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American Morning
Congress Debates Nonbinding Resolution on Iraq; Snowbound New York Expecting More; Gulf Coast Rebuilding, But Where are Jobs?; Officers Save Woman from Crash
Aired February 16, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Andrea Koppel live on Capitol Hill with what lies ahead.
Andrea, good morning.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
Debate gets under way here in about an hour on that mostly symbolic resolution. Once it passes, Democrats say it will be a first step toward forcing President Bush to change course in Iraq. Republicans say it will be a first step toward cutting funds for U.S. troops in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. SAM JOHNSON (R-TX): The enemy wants our men and women in uniform to think that their Congress doesn't care about them. That they're going to cut the funding and abandon them and their mission.
REP. PAUL GILLMOR (R-OH): Begins this Congress down a path which ends with cutting off funding for our troops and abandoning our foreign policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Now Democrats deny that they would cut off funds for U.S. combat troops, but this week Congress John Murtha, who oversees Defense funding, in the House, again, repeated a pledge to tie future funding to military readiness, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. And over the weekend, senators, they won't be scurrying out of town today even. They'll be sticking around for a debate on this very subject. Explain how that all happened.
KOPPEL: That's right. This is going to be an unusual Saturday session. It came out of the blue yesterday when the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid suddenly announced that he was going to have a test vote on Saturday on, basically, the same resolution that's being debated in the House.
Nobody really expects it will pass. It needs 60 votes. That's because Republicans, who tied things up last week over a procedural motion, are insisting that they get to offer an alternative resolution. Something that Harry Reid has not supported -- Miles. O'BRIEN: Interesting to see how it all plays out. Andrea Koppel on Capitol Hill.
Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: In Iraq today conflicting reports over what could be a big blow to Al Qaeda. A spokesman for the interior ministry says Iraqi police hurt this guy. He is the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, his name is Abu Ayyub al-Masri. But a top U.S. military source is telling CNN that's probably not true. CNN's Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon to shed some more light on these reports for us.
Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Kiran.
Well, indeed, a senior U.S. military official tells CNN that the U.S. believes at this point it is a false report that this man, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, was wounded and a top aide of his killed yesterday, in a firefight on the road near Fallujah, as they were trying to travel through Iraq to north of Baghdad.
All of this very much being cast in doubt. The report yesterday came from the Iraqi interior ministry spokesman. The U.S. says they do not believe it is true at this point. Top U.S. officials tell CNN if it was proved to actually be true, it would be of course be very significant. Al-Masri is the successor to Abu Masab Al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
If he was proved to be killed, or wounded, it would be a very serious psychological and security victory for the Iraqis, but at this point U.S. officials say they think it's a false report -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, Barbara Starr reporting from the Pentagon for us. Thanks.
Also, happening this morning, investigators spreading out, trying to pinpoint the source of the peanut butter salmonella outbreak. There are two new cases being reported in Spokane, Washington. More than 300 people sick in 39 states. So if you have peanut butter that's either Peter Pan or Great Value brands in your cupboard, you should check the lid, and if the product begins with 2111, you should throw it out.
Also, in Washington today lawmakers pushing to regulate cigarettes much like other drugs. That proposed legislation would allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the sale of cigarettes and that would make it easier to stop big tobacco from targeting children, or making misleading claims.
Get this. The biggest tobacco company involved, Altria, of Marlboro Man fame, says it is wholeheartedly endorsing the idea.
A federal judge in New York, saying no to police videotaping of demonstrators unless they're breaking the law. Police have increasingly used video cameras at protests in the wake of 9/11. The judge, though, says the practice infringes on First Amendment rights.
In case you need any convincing proof that child car seats really do work, a 10-month-old baby was strapped in a car seat in the back of this car, and only slightly hurt when that car plunged 75 feet off this Anaheim freeway. Sadly, the woman driving the car was killed instantly.
