinking ourselves into obesity. University of North Carolina researcher Mary Potkin says to slow the trend, the government should consider taxing sugary beverages just like cigarettes and alcohol. We would be broke, but it would help our household.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I was never allowed to drink sugar drinks.
HARRIS: You weren't?
PHILLIPS: No, no soda-pop, no juices with sugar, oh no. My mom was --
HARRIS: What was the tradeoff, was it waters and milks and that sort of thing? It's better for you.
PHILLIPS: A milk shake now and then.
HARRIS: Now and then? Hi.
PHILLIPS: Hello, there.
HARRIS: Croc hunter, Steve Irwin.
PHILLIPS: That's right, it's one of the main stories we've been talking about. And this is the type of guy we paid attention to because of his adventure and his knowledge and he was definitely an icon. So I started thinking about when I went to the BBIs and I was snorkeling, I saw these amazing stingrays. I wanted to get close, I wanted to feel them, and the captain said, "These can be deadly, dangerous."
HARRIS: And that's coming up, CNN NEWSROOM, 1:00.
PHILLIPS: You got it. We'll go into detail.
HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next.
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