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Car Teeters on Colorado Bridge Over L.A. River; The Bush Presidency

Aired December 22, 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: Good morning everyone, you're with CNN, you're informed. I'm Tony Harris.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM on this Friday, December 22nd. Here's what's on the rundown. Denver blows off the blizzard. Machines moving mountains of snow hoping to get the airport and holiday travelers moving again.

HARRIS: "Discovery" heading home for the holidays but weather keeping the shuttle's landing sites up in the air.

WHITFIELD: And war is hell and for some, home can be too. How Iraq is turning some young fighters into monsters. Sarah's story in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: At the top this morning, Denver, just about fed up from digging out. Planes could start flying at the city's airport later today. Not soon enough for holiday travelers stranded by this week's big blizzard. Pattie Logan in Denver for us. Pattie good morning again.

PATTIE LOGAN: Good morning. The news here is the sun. If it looks like I'm squinting, we're getting full sunlight here today and hopefully that will help begin the big melt off. We have quite a lot of traffic in downtown Denver now as you can see the plows are still out though, the roads are icy and hard packed. But they're actually starting to slush up a tiny bit where there are bare spots in the pavement. I don't know if can you hear me at all or not but we have an army of plow trucks coming through here. So that is great news, we have people still digging out down the road here. Five or six guys over there with shovels. So the shovelers are out in force and the snow blowers as well. They've been out at Mile High Stadium here where the Denver Broncos will be playing this weekend, so that was quite a job and continues to be quite a job to get the stadium ready for this Sunday. So little by little, all the little pieces of getting back to normal life here in Denver are happening downtown. Businesses are open, shops are open, highways are open. And we can report something we don't always get to report in a devastating event like this, that there have been no fatalities attached to this storm as of yet. So that's incredibly good news.

HARRIS: That is good news. Hey Pattie, how about the mail service? Is mail being delivered today?

LOGAN: Well, for two days it wasn't. And they are going to get back at it today. They are asking residents to dig out their mailboxes so that the mail carriers can actually drop something off. The side streets are still very rough traveling. So it's going to be a little bit hard for some of those trucks to get in. They're going to do the best they can. And they are going to work on Sunday. They have decided to add an extra day to make sure people get their Christmas packages.

HARRIS: Hey, great to see you without the hat on.

LOGAN: For once.

HARRIS: Not a great look, that hat thing. Great to see you.

LOGAN: Thanks.

HARRIS: Just want to remind you, we moved into the holiday squeeze back mode. You've seen this before over the Thanksgiving holiday, where we sort of squeezed that screen for you there and on the right there you will see all kinds of travel information, at airports around the country and what kinds of delays, maybe those airports are experiencing right now at the bottom of the screen there. The weather conditions right now in big cities across the country. So take a look at that throughout the course of the day and get the latest travel update and information right here from CNN, right here in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk a little bit more specifically about how that travel is going or not going at Denver International Airport. That's where we find CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano. You're there at the airport?

HARRIS: He made it.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: As the sun comes up off the eastern horizon, clear skies today but they continue to dig out. Not only in Denver, but now the story shifts to the Denver Airport, where up to 5,000 people were stranded when this blizzard rolled in. It's estimated 1,000 to 1,500 people have been staying here, sleeping here and living here since the storm rolled in. And now, today, it may very well be their chance to get out. Still scheduled to open up at noon local time. Two of the six runways and then maybe a third one later on tonight. So limited capability here but any capability to get airplanes off the ground. And these people who are trying to get home for the holidays, is certainly a welcome relief. The doors opened at 4:00 a.m. local time for the ticket agents to get these people rebooked onto flights that were canceled the past couple of days. And ever since then, the lines have been lengthening here at the United terminal. That's the latest from the Denver International Airport, now back to you.

WHITFIELD: Well folks can't wait to get moving there at the international airport.

HARRIS: That's for sure.

WHITFIELD: We know that they are clearing the runways, that's a good sign. And it sure is sunny and pretty.