O'BRIEN: Horror and heroism: We're getting an up close and very frightening look at what it was like to be pinned down in that shootout inside that mall in Salt Lake City the other day. Home video showing police rushing to the Trolley Square Mall Monday night, after a man armed with a shotgun and a pistol walked in and just started shooting people.
Now, listen closely. You'll be able to hear the gunfire, of course, and the shouting as police shoot it out with the gunman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(GUN SHOTS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police! Put your gun down!
(GUN SHOTS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Just horrifying. The shooter turned out to be an 18- year-old refugee of the Bosnian war. He killed five people and wounded four others before police finally shot him dead. His motive remains a mystery.
The families of those killed and some of the survivors of the Madrid train bombing coming atmosphere to face with suspects; 29 men are accused of Spain's largest terror attack. They've all pleaded not guilty. Our CNN International Security Correspondent Paula Newton, and she's watching the trial in Madrid.
Paula, hello.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INT'L. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
You know, the victims' families, the survivors have a few psychologists and counselors on hand. They're trying to gather their strength for what they know will be a very long trial.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON (voice over): The victims admit facing the people accused of killing and maiming their loved ones every day for months won't be easy. They are anxious and angry, but, above all, they are determined to see this case through. "It's an attitude," she says, "that makes you want to get up and spit at them. We have more dignity than they have, and we will carry on until the end."
Joelle Voyer is a survivor, admits when she sees the suspects, she feels like tearing them apart.
JOELLE VOYER, TRAIN PASSENGER (through translator): I really don't think I want to go back to the court today. I don't think it's good for my health.
NEWTON: Hardly anyone in Madrid was left untouched by the events of March 11th. This Muslim mother lost her 13-year-old daughter.
JAMILA BENSALHA, VICTIM'S MOTHER (through translator): This is very difficult deep inside, to face the assassins who killed my daughter.
NEWTON: Though protected by bullet-proof glass, the suspects are not shielded from the scrutiny of the victims. There is a growing concern in Spain that prosecutors may not have enough evidence to convict the defendants. Worse still, as many as eight suspects may still be at large, fueling fears of more attacks.
FERNANDO REINARES, FMR. GOVERNMENT TERRORISM ADVISOR: There is evidence (ph) today for more attack for Al Qaeda than it was before March 11, before the Madrid bombing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: That's a very unsettling piece of news for everyone. The reason we're so interested in this trial, Miles, is that we're trying to piece together exactly Al Qaeda's involvement in this plot. Try and learn things about how to defend people against these Al Qaeda operatives in the future.
The problem is, Miles, day two of this trial, second suspect on the stand. Again, saying he does not recognize the proceedings. He is innocent. He denounces all violence. Even someone trying to defend themselves, if they decide they're going to engage in the proceedings, you begin to get pieces of evidence that come out.
It doesn't look like, at this early stage, and we are in very early stages, that we're going to get that kind of evidence come to light in this trial. It will really rest on the prosecution's case, and how strong their evidence actually is -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Paula, is it your sense that all 29 of those accused will sort of opt-out in that way, or will some of them at least shed some light on what happened?
NEWTON: It will be difficult to say. They've been working on this for a while in terms of trying to get some of these suspects -- again, I'll say, they're all saying they're not guilty -- to actually try and give evidence against some of the others. Miles, that has not worked in this case. Prosecutors have done everything they can. You have to assume that although some of them may engage in their own defense, they're not going to be shedding much light on exactly the timeline, what Al Qaeda did, what kind of involvement they have. And those are the crucial pieces of evidence, Miles, that will help all of us to gauge what Al Qaeda did in the past, and what they might do in the future -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Paula Newton in Madrid. Thank you.
Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, shifting gears now to the end of what was a winter weather nightmare, if you were driving on a stretch of Pennsylvania Interstate 78, through Hamburg. It's finally clear, but it was a 50-mile frozen parking lot with some drivers stuck for as long as 24 hours. Amy Buckman is with our affiliate WPVI and she joins us from along I-78 in Fogelsville, Pennsylvania.
