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Change Over of Commanders in Iraq; Democrats Draw Line in Sand on Iraq, Begin Enacting Agenda; Family Questions Suicide Ruling for Mayor-Elect

Aired January 05, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Hello everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world news headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: And I'm Don Lemon.

PHILLIPS: A rescue after day adrift at sea. The harrowing tale of American Ken Barnes. CNN's Chris Lawrence is with his family.

LEMON: The Bush security shuffle. Who's in and who's out in the vital intelligence role?

PHILLIPS: Severe weather on the move in the southeast. CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano live from the weather center. Reynolds Wolf out in the thick of it.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And for the very latest on that severe weather, let's check in with CNN's Rob Marciano in the severe weather center.

Rob, what do you have for us?

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Rob Marciano, we'll check back. Thank you.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You bet.

PHILLIPS: While, he rethinks his position in Iraq, President Bush is rethinking some other positions, too. Today, he nominated retired Admiral Mike McConnell, who's also a former head of the National Security Agency, to be director of national intelligence. McConnell would replace John Negroponte, whom the president is nominating for deputy secretary of state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN NEGROPONTE, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: Whether in Baghdad, Kabul, Kosovo or elsewhere, these dedicated professionals are on the front line of advancing America's commitment to freedom. It will be a great privilege for me to come home to the department where I began my career and rejoin a community of colleagues whose work is so important and of whom the nation is so justly proud.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: The moves come as part of the White House effort to chart a new direction in Iraq and reshape the administration's national security strategy.

LEMON: Big changes in the military brass, too. On the way out, General John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, and General George Casey, chief commander in Iraq. On the way in, that's a big question.

Let's go to CNN's Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon for the answers on that.

Hi, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

What's happening here is basically the president wants to announce this new strategy in Iraq next week, and he wants to start out with a clean state. So that's what he's doing.

Replacing General Abizaid as the top commander in the Middle East will be Admiral William Fallon. Admiral, that's the key word here. He's a surprise choice, a Navy man. He'll be the first Navy officer to serve as the head of the Central Command. Right now, he is the top military officer in the Pacific.

The second change, General George Casey, currently the commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, will be replaced by Army -- Army Lieutenant General David Petraeus.

Petraeus, an officer with a great deal of experience in Iraq. He helped train the Iraqi security forces, head up that very, very important effort. Most recently, he's helped draft the U.S. military's new counterinsurgency manual.

So both men very highly respected, believed to be ready and willing to carry out the president's desire, at least we're hearing, to increase the number of U.S. forces in the ground on Iraq -- in Iraq, Don.

LEMON: All right, Kathleen Koch, thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Well, the hoopla's over and the famous 100 hours hasn't even started yet, but the new speaker is making some news this hour.

CNN's Andrea Koppel on the Hill. Some new developments.

What's going on, Andrea?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra.

Well, it isn't just the new speaker. It's also the new Senate majority leader, according to my colleague, Dana Bash, who got a hold of this letter from both Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. It's addressed to President Bush, and it is drawing a line in the sand on Iraq in the most explicit terms possible. In the letter, they say that "Surging forces is a strategy that you have already tried and that has already failed. Like so many current and former military leaders, we believe that trying again would be a serious mistake."

So drawing a line in the sand, saying that they would not support what we're hearing could possibly be announced by President Bush next week, that he would increase the number of troops on the ground between 20,000 to 40,000.

Now, Kyra, that is just one part of the Democrats' actions since they took over power yesterday afternoon.

I'm sorry? Were you talking, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: No, I apologize for that, Andrea...

KOPPEL: OK, I apologize. I apologize. I think somebody -- I thought it was you.

That's just one part of what the Democrats have done since they took power yesterday. They have already passed, as of last night, new lobbying reform, making it -- basically banning members from accepting meals, gifts and corporate jets, free travel on corporate jets or cut rates on corporate jet flights.

And right now on the floor of the House, they're in the process of debating changes to what's known legislatively as an earmark. That's where a lawmaker would insert a provision into an appropriations bill that would say, "Hey, I want 'X' number of dollars to go for such and such a project in my district or my state."

What would happen, when and if this passes, Kyra, is that it would be much more transparent. You would know who put that measure in the bill. There would be all kinds of information that would be accessible on the Internet.

