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Former Russian Spy Poisoned, in Coma; Senate Armed Services Committee Questions Iraq Study Group Report's Co-Chairs; Space Shuttle Discovery Hours Away From Blastoff; Father's Efforts To Save Family In Oregon Wilderness Are Called Superhuman; Press Conference On Milwaukee Explosion; Grammy Nominees Announced

Aired December 07, 2006 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Philips.

Capitol Hill takes a crack at the Iraq Study Group report and recommendations on U.S. troop levels. In just a moment, a live report on reaction from the Senate Armed Services Committee.

LEMON: Plus, the plot thickens as a witness sickens. A key witness in the fatal poisoning of an ex-spy falls critically ill in Moscow.

PHILLIPS: Three years ago after they got busted for dissing the president, the Dixie Chicks rise like a phoenix. At least as far as the music industry is concerned. News on the group's Grammy nominations and other top nominees ahead.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: First this hour, more apparent poisoning cases involving former Russian spies. A report out of Moscow says a former agent of the KGB has fallen into a coma. He's one of two former agents who met last month in London with a former Russian spy who suddenly fell ill and died weeks later.

For more on this story, let's go to CNN's Ryan Chilcote in Moscow -- Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, it's very strange turn of events. Effectively, within the last hour and a half we have heard from a Russian news agency, the Interfax news agency, that one of the two Russians that met with that former Russian spy in London, in a London hotel, Alexander Litvinenko, who died of radiation poisoning, that one of those two Russian men that met with him has himself fallen ill.

In fact, this Russian news agency that is quoting informed sources -- we have not been able to confirm this ourselves -- they are saying that he has fallen into a coma and that he is in critical condition, and that he, according to doctors that they have spoken with, is showing some of the very same signs that Alexander Litvinenko, who he dined with in London also showed before he passed away.

Now, the man we are talking about is -- his name is Dmitri Kovtun. He, again, is one of those two Russians that met with Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy, on the 1st of November, shortly before Mr. Litvinenko fell ill. Of course, he died two -- almost three weeks later.

The Russian news agency Interfax, in addition to that, is saying that Mr. Kovtun fell ill almost immediately after he gave testimony to investigators from Scotland Yard and the Russian prosecutor's office.

He apparently was well enough to give two days of testimony to Russian and British investigators -- investigators, of course, investigating Mr. Litvinenko's death, which is now considered a murder. And then immediately following that questioning, according to this Interfax news agency, he fell ill, is now in critical condition, and now is in a coma.

That from the Russian wire service, Interfax -- Don.

LEMON: Ryan, what are Russian prosecutors saying about all this today?

CHILCOTE: You know, this new information comes on top of some information we got from the Russian prosecutor's office about four hours ago. The Russian prosecutor's office saying three important things.

First, the Russian prosecutor's office was the first agency to come out and say that Mr. Kovtun, this Russian who had lunch at a London hotel with Mr. Litvinenko before Mr. Litvinenko fell ill on the -- on the 1st of November, the Russian prosecutor's office was the first agency to come out from the Russian side to say that Mr. Kovtun himself is experiencing symptoms, is experiencing an illness from radiation poisoning.

They also said that as a result of that, they were going to open -- open up an investigation into attempted murder, potential homicide on Mr. Kovtun's life, suggesting that someone not only was trying to kill Mr. Litvinenko, but was also trying to kill Mr. Kovtun, who was dining with Mr. Litvinenko on that day in London -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Ryan Chilcote, from Moscow, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, yesterday was all about the Iraq Study Group and its proposals on the war. Today, the group's leaders had to stand by their words and face a grilling by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr is with us now with more -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it was a pretty friendly grilling, for the most part, at the Senate Armed Services Committee today when the members of the Iraq Study Group showed up to explain their report. Now, one of the co-chairs, the former congressman, Lee Hamilton, stuck to the same line as yesterday, basically saying that Iraq is perilously close to falling into disaster.