HARRIS: It is pretty.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: In other news this morning, an alleged serial killer is charged in England. Police accuse trucker Steven Wright in the murders of five prostitutes. Reporter Emma Murphy has new images of the suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMMA MURPHY, ITV NEWS (voice-over): The first moving pictures of Steve Wright, the 48-year-old from Ipswich accused of the murder of five young women. The images were filmed at a family wedding two years ago. The happy guests from that day, now in custody after a month of fear that few in his hometown Ipswich will ever forget. This morning I met with Steve Wright's stepmother, who told me of the family's shock at the week's events. Val Wright received no payment for her interview.

What's this week been like for you all?

VAL WRIGHT, STEPMOTHER OF SUSPECT: Very, very difficult. I don't know, I just don't know what to think anymore. I don't.

MURPHY: And what are your feelings now?

WRIGHT: I felt for the families. They all have families, mothers, fathers, sisters, haven't they? Just devastated for their families and then us, it's just unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable.

MURPHY: The family has had no contact with Mr. Wright since his arrest. They must now wait until January before his next court appearance. Emma Murphy, ITV News, Ipswich.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And marines in the heat of battle, now in a legal fight over civilian deaths in Iraq. Eight marines now charged in the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians, including women and children in Haditha. The marines accused of going on a rampage after a roadside bomb killed one of their own. Four face murder charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. STEWART NAVARRE, U.S. MARINE CORPS.: Based on the findings of the investigations, various charges have been referred against four marines relating to the deaths of the Iraqi civilians on 19 November 2005. Also, charges have been preferred against four marines for failure to properly report and/or investigate the deaths of the Iraqi civilians. These charges include murder, dereliction of duty, false official statement and obstruction of justice.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Defense attorneys say the marines were doing what they were trained to do. They say they responded to a perceived threat with legitimate force.

HARRIS: A defiant Iran, a diplomatic showdown, will the U.N. vote today on sanctions over Iran's nuclear program. The latest coming up in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And the fountain of youth found in a bottle of red wine perhaps? That story in the NEWSROOM.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Betty Nguyen. We're waiting on a verdict any moment now in the case of an Ohio couple who kept 11 special needs children in cages. Stay tuned for the verdict. You're in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And CNN tonight, the challenges, struggles and revolution that became Christianity. CNN Presents "After Jesus, the First Christians." Don't miss it, that's tonight at 10:00.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Let's check in one more time with Betty Nguyen for a story we are waiting to develop.

NGUYEN: Yes, we've been watching the courtroom there and the accused couple have arrived back into the courtroom. This is the fourth day of deliberations. To give you a little history here, here's a shot of the couple right there. They're accused of keeping 11 special needs kids in cages. And they face a number of charges here. Eight felony counts of child endangering, eight misdemeanor counts of child endangering and eight misdemeanor counts of child abuse. Now Fred, all of this started back when a social worker visited the home because she got a report that these children were being kept in red and blue kennel-like boxes. And during the trial, that social worker likened this to slavery. Again, 11special needs kids, some of them facing fetal alcohol syndrome and they range in age from 11 to 14 years old. There's another look right there, just seconds ago in the courtroom. The jury's been deliberating for four days now. We're expecting to hear a verdict any minute. And of course, when we do hear more on this, we'll bring it straight to you.

WHITFIELD: And if found guilty --

NGUYEN: Yeah, if found guilty, the couple faces one to five years in prison and then a maximum fine of $10,000 for each felony count. And to remind you, there are eight felony counts of child endangerment. So it could be quite a fine. And then at least one to five years in prison if convicted. And then we'll find out what that verdict is any minute now.

WHITFIELD: All right, and again, watching live pictures in the courtroom as they assemble before we do indeed hear that verdict. Betty Nguyen, thanks so much.

NGUYEN: Sure. HARRIS: In today's "Daily Dose," living longer and losing weight without dieting or exercise? The key to a fantasy world found in a simple glass of red wine. Here's CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You know how some people can eat anything they want and not gain an ounce? You know, the kind of people you hate? Well, scientists have made it so this mouse, the one on the right can do just that. He eats a ton of fatty food by mouse standards and he hasn't gotten fat like his friends on the left. What's the secret? This is. It's a little something called resveratrol, a chemical that occurs naturally in red wine in the grape skin. Though they don't know exactly how it works, scientists think it boosts metabolism. Now this isn't the first good news we've heard about the health benefits of red wine, other studies have shown it's good for the heart, possibly by reducing blood clots. But this is different. This new study shows that red wine might also have the power to make you lose weight and live longer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This may be the best thing since sliced bread, we just don't know yet.