Looking ahead to next week, that's when the real legislating is going to begin, when the Democrats try to push through not just increasing minimum wage, but also cutting student loan interest rates in half and other issues -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Andrea, it looks like not only was I talking in your ear, we had a lot of talking going on, and you still got everything out from the Hill. I appreciate that. Thank you very much. All right -- Don.

LEMON: So now we know what the Democrats have on their agenda for the first 100 hours. But what have they left off? CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider has that for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are a lot of things on the House Democrats' agenda. REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Passing the 9/11 Commission recommendations. Raising the minimum wage. Making college more affordable. Advancing stem cell research.

SCHNEIDER: What about the Bush administration's two signature policies, tax cuts and the war in Iraq? You could argue Iraq was the issue that brought Democrats to power. Don't they have a mandate to do something about it?

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Iraq is where it is. The country is where it is. Iraq is an issue that we all need to work on, and we will work on that.

SCHNEIDER: The problem is there's not a lot Congress can do about an ongoing military policy.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: No one's going to cut off funding to the troops that I know of.

SCHNEIDER: But they can make sure the cost of the war is evident. Democrats say they will no longer treat military spending in Iraq as emergency spending outside the regular budget. Senate Democratic committee chairmen will hold hearings to look into what went wrong in Iraq and what to do next.

LEVIN: We have to examine whatever the president is going to propose.

SCHNEIDER: President Bush is daring Democrats to challenge his tax cuts.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We kept taxes low.

SCHNEIDER: "You want to roll back my tax cuts?" President Bush is saying. "Go ahead, make my day."

House Democrats are dealing with taxes obliquely, by proposing a new so-called pay-go rule. That means new spending must be paid for by cutting spending on other programs or by raising taxes.

PELOSI: No new deficit spending. That will be part of the rules of the House.

SCHNEIDER: Republicans may not fall for it.

THOMAS MANN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Most Republicans still believe in tax cuts, and they want to exempt tax-cutting from any so- called pay-go rule, only apply it to spending.

SCHNEIDER (on camera): Some other big-ticket items Democrats are not talking about right now: health care reform, Social Security reform, Medicare reform, immigration reform. Why not? Too big, too controversial, too difficult. They want to concentrate on things they can actually get done.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: More questions than answers in South Louisiana where investigators are taking a second look at the mysterious death of a small town's new mayor. CNN investigates straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: He was looking for adventure but found a near deadly ordeal. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, a high drama, high seas rescue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Sheriff says suicide. The coroner agrees. But the family of the mayor-elect of Lake Charles, Louisiana, doesn't believe he took his own life three days before he was supposed to take office.

CNN's Sean Callebs reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERALD WASHINGTON, MAYOR-ELECT, LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA: Great feeling to be mayor of the town where you live.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Gerald Washington seemed to be on top of the world with everything to live for. He had just been sworn in as the first black mayor of Westlake, Louisiana.

Then a shocking call from the sheriff that his family members still don't believe. The 6'6" 58-year-old Washington had committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest.

GERMAINE BROUSSARD, GERALD WASHINGTON'S DAUGHTER: I was in shock. I was upset. I was angry. I was -- I just said, there's no way that this was a self-inflicted wound.

CALLEBS: Their father's body was found in a remote area of Westlake. Germaine Broussard and her brother, Gerosky (ph), don't believe the coroner's report that Washington put a revolver to his chest and pulled the trigger.

They say the sheriff's investigation was sloppy and wonder why it apparently took just over four hours to pour over the crime scene, then clean and return his truck to the family instead of impounding it as evidence?

Coroner Terry Welke says it's difficult for families to accept suicide. But that is where all the evidence points.

TERRY WELKE, CALCASIEU COUNTY CORONER: If it was a homicide, there would be more injuries. In other words, he would have fought off -- if someone would have tied his hands behind his back, hit him on the back of the head, something of that sort, and the autopsy showed absolutely none of that.

CALLEBS: The sheriff's office isn't talking about the case. After twice meeting with the family, the sheriff handed over all evidence to the Louisiana state police, which has taken over the investigation.

BROUSSARD: They've shown the sense of urgency that the Calcasieu Parish sheriff's office should have shown.