Have a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE HAMILTON, IRAQ STUDY GROUP CO-CHAIR: The fact of the matter is, you have President Bush in office for two more years. The fact of the matter is, that the report that we put before you must largely be implemented by the executive branch.

You cannot dodge that fact. It is a fact of political life. And the Congress will play an important role, should play an important role, but the Congress cannot implement the decisions in this -- this report.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So the Iraq Study Group laying it square at the feet of President Bush, saying that these recommendations they have made would have to be acted on by the president, of course. Not by Congress, and it's going to have to be the president's decision what to do about all of this.

There was another very interesting detail. The other co-chair, the former secretary of state, James Baker, saying that at President Bush's authority, he did approach, in fact, representatives of the government of Iran. Tried to sound them out about being more cooperative and less hustle in the situation in Iraq, and he said that any cooperation was rejected by the government of Iran.

That meeting, Kyra, had been known about, but it wasn't really until today when we heard from Mr. Baker that we knew that the government of Iran rejected that overture from the United States -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon.

LEMON: It's one of the more divisive parts of the Iraq Study Group's report, the suggestion that Iran and Syria get involved diplomatically in the war effort. Both are sworn enemies of Iraq and Israel and a headache to the West in general.

So what's to gain by reaching out to them? Some answers from CNN State Department correspondent Zain Verjee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAMILTON: Everything in the Middle East is connected to everything else.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The message: If you want to stop the bloodshed in Iraq, pay attention to other hotspots in the Middle East like the crisis in Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Baker-Hamilton commission says the U.S. should spearhead a new diplomatic offensive in the region, get an international group together, and include Iraq's neighbors accused of meddling in Iraq. Push ahead with the comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace deal. The key, it says, engage U.S. foes, Syria and Iran.

The U.S. accuses Syria of turning a blind eye to insurgents slipping through the border to fight in Iraq. The panel says to stop it, it's time to talk.

JAMES BAKER, IRAQ STUDY GROUP CO-CHAIR: There are some strong indications that they would be in a position, if we were able to enter into a constructive dialogue with them, that they could -- would be in a position to help us.

VERJEE: The report says that Iran has the most leverage in Iraq. It's accused of backing Shia militias there, so it's important to talk. But the panel wasn't counting on it.

BAKER: We didn't get the feeling that Iran is chomping at the bit to come to the table with us to talk about Iraq.

VERJEE: The Iraqi government says this regional approach could douse the flames in the Middle East.

SAMIR SUMAIDAIE, IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: It would empower the moderates and take away power from the extremists.

VERJEE: The Bush administration says it wants to solve conflicts in the region, but diplomacy on Iraq is the job of Iraqis.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: We do think it is very encouraging and important that the Iraqis themselves have taken the reins on their diplomatic effort with respect to how they relate to their neighbors.

VERJEE (on camera): Now that the report is out, the question is, will President Bush heed its advice? Senior U.S. officials tell CNN they believe the calls to engage Iran and Syria are overplayed. An ongoing review of Iraq policy is likely to conclude that there are not enough benefits to reaching out to those countries at this time.

Zain Verjee, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And, of course, you can get more on CNN.com. Read the full Iraq Study Group report and interact with others on the direction the U.S. should take in Iraq. Get more at CNN.com, where you're in control.

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to the breaking news desk. Carol Lin working a story for us right now.

Carol, what do you have? CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Kyra, I've got two stories about two possible multiple killers.

All right, the first one we're going to start in Phoenix, Arizona. This announcement came a short time ago, about an hour ago.

This is a case of a man who was actually arrested back in September. You're looking at a picture of Mark Goudeau. He was arrested in September for two counts of sexual assault, but today Phoenix police came out, and this is what they said, they have evidence for it to go to trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JACK HARRIS, PHOENIX POLICE: Today, we are here today to hopefully bring a little bit more relief to this community. That investigation has come to the point where today we are submitting 71 criminal charges to the county attorney for prosecution against Mark Goudeau. Included in those 71 cases are nine homicides, eight homicides that occurred in Phoenix and one homicide that occurred in Tempe.