Hi, Amy.
AMY BUCKMAN, REPORTER, WPVI TV: Good morning.
We just got good news a few moments ago. The eastbound lanes of I-78, 41 miles of which have been shut down since Wednesday, have just reopened. If you take a look behind me here, you can see trucks that are going southbound here on Route 100. That is the point at which trucks that wanted to go westbound on I-78 are being forced to turn off, but if you look beyond them up on to that interstate, that overpass up there, you can see there is some eastbound traffic that's getting through.
This is the beginning of the end of what you accurately described as a traffic nightmare here. Over 100 miles of Pennsylvania interstate were shut down when we got about seven inches of snow followed by about three inches of ice, from Tuesday night into Wednesday.
There were people who were stuck on the highways from Wednesday straight through until yesterday afternoon, until they could get some National Guardsmen with Humvees to rescue them. All the motorists have been gotten off the highways.
However, there were trucks that are still stuck up there, on I-78 westbound. That's what PENDOT, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is trying clear out to get through that ice and get both directions of that highway reopened. Live here in Fogelsville, I'm Amy Buckman. Back to you, Kiran.
CHETRY: And, Amy, PENDOT's known for being able to get out there and take care of that stuff. Were they just too overwhelmed? What happened?
BUCKMAN: What happened was there were originally a couple of jack-knifed tractor-trailers at the bottom of a downward slope, on a hill, on I-78. They blocked the ability of the salt trucks and plows trains to get through to that area. And once the continuous salting and plowing had to stop, the snow and the ice just piled up. And then there were more accidents, less salting and plowing, and it just snowballed -- not to use an ironic term -- but the situation really did, until no one was moving at all.
CHETRY: That's actually the perfect term. All right. Amy Buckman, thank you very much.
In other news, former NBA star Tim Hardaway paying the price for anti-gay remarks that he made. The NBA now banning him from this weekend's All-Star festivities in Vegas. Hardaway had been scheduled to make some appearances, but on Wednesday he called into a radio show, in Miami, and declared, quote, "I hate gay people." Hardaway later apologized. The comments came a week after John Amaechi became the first NBA player to say he is gay.
O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, just when they thought they were out of the woods, more snow on the way to Upstate New York. Go to keep shoveling that roof. Chad is tracking the storm for us.
Also, a couple of reasons to celebrate in North Korea this morning. Happy birthday, Dear Leader. They're saying all in unison, because they must. We'll look at the mystique behind Kim Jong Il.
Plus, another bizarre twist in the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Could there be another bizarre twist? Yes, they could.
They're fighting now over her final resting place. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Most news in the morning right here. The House is set to vote on its Iraq war resolution today. The deadlocked Senate called into a rare session tomorrow to discuss that issue.
It wasn't our imagination. Science now confirms January was the warmest it has ever been around the world, at least, as long as we've had records.
Now about 15 minutes past the hour. Chad Myers at the CNN Weather Center with more on the weather picture.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Well, he is eccentric, he's dangerous, and he's now 65. Happy birthday, Kim Jong Il. And all of North Korea is instructed to celebrate, many marking the occasion, dancing. There's flowers named after him, despite the fact that North Korea remains desperately poor and hungry. It's really a fascinating glimpse at Kim's strange cult of personality. And our Senior U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth joins me this morning with much more on that.
Great to see you.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, and welcome. CHETRY: They have no choice. They have to celebrate his birthday.
ROTH: That is true. Some unique dancing going on in the square. What do you get a man who is 65, but may have everything. A nuclear device, large supplies of cognac, maybe Swedish blondes flown in. What do you get this type of man?
Right now Kim Jong Il is the man, and he is the man since he assumed power more than a decade ago. The Leader in North Korea, and the people have been told, since they were born follow him, he is the key to your salvation.