CALLEBS: The state is now performing a second autopsy, something the coroner says is almost unheard of.

And there is something else that is difficult for the family to address. As the first black mayor in an overwhelmingly white community, Washington's children believe he could have been targeted by someone out to get him.

BROUSSARD: And I'm sure that race did have a good deal to do with it, but...

CALLEBS: The state NAACP has asked the U.S. Justice Department to look into Washington's death but says it was told that the federal agency will wait until the state police investigation has wrapped up before deciding whether to weigh in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Out of jail, but still in Canada. Allison Quets walked out of the cell in Ottawa a week after being arrested on charges of kidnapping her 17-month-old twins from their adoptive parents in North Carolina.

Two Canadian couples posted almost $18,000 in bonds and cash on her behalf.

Quets's lawyer says she's eager to return to the U.S. to face those charges. And to keep trying to get her children back legally. She says she was suffering from a postpartum illness when she gave them up.

Now an update for you on a horrific story we brought you last year, the fatal beating a homeless man in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

CNN's Betty Nguyen is following new developments for us -- Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we are learning some new information about this. Today, that the prosecutors say that they are not going to seek the death penalty against the teenagers involved in this case.

Want to show you some video of that beating. It's really still shocking, even to this day. There it is. You see the teens there, and the homeless man on the ground, being beaten with a baseball bat.

The main person accused of these fatal blows is Thomas Doherty. He's a 17-year-old. At least he was when this crime was committed about a year ago on January 12 of last year. Well, he was 17 at the time. And because of that, he was ineligible for the death penalty, should he be convicted of this. Now, the two other teenagers were 18 years old at the time. But because they participated in a lesser degree, prosecutors have decided to drop seeking any death penalty in this case on any of the teenagers involved.

So again, it was thought at the beginning of all this, after seeing that shocking video, that some of these teenagers would, indeed, possibly be up for the death penalty if they're convicted. Well, today, we're learning that prosecutors say they're not going to seek the death penalty in this case at all.

And it really resides on the fact that a 17-year-old is being accused of those fatal blows. And the other 18-year-olds that were involved, while they are of age, they participated to a lesser degree. So that's the new development in this.

But still, Don, the video just as shocking today as it was about a year ago.

And that man, by the way, 45-year-old Norris Gainer, he was found dead on a park bench. Two other homeless men were also injured.

LEMON: Unbelievable.

NGUYEN: Yes.

LEMON: Just sad. Thank you very much, Betty, for that.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, he has a lot to say these days. Osama bin Laden's top deputy now calling for holy war in Africa. His message from the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, Toyota, not General Motors, off its throne as the world's biggest automaker? Many in the industry say yes. But GM says it won't go down without a fight. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with all the details.

Hi, Susan. Big fight ahead, huh?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, imagine a war of words, and it doesn't involve the Donald or Rosie.

These are two big, important companies. Toyota, shifting into high gear when it comes to taking on Detroit's big three. This week, Toyota passed Daimler Chrysler as the No. 3 seller of vehicles in the U.S. last year. But its sights are set on being the world's No. 1.

We already told you that Toyota's production targets for 2008 indicate it will overtake General Motors in that year. But despite production cuts last year, GMC CEO Rick Wagoner says the company does have the ability to build more cars.

Wagoner told reporters yesterday that, quote, "I like being No. 1, and I think our people take pride in it. It's not something we're going to sit back and let somebody else pass us by." That's the end of that quote.

Overseas sales could be GM's secret weapon. For two years in a row, GM has sold more cars outside the U.S. than at home. Places like China, for instance, where so -- such a big population and so many people want cars -- Don.

LEMON: Saying, we're not going to stand for it. So there.

LISOVICZ: Yes.

LEMON: Does GM have any other plans that might help defend that title?

LISOVICZ: That's right. I mean, it's not only cost-cutting, for instance. It's got to build cars that people want to drive.

On the cost side, Wagoner says he hasn't ruled out more job cuts, and workers may have to make concessions in upcoming very important contract talks later this year.

As for its auto lineup, GM is planning on rolling out many new models. After ending production of the Chevy Camaro in 2002, the muscle car -- Don, I know you're relieved to hear this -- will once again be hitting the streets.