Those were all of the cases, homicide cases involved in this particular serial incident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: All right. This was a three-month investigation, Kyra, since the arrest went down in September. They said they got something like 8,000 tips. They credit the public with delivering some evidence they say will really seal their case against this man.

They're saying now that they're going forward with a 15,000-page report. So they feel pretty strongly about their case, but they're being very careful about not talking about what evidence they have against him.

And then I want to take you to a case in Detroit, Michigan. A big break for investigators there.

You're about to see video of a man named Theodore Lamberdine (ph). He's actually being extradited there from Cleveland, Ohio, to Detroit, Michigan, where Theodore Lamberdine is facing now 17 counts of criminal sexual conduct.

Another man named Richard Lawson (ph), 60 years old, is facing 28 counts of criminal sexual conduct.

This is a case that dates back to charges from 25 to 30 years ago. If convicted they could face life in prison.

This is involving the sexual assault of juveniles. But, Kyra, what's interesting about this case is this will remind many people in Detroit, Michigan, of what they call the babysitter case.

A killer nicknamed "The Babysitter," because these children were taken off the streets in public places, without screaming, nothing. These kids just disappeared. Whoever kidnapped them apparently cared for these children, though two of the boys before they were killed were sexually molested.

And so, because of the care and feeding of these children while they were held captive, that killer was nicknamed "The Babysitter Killer." They say that these two men right now are not related to that case. But it brings back a lot of memories -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Wow. The good news is they've been arrested.

Carol, thanks.

LIN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All systems are go, but the weather just might be a problem. Space Shuttle Discovery is just hours away from blastoff at Kennedy Space Center. It's the first scheduled nighttime launch in four years.

CNN's John Zarrella is standing by for us right there at the space center.

Hey, John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, the weather outside is frightful here today at the space center. It was nice this morning, not so this afternoon. The low clouds have moved in. It's gotten windy here. And there's only a 40 percent chance that the shuttle Discovery will get off the ground today.

Not any better tomorrow. In fact, there's a 90 percent chance of no-go conditions tomorrow. Saturday, not much better. So the best opportunity, if they can't launch today, looks like it might be on Sunday.

If they do get off the ground and when they get off the ground, the Discovery and its crew of astronauts will be heading to the International Space Station. That mission, a very, very complex mission. They've practiced extensively for it.

What the astronauts will do on three separate spacewalks is literally to rewire the International Space Station from its temporary wiring configuration to its permanent wiring configuration which will allow them to use the electricity from the new solar arrays that are up on -- on the International space Station.

Now, this, again, as you pointed out, only the first night launch in four years. After the Columbia accident, NASA decided they needed two very clean daylight launches where they could look at the vehicles, make sure that there was no debris coming off of the external tanks. The last two missions have been very clean, so that allowed them to make way for this night launch. Now, they will be able to monitor the vehicle using radar systems, both at sea and on the ground. And these radars will allow them to actually look at and see if any debris comes off of the vehicle.

Now, the commander, Mark Polansky, told us that, yes, it's still not quite the same as going into daylight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK POLANSKY, DISCOVERY COMMANDER: You lose the opportunity to see something that may have come off the tank and may have just missed hitting the vehicle, which would really be something that's not that useful to you on this mission, but would be very useful for the next mission that's going to fly, in case some work needed to be done to fix that tank.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now, launch is scheduled for 9:35 Eastern Time tonight. Another interesting fact about this, five of the seven shuttle crew members are rookies -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Are rookies? All right.

ZARRELLA: Rookies, yes.

PHILLIPS: Does that need to make us -- should we be nervous, or is that OK?

ZARRELLA: No, that's OK. The commander and the other veterans say it's OK, because these are really good rookies.

PHILLIPS: OK. That's good to hear. Well, they definitely have some intense training, that's for sure.