CHETRY: So that's the question. I mean, are people celebrating because they want to, or because they don't know any different, or because they're fearful not to?
ROTH: It's probably all of the above. And they certainly never have been able to see what birthdays are like outside of the country. Extraordinarily isolated, no mail, no phone service. These people are also very malnourished, while Kim Jong Il celebrates in style his 65th birthday, people are starving to death in his country.
CHETRY: The other question, they talked about wanting to sort of put the squeeze on him by trying to tamp down on the luxury items. Have they been able to put any embargoes on that?
ROTH: Well, they have been slow to do that, and I think they wanted to see if there was going to be progress on the diplomatic front, which has been there has been, this week. Whether that continues is something else. They wanted to stop Kim Jong Il from getting everything from iPods, to various caviars, things like that. But he has a lot of supplies. He also -- this is not a nut with a nuke. He is a very shrewd political operator.
CHETRY: Right. And on that front, there has been a little bit of progress made, if you can believe it, about the nuclear arms, or his agreement now to do with it. What is he trying to prove by this big birthday celebration?
ROTH: I think, again, he is trying to show, again -- that the people love him, that they are united. I don't think anyone in the outside world is surprised at this. But you really can't tell what's going on in people's minds, or behind the scenes there.
It's interesting how former U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, just out of the job, has criticized the deal that his own government, the Bush administration has worked out. It's a step-by-step approach, Washington says. He is not going to eventually be rewarded. But he has been able to pull off maybe either stalling. He has been able to really accomplish a lot. Some said the U.S. should have taken this deal years ago and that North Korea will just keep breaking.
CHETRY: We also heard something strange, he wanted use giant rabbits last week to feed his people? ROTH: I'm want sure I caught up on that one, but he has the Kim Jong Ilia, the flower named after him. And they said when he was born, there was a star in the air. A swallow came down and then a double rainbow. Did that happen on your birthday?
CHETRY: No, it didn't. Strange individual, unfortunately, he ahs so many people under his thumb. Richard Roth, thanks for getting up early. Great to see you.
All right. We'll take a quick break. Let's check in with Miles, right now.
O'BRIEN: Coming up in the program, another twist in the week-old drama over the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Yes, another twist. Now her boyfriend and mother are in a fight to the finish over the body.
And you've seen it by now, but gosh, every time. Oh! Dash cam video. Tractor-trailer smashing into a police cruiser and another car. The amazing thing is everyone walked away. We're going to check in with them, and see how that could have possibly happened. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning, right here on CNN. The leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq may be injured. The Iraq government says its forces wounded him. Americans, who once claimed he was dead, are not buying it for now.
And good news for those looking to buy a home, bad news for sellers. More signs there is a full-fledged housing slump underway. Prices slumped 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter a year earlier -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, Miles. Thanks.
Today in Florida a family feud like no other. Lawyers will be back in court trying to fight over the final resting place of Anna Nicole Smith. CNN's Joe Johns reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): First came the fight over the baby, now comes the fight battle for the body.
JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, BROWARD COUNTY FAMILY COURT: We both bit the bullet. And we decided that this court is going to have jurisdiction over the body of Miss Smith.
JOHNS: Anna Nicole Smith is gone, but where her body goes next is being decided at this emergency court hearing. The proceedings have taken on a circus-like atmosphere serving as ring master, Judge Larry Seidlin.
SEIDLIN: I'm not going to muddy the water. JOHNS: But some say he is only stirring them up. Three parties want control of the celebrity's remains. Smith's estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, who is sitting at the table. She says her daughter should be laid to rest in her home state of Texas. Not everyone agrees.
KIRSTA BARTH, ATTORNEY FOR HOWARD K. SMITH: The woman sitting across from me has not laid eye on that young lady since 1995. She's never laid eye on her granddaughter, and she sits here to take her to Texas, and put her in the ground all alone.