On Sunday, a new Camaro will be unveiled at the Detroit auto show. And it will be a convertible. The concept car is painted in what is called Hugger Orange, an update of a color -- there it is -- originally offered in 1969.

However, the new car won't go on sale until 2010. So, Don, you can pay off your house by then and still get a big car to impress everybody.

LEMON: Susan, that's a really cool looking car, don't you think?

LISOVICZ: Yes, that's right. And it -- you know, it's got an interesting history because they brought the -- GM introduced the Camaro to compete with Ford's Mustang. And then Ford brought the Mustang back, and GM said, "Hey, you know, we like how this new vintage Mustang is doing. We're going to do the same thing." So they're hoping that it will catch on and be a convertible, just like we see convertible Mustangs.

LEMON: The auto show is in the works somewhere, right? Can we -- is Ali going to an auto show or something?

LISOVICZ: Is he? I could see Ali at the auto show. I think it's Sunday is when that car will be officially unveiled. So we'll get pictures of Ali in the convertible with probably lots of ladies in the back seat.

LEMON: Hopefully, he brings one home, too, to both of us. Kyra's laughing over here. Hopefully, he brings us all a car.

LISOVICZ: Kyra and me in the back seat, I could see that, yes. Oh, yes.

PHILLIPS: Taking it to Vegas. That's what I'm talking about.

LISOVICZ: Yes.

PHILLIPS: We keep talking about it.

LISOVICZ: All right. I've got to talk about another avenue. And that is Wall Street.

(STOCK REPORT)

LISOVICZ: And that is the latest from Wall Street.

Coming up, a mere 24 hours after Democrats took control of Congress, lawmakers have a plan to cut taxes. I'll have details next hour.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.

Even if it wasn't a tornado, well, it might as well have been. Louisiana is picking up the pieces after strong storms ripped right through that state. Now the trouble's headed east.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Stormy day across the south. Several counties in and around Atlanta were briefly under tornado warnings. Strong winds brought down trees and power lines just south of the city. Some people think it was a tornado. No word of anyone seriously hurt.

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the world's busiest, was on alert for a short time; delays but no damage.

LEMON: And states of emergency in four Louisiana parishes after tornadoes that killed at least two people and injured 15 others. Trees are uprooted, roofs torn off, mobile homes knocked off their foundations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT RAMSEY, STORM VICTIM: Me and my little cousin, when we heard the thunderstorm we ran under the table with my sister and her friend, her mama. And we just heard a big old thunderstorm. So we went out. They had all kinds of trees everywhere, ambulances and fire trucks.

STEVEN BRUNO, STORM VICTIM: I was in my mobile home when it -- when the tornado hit and it flipped a couple times, and we just lucky to get out, get out alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: A solo sail around the world is going to have to wait. That's if his girlfriend lets him try again. A California man is alive, he's well, and on a boat heading home. This is the smashed-up boat that Ken Barnes intended to take around the globe. He ran into something of a snag along the way.

CNN's Chris Lawrence takes it from there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The American sailor Ken Barnes is speeding toward shore, thanks to an international rescue effort. The Chilean navy sent a surveillance plane to pinpoint and locate his distress beacon, and then it guided a nearby fishing vessel to Barnes' location. That vessel then picked up Barnes. Barnes was able to call home, here to California, talk to his girlfriend, his daughters and his family, tell them how much he loved them and he can't wait to see them. And then he began the long journey home.

Once on shore, he will have to fly to Santiago and then eventually fly from Santiago back home to California. Not the way Barnes wanted to end his trip. He had hoped to circumnavigate the Earth alone on his boat, leaving in late October, and he wanted to return sometime between April and June.