John Zarella, thanks.

ZARRELLA: Yes, indeed.

PHILLIPS: That's true.

The planned nighttime shuttle launch means that this liftoff may be visible far beyond the Florida coast if -- and it's a big "if" -- the weather cooperates.

Let's check in with Reynolds Wolf at the CNN weather center for that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: The shuttle Discovery is scheduled to lift off tonight, 9:35 Eastern, and whenever the launch happens, CNN will be there with live coverage. Our John Zarella standing by.

LEMON: On his last desperate hours, James Kim couldn't know how many people were pulling for him to make it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNDER SHERIFF BRIAN ANDERSON, JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OREGON: At 12:03 hours today, the body of James Kim was located down in the big Windy Creek.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And today there is no shortage of sadness over Kim's death. We'll share some poignant tributes ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Also, they are the last of a generation and the last of the brave souls who survived Pearl Harbor. Coming up in the NEWSROOM, a firsthand account of a day that lives in infamy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, he crawled, climbed and clawed his way down a ravine, over boulders, and through an icy creek, all to save his stranded family.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has more on what one rescuer called James Kim's superhuman effort.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It came on the fifth day in the search for James Kim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We found him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You found him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he put the medic in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, the ship just found him.

GUTIERREZ: Two rescuers were lowered to the ground. It wasn't what they had hoped.

ANDERSON: At 12:03 hours today, the body of James Kim was located down in the Big Windy Creek.

GUTIERREZ: It was almost too much to bear for the man who led the rescue effort. The pilot had spotted his body in the dense woods, just about a mile from the car.

ANDERSON: He was down in that drainage and he was about a half mile from the Rogue River.

GUTIERREZ: The search had been grueling -- 100 teams combed this harsh terrain for five days, searching for clues. First, a pair of gray pants. Then pieces of an Oregon state map -- two gray sweatshirts, a T-shirt, a sock and a girl's blue skirt, all laid out in some sort of a pattern, possibly an effort to help rescuers above. ANDERSON: He was very motivated.

GUTIERREZ: Motivated by love for his family. James, Kati, Penelope and Sabine, just seven months old, had been headed to the Oregon coast on the day after Thanksgiving. Detectives say the Kims had missed a highway turnoff. They pulled out a map and found a back country road to the coast.

The terrain there is treacherous, with sheer cliffs, sudden drops and freezing snow, and the Kims' station wagon got stuck in the snow.

Rescuers say the Kims found creative ways to stay alive. They ate berries and drank milk and snow. What little they had -- rice crackers and baby food -- they gave to their children. Kati Kim breast fed both of them to keep them alive.

ANDERSON: They ran out of gas. They were running the car during the day and at night to keep warm. Then they started to burn their tires.

GUTIERREZ: When he left to search for help, James Kim took a flashlight, two lighters and an Oregon map. But his ingenuity and love for his family were overcome by cold, wind, hunger and time.

ANDERSON: I'm crushed. Most of us have breathed and lived this for days. And, yes, you do take it personally.

GUTIERREZ: Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Merlin, Oregon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: James Kim was an up-and-coming gadget guru at CNET. And while many users in cyberspace clicked on his reports, his co-workers and friends know there was much more to him than his vast knowledge of technology.

CNETnews.com posted some of the personal thoughts today.

Jason Zemlicka writes, "Anyone that knows James will tell you that he would do anything to protect his family. I know him, and he must have believed he was going to get somewhere."

Jason goes on to recall, "He wouldn't even sneak away for a few hours once in a while to play nine holes. James had more important things to tend to. He taught me to be a dedicated husband. He's always putting his wife and kids first."

Co-worker Jasmine France says, James was "... always trying to learn more, always gorging himself on new information. I don't think James slept much."

And even the UPS who delivered to Kim's business got to know him. Felix Magtoto says, "I liked him because he loved his family the way I love my family. Whatever it took, he wanted to give them everything they needed."