JOHNS: She represents Howard K. Stern. He is Smith's boyfriend, and he wants her buried next to her son in the Bahamas. Then there's Larry Birkhead, he insists he's the father of Smith's baby. He wants a DNA test to prove it.
SEIDLIN: Get your pens ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
SEIDLIN: I'm entering orders. Doctor, if you're comfortable you'll take that swab test, the medical examiner, I'm ordering that. And, two, you guys meet at a convenient location. Anyone can be present. Any of the attorneys can be present.
JOHNS: At day's end, the judge did enter orders. He said a DNA swab of her cheek will be carried out. He also said she will be embalmed. The procedure will take place at the medical examiner's office, where her body has been stored since her death. Meanwhile, in California --
PRINCE FREDERIC VON ANHALT: Well, if the court rules in my favor, then she will -- then the baby comes to me, and she will have me. Oh, yes, she does.
JOHNS: Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband re-enters the picture. Prince Frederic Von Anhalt filed a paternity petition of his own, claiming he is the father of Smith's baby girl. The prince, who said he had a long affair with Smith, also took a shot at Stern.
VAN ANHALT: Let the body go, and give it to her mother, so her mother can bury her child. That's my words to Howard Stern.
JOHNS: Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: We tell you about this all the time, the housing slump. I get kind of tired of talking about it, because I'm a housing owner -- and I'm not buying. But if you are buying, it's good news. It's 25 minutes past the hour. Stephanie Elam, "Minding Your Business".
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
Top stories of the morning coming up next. The House's war of words over the war in Iraq reaching a crescendo today. Plus, more cases of salmonella possibly from contaminated peanut butter. Investigators trying to figure that one out.
And a vicious cycle, helping explain why it's so hard to rebuild on the Gulf Coast. Where are all the people and jobs? A closer look ahead on that.
It's one of the most terrifying accidents ever caught on tape. Oh, jeez. Every time I look at it, it makes me cringe. Coming up you'll meet the people who survived.
Live picture now. There are the vehicles that were involved. Yes, they all lived to tell the tale. And we'll hear from them in a little bit. Stay with us with more AMERICAN MORNING. Most news in the morning right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Roads closed. Major arteries in the heart of Pennsylvania shut down by snow this morning. Still.
KIRAN CHETRY, CO-HOST: A lifesaver. If you thought this video was amazing, wait until you hear the survivors' stories. How quick- thinking police officers got everybody out of the way just in the nick of time.
O'BRIEN: And the vicious cycle in the Gulf Coast. Why rebuild if you don't even have a job? Employers trying to figure out the next move on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning to you. Friday, February 16. I'm Miles O'Brien.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry in today for Soledad. Thanks so much for joining us.
O'BRIEN: It's Kiran's first day here on CNN. We're glad you're here.
CHETRY: It's great to be here, Miles. Thanks so much.
And meantime, happening this morning, investigators are spreading out trying to pinpoint the source of the peanut butter salmonella outbreak. Two new cases reported in Spokane, Washington, and more than 300 people have gotten sick in 39 states so far.
If you have Peter Pan or Great Value brands peanut butter, you should check the lid, and if the product code begins with 2111, you should throw it out.
Now to Washington where the war of words over the war in Iraq is escalating and moving to new fronts. In the House today, lawmakers will most likely pass a resolution opposing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq, and now the measure will head to the Senate. It's a rare weekend debate in the Senate.
And CNN's Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the House has been debating Iraq all week. The Senate has remained deadlocked. And as the week has gone on, there's been more and more pressure on Senate Democrats to act.
And that pressure came to a head when Republicans who oppose the president's plan in Iraq went to the Senate floor and said the Senate shouldn't go home for a weeklong recess until the stalemate is broken.
So what Senate Democrats decided to do is give it one more try, and they called a vote for Saturday. They say that they're going to try to call the Republicans' bluff, especially GOP Senators who voted to block a resolution last week.