He headed south from Mexico, past Peru, but about 500 miles off the coast of Chile, near the southern tip of South America, he hit a vicious storm. It ripped apart his mast, his steering, crippled his engine. At one point, his boat started to take on water, and he was nursing a deep gouge in his leg. He was in bad shape, and he drifted for three days, calling, very short calls on his satellite phone, and sending out that distress beacon for authorities to find him. It was hard on the family every day, hoping for those quick call, hoping he was still all right, and that authorities could find him before another storm moved in. Because of a lot of cooperation, they did. And once he gets home, there will be a very, very big homecoming. His family says it's OK if he still wants to sail, but from now on, he's going to have to do it much closer to home.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Newport Beach, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: For the second time in a week, the world hears from Ayman Al Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's second in command. Today's recording calls on militants in Somalia to wage an Iraq-style guerrilla war. Somali troops, backed by Ethiopian, have been beating back Islamic militants for a week. More on that in a second. But like most of the others, this tape was released on Islamist Web sites. And like most of the others, it can't be absolutely authenticated, though we believe it is legitimate.

More now on havoc on the Horn of Africa. Somali forces say a radical militia that tried to take over Mogadishu is dug in on the beach with nowhere left to retreat. In the meantime, African and American leaders are trying to end the conflict diplomatically.

CNN's Barbara Starr is watching it all from Nairobi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Here in Nairobi, U.S. African and Arab diplomats are meeting with representatives of the new Somali government to discuss the situation in that war-torn country. The Somalis are here seeking international aid and international peacekeepers in their country to try and help stabilize the situation as they attempt to disarm the warlords and clans that have ruled that country for so long. Still, the fighting does go on in the southern part of Somalia, with the Islamic militia fighters that were largely thrown out when Ethiopia invaded several weeks ago.

But for the United States, the question, now, how much assistance, how much aid, and what kind of relationship the bush administration wants to have with the new government in Mogadishu. Somalia is a country where U.S. memories of Blackhawk down 13 years ago, when 18 service members were killed on the capital streets of Mogadishu. Those memories remain very strong.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Coming up, some disturbing results of crash tests for infant car seats, information that could save your child's life, straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.

And this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this case, being short is a benefit to the child, because other parents make decisions to make their children taller, because that may be a benefit to the child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Parents try to stunt the growth of their severely disabled daughter. Heart rending issues of medical ethics coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Stunting a child's growth, on purpose, by surgery. Why would a parent do that? Well, why would doctors agree? It happened to a bedridden 9-year-old girl in Seattle and it's drawing attention to a gut-wrenching dilemma: how to best care for severely disabled children. Reporter Deborah Feldman of CNN affiliate KING has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FELDMAN, KING CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We don't know the last name of this young local girl named Ashley, but we do know a great deal about her body. Ashley has a severe brain impairment called static encephalopathy. She cannot walk or talk, she's fed through a tube, and has the developmental ability of an infant.

As Ashley grew older, her parents began worrying they wouldn't be able to continue caring for her if she grew too big for them to bathe, lift and move. That's when they asked doctors at Children's Hospital if they could embark on an unprecedented medical path that included a hysterectomy, the removal of her breast buds and a lengthy course of estrogen treatment, all designed to keep Ashley small.

Her parents have declined interview requests, but on their web site, they say, quote, "we want to avoid sensationalism or philosophical debates about what we did and why we did it. We'd rather care for and enjoy Ashley then get into endless debates."

BENJAMIN WILFOND, DOCTOR: Initially, I was a little startledled.

FELDMAN: Dr. Benjamin Wilfond specializes in pediatric bioethics at Children's Hospital. He was not yet on staff when the 40-member ethics committee agreed to Ashley's treatment in 2004. But he says he understands the decision to allow it.

WILFOND: In this case, being short is a benefit to the child. Other parents make decisions to make their children taller because that may be of benefit to the child. I think what all these cases have in common is an intention to help their child.

FELDMAN (on camera): Ashley's parents bring her here to children's hospital every three months. So that doctors can monitor her height and her weight, her bone growth and her estrogen levels.

(voice-over): Ashley is now 9 years old. After 2 1/2 years, she just wrapped up her treatments a few weeks ago. At 4'4 tall and 70 pounds, her doctor believes she almost done growing.

On their web site, Ashley's parents say they did what they believe is best for their daughter. Saying, quote, "unless you are living the experience, you are speculating and you have no clue what it is like to be the bedridden child or their caregivers."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, they passed government standards, but a dozen infant car seats didn't fair so well on crash tests done by Consumer Reports. Only two met the magazine's more rigorous demands. CNN's AMERICAN MORNING got a crash course in infant passenger safety.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIM KLEMAN, "CONSUMER REPORTS": We don't think the government crash standard is strict enough for car seats. Here's the situation in this country, cars themselves, new cars, have to be tested at 35 miles an hour for a frontal crash, and 38 miles an hour for a side crash, and they're routinely passing this test. So when your car can withstand a crash that's higher than the car seat, you're putting your baby in a car seat that -- you think the baby is the most protected passenger in your car, but when the car seat can't withstand the crash that the car can, then the baby is actually the least protected passenger in your car.