COHEN: Consider this -- these mice weighed 30 percent less than other mice, could run double the distance and in human terms, lived five to ten years longer than mice who didn't take resveratrol.

What a deal, that's great for him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, for that mouse obviously, not only is he thinner but he's living longer. So that's pretty exciting for that mouse.

COHEN: He's loving life.

COHEN: So how much red wine would you have to drink to get the same effect? Probably hundreds, maybe 1,000 glasses.

All at one time, you'd have to sit there and drink hundreds of glasses of red wine.

DR. BRENT BAUER, MAYO CLINIC: Yeah, every day.

COHEN: That's not very practical.

BAUER: No, exactly.

COHEN: And you'd need hundreds of the resveratrol tablets found in health food stores. That's why Dr. Kristoff Westfall in his lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts are trying to come up with a super resveratrol. Not everyone is sure it will work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My first thought was, this is great news is you're a mouse.

COHEN: The scientists themselves are the first to say, this research is at the infant stages. Have you found the fountain of youth?

BAUER: No, we have definitely not found the fountain of youth.

COHEN: But they could be close. The lab is trying resveratrol and other compounds out in humans for weight loss and long life. They expect study results next year. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And quickly let's get you back to Betty Nguyen in the newsroom, Betty?

NGUYEN: The jury has arrived back in the courtroom. There it looks like they are handing the verdict off to the judge. This is the case of an Ohio couple accused of keeping their 11 special needs children in cages. Let's take a listen to what the judge is about to say about the verdict after four days of deliberation. It looks like he's looking through some papers right now. Let me give you a little bit of background, this couple, Sharon and Michael Gravelle -- they face one to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000 in each felony account. I believe the judge has started speaking. Let's listen in.

JUDGE: I'm not going to ask the defendants to stand, they may be seated for the receiving of the verdicts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is case number CRI-2006-0152. The indictment for count one, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. For the indictment for count two, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. For the indictment on count three, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. The indictment for count four, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count five, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count six, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count seven, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count eight, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Count nine, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 10, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 11, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 12, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 13, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 14, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 15, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 16, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Count 17, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 18, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 19, we the defendant find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 20, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 21, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 22, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 23, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 24, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. All 24 verdicts were signed by all 12 jurors. Each verdict was signed by all 12 jurors.

In the case of the state of Ohio versus Sharon Gravelle, case number CRI-2006-0153. Indictment for count one, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count two, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count three, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count four, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count five, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count six, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count seven, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count eight, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count nine, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Count 10, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 11, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 12, we the jury find the defendant of guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 13, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 14, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 15, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 16, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child abuse, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Count 17, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 18, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 19, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 20, we the jury find the defendant guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 21, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 22, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree. Count 23, we the jury find the defendant not guilty of child endangering, a felony of the third degree.

NGUYEN: So we've been listening as the judge in Norwalk, Ohio is reading the verdict in the case of a couple accused of keeping their 11 special needs children in cages. No longer just accused, in fact, they are found guilty in a number of these counts. We've been listening to all of them being read out. They include child endangering which is a felony, also child abuse, which is a misdemeanor. And another child endangering which is a misdemeanor. So we're waiting to hear exactly how this totals up, what kind of a prison sentence it will be, what kind of fine it will be. And as soon as we hear that, of course, we'll bring it straight to you.

HARRIS: Ok, Betty, appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's take you out to Los Angeles right now. Some dramatic pictures just into CNN of a river rescue as you can see. Let's see if we can make the best that we can of this scene and describe it to you. L.A. Fire responding to the scene of a bad accident, obviously. The reporting that we have is that one car ended up on the edge of the Colorado Bridge over the Los Angeles River and that, Fred, the other car involved in this, reportedly went the into the river. And Deidre let me know if we can quick turn the pictures of the driver of the car that apparently went over the bridge and into the river being lifted out of that vehicle and being lifted to safety. You can see that driver now on a gurney and being put into an ambulance to be taken to a local hospital. But here are the pictures from just moments ago of the rescue actually happening of, we believe the driver -- don't know this for sure, of the vehicle.