James Kim was 35 years old.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Planning a holiday road trip? You may have to shell out more cash than you originally planned.

Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with a little bit of the bad news.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN World headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. Ahead this hour ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAKER: I hope we don't treat this like a fruit salad, I like this, but I don't like that. I like this, but I don't like that. This is a comprehensive strategy designed to deal with this problem we're facing in Iraq, but also designed to deal with other problems that we face in the region. And to restore America's standing and credibility in that part of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The Iraq Study Group dishes up some stern advice to the Senate Armed Services Committee. We're on the story right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: The two main western war fighting leaders, the U.S. president and the British prime minister, they are together today in Washington talking Iraq, talking trade, talking Middle East. It's one of Tony Blair's final trips aboard as prime minister.

Our European political editor Robin Oakley is in London with more for us -- Robin.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hello, Don. Well, it was no very obvious change or sign of change among the two leaders, when they met to discuss the Iraq Study Group report. There was no less commitment, either, to Iraq, and nor was there really any admission of error from the two men. Tony Blair said, it was still in Iraq a noble mission. And President Bush used some other terms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Victory in Iraq's important. It's important for the Iraqi people. It's important for the security of the United States and Great Britain. It's important for the civilized world. We agree that an Iraq that can govern itself, defend itself, and sustain itself and is an ally in the war on terror is a noble goal. (END VIDEO CLIP)

OAKLEY: It was perhaps the understatement of the year, though, when President Bush said the pace of success in Iraq has been slower than he'd expected.

The big news, I suppose, coming out of the meeting of the two men was Tony Blair's commitment that he will go to the Middle East very soon to try to do anything he can, as he put it, to unlock the door and get the Middle East peace initiative going again, particularly between the Israelis and the Palestinians. For months Tony Blair's been telling us here in Britain that that is the key to wider Middle East peace and to settling things in Iraq -- Don.

LEMON: Robin Oakley, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: Straight to Milwaukee, Wisconsin now -- live news conference on that explosion that happened yesterday. Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

TOM BARRETT, MAYOR OF MILWAUKEE: ... 10 people who will start at the Falk compound and work their way into the surrounding neighborhood. The Department of Neighborhood Services remains the point of contact for broken windows and any resident concerns about structural damage.

The preliminary reports from the health department and the state laboratory show that water and ambient air quality remain at stable and safe levels. We will have more information in the coming days as testing is completed. We will be meeting with Falk officials later today to talk about next steps and how the city can continue to assist the company.

I want to thank everyone for their hard work and efficiency over the past 24-plus hours. As we have said, Falk is an important, important citizen of the city of Milwaukee, and we pledge our support to work as closely with them to make sure that they can have their operation up and running at 100 percent as quickly as possible.

And as I did yesterday, I also want to, again, thank the Brewers in Miller Park, Palermos, and all the neighbors in the valley for their tremendous show of support. A number of the area businesses, and particularly the valley businesses have stepped forward and offering space and offering help to Falk and I know that the employees and management of Falk appreciate that very much.

Governor Doyle has just returned from a flight over the site, and I would like to ask him to step forward. Governor. Thank you for being here.

JIM DOYLE, GOVERNOR OF WISCONSIN: Thanks. Well, I join the mayor and all of the citizens, not only in Milwaukee, but in the entire state of Wisconsin. This is a sad moment for us, and one that I know in particular for the families of Curtis Lean and Thomas Latond and Dennis Kuster, Daniel Kuster, that people of Wisconsin are grieving.

I want as well to say to the mayor, the police chief, the fire chief, public works, all of the people involved in the emergency operations center in Milwaukee that from all of the reports that I received, they just did an incredible job. I understand that they had actually trained on a similar kind of situation and that you saw how quickly the response was.

And I congratulate everyone involved and thank them for their incredible work. I also want to make sure that all of the people of this area now that the state of Wisconsin stands ready to be involved in any way we can. We did have people at the site soon after from the Department of Natural Resources to make sure that there were not environmental concerns.