We think that's an outrage and we think the federal standard needs to be improved.

O'BRIEN: Kim Kleman with "Consumer Reports" this morning. Thanks, Kim, and a reminder, the ones that "Consumer Reports" found not acceptable, the Eddie Bauer Comfort and the Evenflo Discovery. Well, that brings us right to Evenflo and the CEO, Robert Matteucci, joins us. He's in Tucson, Arizona this morning. It's nice to talk to you sir. Thanks for being with us.

You've heard what Kim had to say. What do you make of their tests?

ROBERT MATTEUCCI, CEO, EVENFLO: We dispute the validity of their test and steadfastly stand behind the safety of all Evenflo car seats, including the Discovery. Soledad, we have conducted over 200 tests in the past 18 months on the Discovery car seat, in house, at independent laboratories, as well as with the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, and all of those tests have demonstrated that it meets or exceeds the federal standards.

O'BRIEN: OK, but the highest that you've tested your Evenflo Discovery car seat for infants at is what, under 32 miles an hour. Some of that videotape is showing side impact at 38 miles an hour, frontal impact at 35 miles per hour. So it's perfectly conceivable that that videotape that we're showing of that infant's feet -- or the dummy infant's feet going up and then, of course, the whole car seat wobbling back and forth, that could be exactly what happens in crashes at this speed. I mean, you're not disputing this videotape that we're looking at, are you?

MATTEUCCI: We challenge the validity of their protocol. Despite our repeated requests, Soledad, "Consumer Reports" has not been willing to share the protocol or the results. And we know from decades of safety and crash test experience in the industry that any single variable that is not managed properly, to the requirements of the federal standards, will lead to inaccurate results, and we strongly believe that's what's happened here, and we challenge the protocol, and we don't understand why "Consumer Reports" is not willing to share the protocol.

If the genuine interest here is the safety of infants, which it is, it's hard to understand -- excuse me, it's hard to understand why they wouldn't want to share the data, and try to understand why their seven or eight tests sharply contrasts with our over 200, as well as the confirmation of NHTSA.

O'BRIEN: Well OK, let's bring Kim Kleman back. I think she's standing by. Do we still have her? Kim, are you there?

KLEMAN: Yes, absolutely. Yes, I am.

O'BRIEN: OK, terrific. I think you've been listening to what Mr. Matteucci has to say. So why not share the results? Why not -- how are your tests, even if you did a dozen tests, matched up to their 200 or so tests that, he says, show completely the opposite?

KLEMAN: Let me tell you that we are trying to share our test results with Evenflo, as is our standard practice. We sent them a letter before this story appeared, detailing our problems. Twice we have told them we really want to meet with you. We want to share our data, because it's in everybody's interests for this car seat to get better, but Evenflo has not responded to us. So, sir, I welcome --

MATTEUCCI: It's interesting, Soledad, that we've seen no letters. We have not gotten returns or phone calls. We didn't even learn about the research report until a reporter called us about 48 hours ago, and despite repeated requests. Aside from that, what we know is that the Discovery car seat is safe and effective in the marketplace, in crash tests, and there's no validity to the "Consumer Reports" protocol.

O'BRIEN: Well, we'll have to leave it there, because we're running out of time. Although, I want to make one point. I've got an e-mail here sir, to Mr. Lindsey Harris, the vice president of product integrity of Evenflo, that actually lists all the assessing crash protection and it's from the folks from Consumers Union.

MATTEUCCI: Yes, it came after they went public with this report. And we have yet to see the protocol. So, we stand behind the safety of our car seats and we certainly appreciate the opportunity to share the facts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And the tests were carried out on rear-facing seats. The magazine says that most failed in crashes as slow as 35 miles an hour.