WHITFIELD: Actually one of two people who were in the river. So not really sure if this is the driver, but we know that it's one of the two victims that reportedly got in the river and this is the lift that took place moments ago.

HARRIS: Look at this.

WHITFIELD: Actually a good sign, because just as we were bringing you the live picture, we were seeing that that person who was being lifted there was on a gurney where all of the emergency workers were around attending to that person. Live pictures right now. And that person taken into an ambulance presumably.

HARRIS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And hopefully getting additional care. We still don't know what's taking place with that second reported victim however in the river.

HARRIS: Ok, so we will continue to watch this and we will, get you additional information on what might have happened here. But clearly, two vehicles apparently involved in this accident, one of the vehicles obviously into the river. And you saw the rescue of one of the occupants of that car that ended up in the river. That person being taken here momentarily to a hospital for treatment. We will continue to update the situation. Fred, what do you see here?

WHITFIELD: Now you can see on the left side of your screen.

HARRIS: Yes, the other vehicle.

WHITFIELD: You can see that other vehicle and how it's kind of hanging there on that bridge which is remarkable.

HARRIS: Wow.

WHITFIELD: We don't know anything about the person or persons who may have been in that vehicle.

HARRIS: So let's sort of just take a moment here for you if we can and just sort of give you a look at this scene. You see fire and rescue on the scene here, a number of fire personnel working this scene, the Colorado Bridge over the Los Angeles River. These pictures provided to us by one of our affiliates in Los Angeles. Thank you very much KTTV.

WHITFIELD: In Glendale.

HARRIS: This is in Glendale. And you see the car, the vehicle, as Fred just mentioned, precariously, through that restraining wall as Fred mentioned, through the restraining wall, fence there. Another vehicle, we understand, in the water of the river. And just moments ago -- And, Dedra (ph), re-rack the tape. Let's show everyone that river rescue again of firefighters doing what they do so well.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's remarkable.

HARRIS: Of actually effecting that rescue and bringing that one occupant -- we understand two occupants in the vehicle?

WHITFIELD: Well, we understand two people in the river.

HARRIS: In the river.

WHITFIELD: And one person of those two has been rescued. We saw that right there, being lifted there to the top of the bridge, that they could tend to that person immediately before making sure they head to medical care at a nearby hospital.

HARRIS: Wow. All right, so back to the live pictures now?

Once again, the great work that firefighters do, and that's the scene right now. We will continue to get you additional information on this and tell a more complete story as soon as we have all the information available to us. That is the scene, Glendale, California right now, our pictures again from KTTV.

WHITFIELD: Now there's a closer view of that vehicle as it hangs there in the balance. Look, you can see the air bag did...

HARRIS: Did deploy, that's for sure.

WHITFIELD: Did do what it's supposed to do. It's unclear how many people in that vehicle. No, no, no a third vehicle may have been involved in this collision. But we don't know exactly what the circumstances were about, you know, how this took place, how one vehicle went over the bridge. How the other just is hanging there. And we see now the third vehicle that may have been impacted in some way.

HARRIS: So we'll continue to follow this.

WHITFIELD: Bottom line, bad chain reaction.

HARRIS: And get you more information.

We may have someone on the line here shortly who can help us sort of clarify some of this. You make a good point, Fred, because -- Brian Ballton, I believe is on the phone with us.

Brian, are you there? Brian, are you with us?

All right, we don't have him yet. But we're trying to get Brian Ballton on the phone.

WHITFIELD: There's the emergency services vehicle taking that one injured passenger to a nearby facility to get some close treatment. We're hoping to get some information about the rescue and where it is right now. Brian Ballton on the line with us now. What do you know, Brian?

BRIAN BALLTON, L.A., L.A. CITY FIRE SPOKESMAN: Good morning, Brian Ballton here, spokesman for the Los Angeles City Fire Department.