Now, GOP Leaders say they're still going to continue to block this, because they say Democrats still won't give them their say and their resolution, which is to say that the United States Senate still supports funding troops in Iraq.
So what does this mean? It means after that the vote on Saturday what is likely to happen is we're going to have the same thing we see now, deadlock.
Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: In snowy eastern Pennsylvania they're still hard at work this morning trying to clear some clogged interstates. Police, firefighters, and even the National Guard had to help rescue hundreds of drivers stranded in a 50-mile-long frozen parking lot. Some drivers were stuck for more than a day. More than a day in the car.
We're going to take you there in a moment, but, first, there is more. More snow on the way.
CNN's Reggie Aqui is in Mexico. No, not that Mexico, although we could hardly blame him if he headed south of the border. No, he's on a frozen rooftop in Mexico, New York.
Hello, Reggie.
REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, we are south of the border, south of the Canadian border, OK? They received so much snow here that it's almost to the point of ridiculous. Even for an area that is used to a lot of snow.
You see that I'm on the roof of the Pete household, and I'm going to be very careful, but I'm going to walk down here on this roof where folks have been shoveling every day, but it snows every day, so they've got to do it every day. And you can see how close this is to the snow pile next to their House. Yes. That's what they're facing every day.
With lake-effect snow predicted for the rest of today, tomorrow, actually the next seven days, right now they're just asking for help.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AQUI (voice-over): The worst of this week's snowfall may be over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a lot of snow, and it's definitely more snow than I've seen here.
AQUI: But it appears Mother Nature isn't quite through with the northeast yet. In upstate New York, Oswego County already covered in more than 11 feet of snow, is bracing for up to a foot more Friday, thanks to another blast of arctic air moving over Lake Ontario. That means extra work for the many snow crews working overtime to clear roads in the area.
In Mexico, a small town in Oswego County, the National Guard has joined the cleanup effort, a task so big New York's governor has asked that a federal emergency be declared in the county.
For the residents of upstate New York, the storm can't pass through soon enough. Near whiteout conditions, bitter cold temperatures and gusty winds have made for a winter nightmare.
Fears of snow bringing down the roof on this Oswego County Wal- Mart forced officials to close the store, literally leaving customers out in the cold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an inconvenience, especially out here in the remote area of Central Square, you know? It's about the only thing next to the convenience store.
AQUI: And move it or pay. That's the attitude of tow truck companies in Syracuse, taking no mercy on snowed in motorists.
LT. JOE CECILE, SYRACUSE POLICE: If a car is illegally parked and it's prohibiting emergency vehicles or DPW from cleaning that road, then it's being ticketed and towed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AQUI: Now Oswego, which is a city that's about a half hour to the west of here, they've canceled classes today, but here in Mexico, where they have more snow, there is school. In fact, the school bus just came by a few minutes ago to pick up the sixth grader who lives here.
And Miles, I'm doing this for you, all right? Who needs a gym membership when you can walk through the snow, and when you can play basketball this easily?
O'BRIEN: You can win -- you can win the slam dunk contest in Las Vegas with the NBA all-stars. Fantastic.
All right. Reggie Aqui south of the border, just the Canadian border. Thanks very much -- Kiran. CHETRY: Unbelievable they're making that kid go to school. Not fair.
Well, now to eastern Pennsylvania, where hundreds of people spent a cold night in their cars. The heavy snow and ice literally froze traffic. It also shut down two major interstates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They didn't tell us it's that bad. It's really bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: They were backed up as far as the eye could see. Hundreds of four-wheelers and semis were stuck on icy Interstate 78 in Eastern Pennsylvania, stuck for nearly a day following that monster Valentine's Day storm. It was a 50-mile standstill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They should have had the snow plows out earlier. You know, this is all a truck route out through here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are your biggest concerns?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Running out of gas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The problem started Wednesday afternoon when a tractor- trailer jackknifed on I-78. Traffic came to a sliding stop.