Straight ahead, a dramatic rescue in New York. This time, a toddler takes a tumble in the Bronx. Detail on the tag team catch that saved his life. Straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Check this one out, mysterious objects falling from the sky.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a UFO -- it's part of a UFO part.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, that's not a scientific analytical explanation perhaps, but hey, maybe, guess who, Jeanne Moos can explain why the sky is falling. That's straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Thought the Subway Superman story was interesting, well apparently he is not alone. A 3-year-old boy, a fourth story window, two passerbyes who happened to look up at exactly the right time.

The bottom line, the toddler survived his fall from a fourth story apartment in the Bronx yesterday with barely a scratch. Police say the boy had crawled out a window and was hanging from a fire escape when Julio Gonzalez and Pedro Navarez spotted him. Well, Gonzalez recalled the crucial moment on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIO GONZALEZ, SAVED THREE-YEAR-OLD BABY: We both got position under the fire escape and as the baby was coming down, we started turning, went towards my friend. We both tried to catch him but he bounced off his chest, threw him to the floor, and then he like bounced of him, and winded up in my hands. So then the baby knocked me down.

We just figured the baby was small, the way he was coming down, my friend say, Julio, this baby is not small, this is a big baby, I said, you better grab that kid. You better help me grab that kid. Don't let that kid hit that floor. We gonna grab him, we gonna grab him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, he is cute, and we're glad he's okay. But police are now questioning the baby's, the child's baby-sitter.

PHILLIPS: Metal falling from the sky. Mysterious lights over a major airport. Close encounters or chicken little.

CNN's Jeanne Moos investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Weird spacecraft. Mystery chunk falls through the roof of a house. UFO sighting over Chicago's O'Hare. And now this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.

MOOS: Maybe a certain chicken was ahead of its time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "CHICKEN LITTLE," FROM WALT DISNEY PICTURES: Chicken Little, what is it? What's going on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "CHICKEN LITTLE," FROM WALT DISNEY PICTURES: The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

MOOS: Must have seemed that way in Freehold Township, New Jersey. Police say this metallic lump, the weight of a can of soup, fell from the sky above this neighborhood, made a neat hole in someone's roof and ended up embedded in a wall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "DUCK AND COVER," FEDERAL CIVIL DEFENSE ADMIN. FILM: Duck and cover!

MOOS: Was it a meteorite? Experts are still analyzing it, but kids in the neighborhood have their own theories.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Well, I say it's a UFO. It's part of a UFO Park.

MOOS: No, kid. That's over at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, where a dozen witnesses saw a...

JON HILKEVITCH, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE" REPORTER: Metallic gray object low in the sky.

MOOS: Hovering over Concourse C, a silent frisbee.

Forget the flying saucer movie jokes. According to the "Chicago Tribune" reporter who broke the story, these witnesses are anything but witless.

HILKEVITCH: They're all United Airlines employees, ranging from pilots to supervisors who heard chatter about this on the radio and raced out and saw it in the sky.

MOOS: The thing supposedly hovered for several minutes, then shot up through thick clouds, leaving what was described as a hole in the overcast skies.

The FAA figures it was a weather phenomenon. Meanwhile, jokesters on YouTube have their own reasons to doubt aliens would come here.

Maybe this looks like an alien spaceship, but it's an actual test flight of a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle that may someday carry tourists to the edge of space.

The founder of Amazon.com is funding the efforts. And the look of the 35-second test flight, don't pack your bags yet. And who needs to go to space?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down, down, right there, Jim. Something's reentering the atmosphere.

MOOS: When space is coming to earth. Predawn traffic helicopter pilots over Denver were stunned to stumble on what turned out to be a Russian booster rocket breaking up upon reentry.

Space junk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never seen anything like that.

MOOS: Next thing you know, frogs will be falling, like in the movie "Magnolia," "Chicken Little," be a little right.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, you think that was something, wait until this. Georgia's version of the loch ness monster comes to a bad end. Hogzilla roams no more, but his aroma lingers on. (INAUDIBLE) in the NEWSROOM, not equipped for smell-o-vision, yet.

LEMON: Also ahead in the next hour, another streak of weird weather has twisters ripping across the southeast. Batten down the hatches and join us right here in the NEWSROOM for all the latest watches.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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