Yes, what you just saw was an ambulance rushing a critical victim to the awaiting hospital. At 7:55 Pacific Time, the Los Angeles Fire Department received a call for a traffic accident. What we had was some conflicting information initially. But you have seen a vehicle hanging precariously over the edge of what we call the Colorado Bridge. This vehicle had three occupants. Two occupants, we're told, were ejected out of the vehicle. The first occupant that you saw was in critical condition. We did an immediate stabilization. Firefighters made access to that patient in the L.A. River. Fortunately the level of the river today is very low, so that did not complicate the operation.

Now the victim that was ejected into the river, I'm told, is in critical condition. The Los Angelese Fire Department quickly arrived within 10 minutes, effected the ICS system, and that is a coordinated operation where we get to the victim, stabilize the victim quickly and safely, and we use our ladder truck to hoist this victim to the awaiting fire department paramedics. Paramedics were in the wash, assessing the patient. It's about a 50-foot fall.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

HARRIS: Wow.

BALLTON: I don't know the specifics of the accident, but what I do know is that there is also a patient in that vehicle. The fire department quickly stabilized that vehicle, because that also is a potential hazard, not only the patient that was still in the vehicle, but the firefighters down below.

WHITFIELD: OK, so patient in the vehicle that has taken the plunge into the water?

BALLTON: We had a total of two victims that we know that were in that vehicle. One of the patients were ejected out of the vehicle, 50-foot plunge into the L.A. River.

WHITFIELD: I got you.

BALLTON: OK, the other patient remained in the vehicle. Paramedics were simultaneously stabilizing both patients.

Now, there is a report, or a concern, that there may be a third victim. So what we have is a search group for the fire department that is attempting to determine if we have a third victim. But we know we have two victims. We don't know the specifics of the accident. But if you see that vehicle, you'll see there's quite a bit of damage to the side of the vehicle. So it's quite an impact.

HARRIS: Well, Brian, I'm curious about this notion of a third victim. So if there is a third victim, the third victim is certainly not in the immediate area of the crash. So the thought then might be that the third victim was also ejected?

BALLTON: That is the concern. The first fire department resources that arrived on scene immediately triaged the incident. They started at the vehicle that was involved, determined there was one patient in the vehicle and looked at the status of the windshield and windows of the vehicle and determined that someone, or some individuals, exited the vehicle via a door or window. They looked down into the wash, they were able to identify a patient and they started setting up to get down in the wash to safely and quickly assess the patient. They almost split their resources, committing some of the resources to vehicle stabilization, the immediate resources into the L.A. River to effect the rescue. And some of the resources to safely comfort and stabilize that victim that remained in the vehicle.

Now, we've been getting some conflicting information as to the number of victims. We know for a fact we have two victims. There have been some reports that there maybe a third, so we're setting up a perimeter search in that general area of the bridge to rule out or confirm is there's a third victim.

WHITFIELD: How wide would that perimeter be? And then how would you carry out that kind of search?

BALLTON: I have not heard from the incident, the angle or the area that the perimeter search is involving. I'm not familiar with that exact terrain. But what they'll do is they'll take into consideration the speed that the LAPD may have estimated that vehicle was traveling, the amount of damage. and then set out a perimeter where firefighters go out in a round area, in that general area. HARRIS: Hey, Brian, could you -- you don't know it yet, and we certainly don't know it, sitting here -- but could you have another victim in the river?

BALLTON: That is a distinct possibility, sir. And that's why in the firefighters are going in a perimeter fashion to either confirm or rule that out. They were immediately confronted with two victims, one in the automobile and one in the river that they could see and get to.

Stand by. May have more information coming in. One second.

HARRIS: All right. We'll just sort of recap this, and, Brian, jump back in when you have that new information. So, Fred, we have a situation where this vehicle, that we see sort of hanging precariously...

BALLTON: In fact, there is a third victim.

WHITFIELD: There is. What gives you that assurance? What are you hearing?

BALLTON: Well, the firefighters are making their way throughout that entire area where the impact of the accident occurred. They're methodically going through both brush area and riverbed area, inch by inch, literally.

HARRIS: Third victim where?

BALLTON: There is -- there was an initial report that there may have been three occupants, but that was not confirmed either at the time of the 911 call or upon the arrival of the first-in firefighters.

HARRIS: Brian, let me stop you and just sort of direct you a little bit -- so you're confirming to us now there is a third victim, correct?