Then they got slammed with more snow and then the icy rain. Travelers ran out of food, gas, and patience. The backup forced two other interstates to be shut down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL SHIREY, SNOWMOBILE VOLUNTEER: I've never seen it here like this before myself, but it's kind of hard. I mean, you only got, like, five miles in between the exits, and to see the people stranded and nobody really coming out, you know, to help them, it feels like they're left by themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Finally, the cavalry rode into the rescue, bringing supplies to the road weary. The National Guard on trucks and good Samaritans on snow mobiles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN BRENSINGER, SNOWMOBILE VOLUNTEER: Snowmobile. That's the only way you can get up and down the highway, in and out of traffic. I mean, every -- most of the people I talk to, or 90 percent, are from New York, and they're -- they don't have anything. They weren't prepared for this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: By last night most of the vehicles had been cleared away. Now send in the plows.
There's also some good news about 40 miles of eastbound Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania, just reopened about an hour ago. So they're back up and running yet again.
O'BRIEN: Slow process there.
Coming up, it is the gut-wrenching video you cannot stop watching. Here it is again. A FedEx truck swerving, sliding, smashing, and everyone walks away. How? We'll talk to the cops who saved the day and the woman who owes them a big thanks in just a moment.
And no thanks here. A chicken and egg kind of question on the Gulf Coast. Which should come first, the rebuilding or the jobs? Obviously, everything's connected. We'll explain that one, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A fresh pitch from Florida insurance officials devastated by the cost of hurricane damage in recent years. There's an idea for states, for groups of states across the country to pool their money for natural disaster funding.
There was some reluctance, though, from some of the insurance commissioners meeting in Atlanta. States like Georgia are worried that pooling insurance money with other states more prone to disasters would just end up raising insurance premiums.
And it's a vicious cycle for people who live along the Gulf Coast. It's the rebuilding process that's going so slowly for some. And some major employers in the region are having a tough time. They have to make some tough decisions. Stay and rebuild or pull up stakes?
AMERICAN MORNING's Sean Callebs joins us from Long Beach, Mississippi, with more on that dilemma.
Hi, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
Exactly. That problem, coupled with the spiraling cost of insurance, because the insurance industry took a huge hit in this area, leading to a lot of problems in trying to rebuild this area.
Want to show you a very graphic example of just how bad it is a year and a half after the storm. Just take a look at these barren fields here. This goes on block after block, mile after mile.
And here where we are in the town of Long Beach, this city is also coping with another major setback.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it, right there in front of us.
CALLEBS (voice-over): Beaten and battered by Katrina, Long Beach, Mississippi, just got another kick in the teeth. Oreck, the vacuum maker and the town's most important employer, is leaving town, not for cheap overseas labor, but for Tennessee. Five hundred jobs here will disappear.
MAYOR WILLIAM SKELLIE, LONG BEACH, MISSISSIPPI: For this to come on the heels of this disaster, certainly, it's a -- it's a hard, hard lick, you know, for communities.
CALLEBS: Company president Tom Oreck says post-Katrina insurance costs, double the price for one-third of the coverage, and not enough workers have forced his hand.
TOM ORECK, PRESIDENT/CEO, ORECK: Less than half our people came back after the storm, and repopulating the plant has been very difficult.
SKELLIE: I don't buy it. I mean, they can, you know, take it to the bank, whatever, but, I mean, I don't buy it. There were enough workers before. There were enough workers to put them back in business.
CALLEBS: This is the daunting task facing Mayor Skellie and his city. All these red blocks highlight homes and businesses destroyed. Just 20 miles to the east it is a completely different story.
Biloxi's casino business is booming. The Beau Rivage, just one of ten casinos trying to fill thousands of jobs after rebuilding and after so many were forced to leave the area.
BRUCE NOURSE, BEAU RIVAGE CASINO: There was a lot of anxiety, obviously, when we got to the point of rehiring. We needed to hire about 4,000 people. We were very pleasantly surprised, to be honest with you. We had over 25,000 applications for those 4,000 jobs.