The Department of Transportation immediately worked to check on all of the surrounding bridges to make sure that they were structurally sound. And we will continue to give whatever aid and assistance that we can.

We also look forward, the state of Wisconsin, to working with the city and with Rexnord, as they look at the next steps that are -- that need to be taken here. Again, this is -- I had the opportunity just now, flying over in a helicopter to see it, and it is, to see the force of that explosion is a -- is an awesome sight.

It is one that we are -- all of those people whose lives have been affected by that blast, particularly the families who have lost loved ones and those who have suffered injuries, it is -- it was clearly a -- just looking at the damage in the buildings, you can see the force of that blast. We will continue to work closely with everyone involved.

But, again, I really do want to say to the police and fire, public works, other emergency responders, they really did a great job here. And we're going to work from this point on, as the state, as a city, as a state, to try to help people get their lives back going. To get a business back going and to have people be able to have life go on. I thank -- I thank everybody that has done so much over the last day, under very, very difficult circumstances for what they have done. Thank you.

BARRETT: Thank you, governor. As we mentioned yesterday, the first fire responders were on the scene in three minutes and 30 seconds. That's incredible. And I want to thank the fire chief William Wetland and all the brave men and women who worked for the Milwaukee fire department, well over 100, probably 125 members in the Milwaukee fire department, responded to this call, both firefighters and emergency medical personnel.

And it really was a time when we had all 12 of our units there, all 12 of our emergency units were there. We had private ambulances who responded to the call.

And I'd like fire chief William Wentlandt to step forward and brief you on where we are today with his investigation -- Chief. CHIEF WILLIAM WENTLANDT, MILWAUKEE FIRE DEPARTMENT: Mayor, thank you. I just want to give you a brief summary statement based on the activity of yesterday. As the mayor mentioned, our first unit was on the scene very quickly.

That unit, in fact, we've determined, self-dispatched, which means they identified that there was a hazard in their immediate response area, took it upon themselves to notify our dispatcher, and then responded to the incident, and they were literally on the scene within a few minutes.

In the scope of this incident early on yesterday, a timestamp of just over 16 minutes from the time that first unit acknowledged that there was a trouble in their response area until the fourth alarm assignment resources were requested, 16 minutes of time had elapsed.

During that timeframe, the 16 minutes, a tremendous number of appropriate resources from the fire department were on scene, including resources from paramedics and firefighters to manage not only a hazardous materials incident, concern about a heavy urban team rescue incident, and to manage a mass casualty incident at that scene.

The fire department last evening concluded an operational period that included just monitoring the environment, and today we've moved into what we believe may be our final operational period for this incident.

Today's focus, our goals for today, are very specific. We're continuing to operate under a unified command system with other agencies from the city and other support bureaus at site. We're specifically utilizing our hazardous materials team to continue precautionary monitoring of the environment. So that's ongoing during the day today.

In addition to that, our special operations of the fire department is collaborating with the Milwaukee Health Department to make notice to all the hospitals in the region to help us gather and collate any victims of this event so we have one database of anybody that has been impacted medically.

And, finally, we continue to collaborate with the Falk Corporation on site to provide a liaison for any resources that they may need to help move into a stage of remedy in the situation there.

On behalf of the fire department, I again want to acknowledge our personnel, our men and women of the fire department, our hazardous materials professionals, heavy urban rescue team, our dispatchers, our firefighters and paramedics that performed exemplary yesterday in a very tragic but a very challenging event. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We just heard from the governor and the mayor there in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, talking about this explosion that we witnessed yesterday. Some of the witnesses there describing it like Vietnam, just the feel and the power that it had when that propane tank exploded. Three people died. There were dozens of injuries. The investigation now begins into what happened there at the Falk Corporation and why that explosion happened, and we'll stay on top of it.