BALLTON: I'm confirming to you, sir, that we have two victims, and there is a report that there may have been three occupants. So we are safely and methodically combing that area to either determine that there is in fact a victim and initiate treatment, or rule out that there was not a third occupant.

What we do know is that one person for sure was ejected from the vehicle. We have stabilized, hoisted that victim to safety. That patient is on the way or at the hospital. Good chance they're there by now. They began transport approximately 15 minutes ago.

The second patient, we know, is in the vehicle. We stabilized that patient and are preparing for transport, and because there was a thought, a report, a concern, that there may have been three victims, we're in the search-and-rescue phase of this operation to either rule in or rule out that there's a third victim. I can't confirm that.

WHITFIELD: And when you talk about, Brian, that third victim, or at least the search concentrating on that brush area, we're talking, as we're looking at these taped pictures, that brush-type area that we're seeing is on the other side of that bridge -- railing. So we're talking about also encompassing down below, the river, the brush area along the river?

BALLTON: Absolutely. Absolutely. You can tell by the position of that vehicle and the fact that one occupant was down in the riverbed, you can get a center point, if you will. If you draw a circle on a piece of paper and put a dot in the middle, that victim that they were able to quickly identify, ascertain, treat and transport, that victim would be the center radius of a search-and- rescue operation.

Now again, this was just a report that there may have been a third victim. So we're going to search that area inch by inch.

HARRIS: And Brian, help me here. The person in the car that we see hanging precariously on this bridge, has that person been extricated from the vehicle and taken to a local hospital?

BALLTON: Stand by. I may be getting some more information.

HARRIS: OK, Brian is doing a terrific job of sort of giving us the lay of the land on this rescue that's going on right now. And I just want to hang on just a bit longer as we sort of reset this for you. We still need to determine if anyone was injured in the truck. We haven't done that yet.

(CROSSTALK)

BALLTON: I'm listening to some of the radio traffic, and so far, we have not determined 100 percent that there was a third occupant, but we are continuing the search.

What we're doing now, we have helicopter response. We have two fire department helicopters doing an aerial of this area.

HARRIS: OK. Well, Brian, we appreciate your time this morning. We know you have your hands full right now. If you can, if you get some additional information, we will certainly be in touch with you as we continue to follow this story. But thank you for all of your information this morning on this.

Man, what a story so far.

BALLTON: Frightening situation. We are going to continue to monitor exactly what's taking place with the additional search and the condition of the two people they are able to treat thus far.

HARRIS: And still ahead in the NEWSROOM, future views on a current crisis. The Iraq War and the Bush legacy, a presidential historian weighs in. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Well, he still has one-fourth of his presidency ahead of him, but already there's talk about how history will judge President Bush. Specifically how will the war in Iraq shape opinions about his presidency?

Joining us from Seattle, presidential historian Richard Shenkman. We love having him on the program. He is also an associate professor at George Mason University. Richard, good morning to you.

RICHARD SHENKMAN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Good morning to you.

HARRIS: Well, President Bush is, what, 60 years old now and, what, six years -- more than six year into his presidency. I wonder if he is really thinking about his legacy at this point. Here is he from just a couple of days ago at his year-end press conference answering the legacy question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Everybody is trying to write the history of this administration before it's over. I'm reading about George Washington still. My attitude is, if they're still analyzing number one, 43 ought not to worry about it and just do what he thinks is right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Richard, what do you think? He won't admit it, but is he somewhere, in some moments, thinking about his legacy?

SHENKMAN: Well, Bush is famously saying, they're not very introspective and they're kind of men of action. They want to just render judgments on the spot. But he's got to be thinking about it. He knows that he bet his presidency on Iraq and at the moment, it doesn't look like a good bet.

What he's got going for him is that the verdicts of history do change. Contemporaries render their verdict and then historians come in like a court of appeals and they change.

If you look at the set of the ten presidents between Franklin Roosevelt and the first President Bush, seven of those ten had judgments rendered at the time that they left office that have turned out in retrospection to have been different from what historians say. He has a little bit of a hope that historians will come to some different judgment than his contemporaries have.

HARRIS: So, the idea of ultimate vindication is not unique with this president, I think I hear you saying.

SHENKMAN: All presidents, particularly, look, the presidents who are low in the polls when they leave office, they're all hoping the verdict of history is going to be a lot sweeter. In some cases, that's the case.

HARRIS: Yes.

SHENKMAN: In the cases of Harry Truman, for instance, and Dwight Eisenhower, for instance and even Lyndon Johnson, the verdict of history has tended to be a lot higher than the contemporary's version. But Jimmy Carter was regarded as kind of a failed president when he left office -- here we are thirty years later -- he's still regarded that way.

HARRIS: Well, let me ask you this? What are the pillars, the pillars of the Bush Administration? I think of 9/11 and that post- 9/11 period, Iraq, Katrina, maybe Guantanamo Bay. Isn't the president's legacy at least at this point, pretty much framed out?

SHENKMAN: Well, presidents, you know, are usually remembered for just two or three things. If they're lucky, if they're even remembered at all. This president is going to be remembered for just those things you just cited and particularly Iraq because there you have the loss of American life and treasure -- $400 billion and counting.

HARRIS: Yes.

SHENKMAN: And if, you know, 20 years from now it turns out that the Iraq war led to a Democratic Iraq, that would lead to one verdict on Bush's presidency. If it turns out that it led to multiple wars, wars with Iran, wars with Saudi Arabia getting involved on behalf of the Sunnis in Iraq, well, then that will be a compounding the judgment of contemporaries that this was a misguided effort.

HARRIS: Hey Richard, as you hear the White House work through, go through all of this process in first floating the idea of a surge of troops into Iraq, more than a few analysts have been surprised at seeing the deliberative process play out publicly. Listen to David Gergen here. Let me get your view of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: This is the longest drawn out process of making military decisions I can remember, in the modern presidency. With a cascade of leaks and everything else, which makes it look like, do they really know what they're doing?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So, Richard, you have been surprised to see the kind of sausage-making process of ...

SHENKMAN: Yes.

HARRIS: Yes, have you been surprised?

SHENKMAN: Look, this kind of process goes on usually during a presidency, inside, but the public doesn't hear about it. Inside there are all kinds of deliberations. There are conflicts that are played out. But the public doesn't hear about it.

Historians, we finally read about it in the documents and that's why we change our minds about what these presidents, how they ought to be evaluated. But in this case, this reminds me very much of Jimmy Carter when his presidency began unraveling in 1979 after the fifth oil price increase from OPEC. And if you remember, he goes up to the mountaintop at Camp David. He starts having all these people come to him, giving him advice about what he ought to do about the energy crisis. And then he comes down, gives a speech.

The public reaction was enthusiastic, to the so-called malaise speech, but then immediately after, five members of the cabinet were forced out. And all of a sudden, the public recoiled. It seemed like at the center there was no center. And that's a little bit of where President Bush is now. And that's dangerous for a president.

HARRIS: Here's the great thing about having you, Richard. You tell us straight-forwardly, pay attention to history. And because we don't do as good a job of paying attention to the past as we should, it ends up being repeated time and time again. Richard Shenkman, great to see you as always. Thanks for your time this morning.

SHENKMAN: All right. Thank you.

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HARRIS: You are back in the NEWSROOM. An hour from now, T.J. Holmes here with a preview.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you guys. We of course, know what they're doing in Denver right there. Everybody is sitting around like this.

HARRIS: That's the truth.

WHITFIELD: Get me out of here.

HOLMES: Please, get me out of here.

Of course, three days now grounded flights, are they ready to go? In Denver, thousand of stranded passengers, desperate to see it happen but when the service gets going, who gets out first? A lot of people would latch onto a wing right now just to get out of that place. We'll talk about that.

Plus you probably shared Christmas with her family dozens of times even if you don't even celebrate Christmas yourself. This was 60 years ago. She was Zu Zu Bailey. You all remember this?

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: Well, since then, a lot of people do, of course. Karolyn Grimes has faced many personal losses, but she still thinks it's a wonderful life. We will talk to her live and keep you up to date, of course, on all the day's top stories. NEWSROOM gets started 1:00 guys.

WHITFIELD: We're there. Thanks so much.

All right. Well "YOUR WORLD TODAY" starts moments from now -- in seconds actually.

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