LEMON: Not hopeless, but perilously close to hopeless. That's how one of the lead authors of the Iraq Study Group report describes the situation. Former Congressman Lee Hamilton and former Secretary of State James Baker defended their conclusions before the Senate Armed Services Committee today. One of their recommendations dealing with Iran drew a lot of attention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D-CT), ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: Why is there any reasonable belief that the Iranians should do any of the things that you think they should do? And if they do, won't they ask us an unacceptable price, which is to allow them to go ahead...

BAKER: Develop the nukes?

LIEBERMAN: Exactly.

BAKER: Senator, thank you. That's a very good question, and let me answer it this way. First of all, we specifically exclude any linkage to the nuclear proliferation issue. We say that should not be taken up in any discussion we might have with Iran.

You're saying why should we approach them? There are two reasons, in my opinion. One, we did so in Afghanistan, and guess what? They helped us. Now, you're quite right. They probably would much prefer to see us stay bogged down in Iraq.

And -- but approaching them in the context, Senator, of pulling together all of Iraq's neighbors to put the finger on each one of them and say, you can do this, you can do that, and you do this, and they can all do a better job of not stirring, fomenting trouble, or they can do a better job of trying to assist. Some of them are actually trying to assist.

But if we ask Iran to come and they say no -- we and the Iraqi government -- and they say no, then we will hold them up to public scrutiny as the rejectionist state that they have proven to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: While some of the group's proposals were challenged, overall most senators endorsed the report and its recommendations. Let's head straight to the newsroom, Carol Lin working on a breaking story for us.

What do you have for us, Carol?

LIN: Don, the picture pretty much speaks for itself.

This is a not-so-special delivery, a FedEx truck into a house in suburban Georgia. This is in Henry County. The picture is coming to us live -- actually, new video just in from our affiliate WSB.

We have no idea yet how this happened but, clearly, this was not the way it was meant to be. We have not seen any ambulances or people out. Actually, just some of those vehicles are the first that we've actually seen on the scene.

But, Don, there you have it, the picture out of Henry County.

LEMON: Wow, carol.

LIN: Yes.

LEMON: And you know what -- yes, we hope everybody's OK, but amazing pictures there. We'll check back in to see what's going on. Thank you, Carol.

PHILLIPS: Well, coming up in the NEWSROOM, a firsthand account of a day that lives in infamy as CNN remembers Pearl Harbor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Flags at half-staff on the Capitol building on this 65th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. You know, a lifetime later, their ranks steadily dwindling, survivors are saying that this is the final time they'll gather on the shores of Pearl Harbor.

It was 65 years ago this day that Japan attacked from the air, killing nearly 2,400 Americans and destroying or heavily damaging 21 American warships, and drawing the country into World War II. It was a day that defined an era.

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TOM BROKAW, AUTHOR, "THE GREATEST GENERATION": It was, for one generation in particular, the end of innocence and the beginning of greatness -- your generation, the generation that had come of age in the Great Depression, when life in our country was about sacrifice and deprivation, about lost jobs and dried-up farms, without dreams and few expectations beyond what the next day may bring. That was also a time, however, of common purpose and sharing. Survival, after all, depended on that. Those were qualities that proved to be critical when war came to our shores.

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PHILLIPS: Survivors of the attacks gather every five years. Given their age, a number in Sundance today -- are in attendance today, rather, say this year's gathering will probably be their last.

(FOOTAGE OF PEARL HARBOR ATTACKS, DECEMBER 7, 1941)

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BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. The votes are in for music's most prestigious awards. Coming up, the new Grammy nominees. And I'm going to tell you if the Dixie Chicks' latest controversial offering made the cut.

All when CNN NEWSROOM returns.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Putting the power in your hands, YouTube kicks off a revolution as millions of people share videos on the web. It's the dawn of a new way to communicate, which wins YouTube a nomination as "Time Magazine's" person of the year.

SEAN GREGORY, "TIME" WRITER/REPORTER: It's interesting. It's fun, but, you know, that specific technology, not to take anything away, but it's a pretty simple technology.

JOSH TYRANGIEL, "TIME" WRITER/REPORTER: There are people who would see YouTube user-generated content as frivolous compared to the hard realities of the world, people dying in Iraq, people starving in Africa, but the thing about YouTube is that is also shows you that. You know, so many of the interesting YouTube videos have been from American soldiers in Iraq.

And you actually get to connect with them in a way that the nightly news never shows you, that newspapers can't convey in the same emotional level. So, frivolous within a moral calculus, maybe. But there's no limit to the amount of things YouTube can show you.

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LEMON: Low sales, low turn-out, but still lots of love from the music industry. Country's most controversial trio got five Grammy nods today.

CNN entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson joins me from Los Angeles.

Brooke, the Dixie Chicks, snubbed by country stations and by concert-goers, still, five nominations. Is that a surprise?

ANDERSON: Five nominations, a bit of a surprise, I will say, Don. You know, getting a lot of recognition. And for the first time, as you said, you know, it's positive recognition for the first time in a long time. They -- the controversy has followed the Dixie Chicks since Natalie Maines' harsh criticism of President Bush a few years ago.

After that, a lot of country music stations decided not to play their music. Many fans were calling them unpatriotic, but the Recording Academy did embrace the Dixie Chicks, five nominations, including one in the most coveted category, Album of the Year for their controversial disc, "Taking the Long Way". So the Dixie Chicks could be feeling a bit of vindication today, a bit of vindication.

And right now, let's take a look at some of the other top nominees, including the very lovely R&B diva, Mary J. Blige. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mary J. Blige.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mary J. Blige.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mary J. Blige.

ANDERSON (voice-over): It may have sounded like a broken record, but when nominees for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards were announced, it was Mary J. Blige's latest CD, "The Breakthrough," that Grammy voters couldn't be without.

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ANDERSON: The R&B star led the pack with eight nominations in all, including Best R&B Album and Record of the Year for "Be Without You".

BLIGE: It's been an amazing year. I mean, we put a lot of work into it and we're getting the results the of the work that we put into it. And my fans are happy. I'm happy.

ANDERSON: The Red Hot Chili Peppers added a little rock flavor to the morning, picking up six nominations, including Album of the Year for "Stadium Arcadium".

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ANDERSON: They'll compete against Justin Timberlake's "Future Sex Love Sounds", Gnarls Barkley's "St. Elsewhere", John Mayer's "Continuum" and the Dixie Chicks.

"Taking the Long Way" paid off for the once-shunned trio. Their unapologetic single "Not Ready to Make Nice" earned a bid for song of the year, giving the group five mentions in all, making them the most nominated country contenders.

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ANDERSON: James Blunt's beautiful voice putting him in the running for best new artist, alongside R&B singer Chris Brown, British singer-songwriter Imogen Heap, country siren Carrie Underwood and neo- soul singer Corrine Bailey Rae.

CORRINE BAILEY RAE, SINGER: I wasn't really expecting anything. You know, I came with no preconceptions. And honestly, you hope and we're being invited, I guess, but I didn't realize that I would get any nominations, so it's brilliant.

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ANDERSON: So, put your records on, kick back and see who takes home a Grammy on Sunday, February 11.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ANDERSON: And, Don, I want to mention that with the Dixie Chicks, you know, album sales did not play a part in this. Poor concert ticket sales did not play a part in this. The Recording Academy is made up of artists, producers, engineers. They're the ones that vote for the Grammys. So it's purely a peer recognition-type honor. That's who recognized the Dixie Chicks, not the fans, not the people who have been upset with them for a few years now.

Back to you.

LEMON: All right.

Brooke Anderson.

And, also we'll be watching tonight. Thank you for that.

PHILLIPS: It's ready, it's set, but will it go? At this point it's all up to the weather. We'll counting down to a live update of shuttle Discovery, next from the CNN NEWSROOM.

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