CALLEBS: The casino pays $1.5 million in taxes each month to Biloxi, giving the city a leg up on its coastal neighbors still trying to rebuild.
SKELLIE: We still have our Gulf Coast here, our beautiful beaches, our water, our great fishing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: Indeed. The weather, the view, the fishing, it's all great, but what this area needs, the sound of construction crews working morning, noon, and night.
This area where we are right now, Kiran, used to have about 40 businesses, as can you see, all gone now. Some have located a bit in town, but most simply shut their doors, what doors are left, for good.
Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: Unbelievable. All right. A sad story. Sean Callebs, thanks so much.
O'BRIEN: It's quarter of the hour. Chad Myers at the CNN weather center, he's watching a storm that is brewing in the northern -- northeastern part of the country. He's got the whole country in his hands, anyway. Right?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know what, Miles, I've noticed today?
O'BRIEN: What have you noticed today?
MYERS: A significant lack of whining in AMERICAN MORNING show up there. What's up?
O'BRIEN: Are you saying there's normally more whining in this show?
MYERS: You are usually, "Oh, it's so cold," but you're very good today. You know why?
O'BRIEN: Why do you think that is?
MYERS: Because you've lowered your standards to 17 degrees. All you have to do is go to Mount Washington, where it's 21 below, and a sustained wind at 108 miles per hour just gusting to 115 with a wind chill factor of 71 below.
O'BRIEN: Chad, Chad.
MYERS: So all of a sudden, 17 feels pretty good.
O'BRIEN: It's feeling great, it's feeling toasty. Let me ask you this, are there still people in the weather station up there who have to man it?
MYERS: Yes, absolutely.
O'BRIEN: What a job that must be.
MYERS: There are 12 inches of rime ice, snow, and sleet on the ground that they have to trudge through, as well, trying to get to that. Obviously, snow on top of that, too.
But that last storm put down 12 inches of rime ice, which is basically humidity in the air that blows into something. That something is so cold the humidity just freezes on contact. And it's an amazing sight to see that.
There is a tower cam, but I'm pretty sure it's iced in this morning. I'll take a look for you later as the sun comes up. Today it's going to be fairly windy across the northeast, although we don't see too many airport delays, and a little bit of light snow through the Midwest, if you're traveling there tomorrow. But nothing that will shut down interstates like the storm of Valentine's Day did.
Miles, back to you.
O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Chad Myers.
Coming up in the program, this is one Chad is going to have to stay tuned for, as well. We hope you will, as well.
Take a look at these cars. That looks like a total to me, doesn't it? God help the person who was in that car. You would think they'd be seriously hurt or perhaps even worse. Well, take a look. Take a look at what happened as a result of this accident.
The three people involved, the two officers and the woman who owes a little debt of gratitude to the people beside her, will be our guests in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: It is the video everyone is talking about. We showed it to you right here on CNN. A semi truck, a FedEx truck, crashing into a police cruiser and another vehicle. All captured on the cruiser's dashboard cam. Take a look and a listen this time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFFICER DOUG EAGLER, ERLANGER POLICE: Hurry, hurry. Come on, come on!
You all right? You all right?
ASHLEY WALKER, ACCIDENT VICTIM: Yes, I'm fine.
EAGLER: You OK?
WALKER: Yes, I'm fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The voice of Officer Doug Eagler and Ashley Walker, victim in this wreck. He -- Eagler and his partner, Bill Allen, were the two officers on the scene that saved the day for Ashley.
And good morning to all three of you. Good to have you with us this morning.
Ashley, I want to begin with you. I want to begin with you. And let's just talk about, first of all, you got into a wreck with a police car in the midst of all this bad weather. That's what started this whole thing. You must have thought, "Boy, I'm having a bad day" but things got worse very quickly. Explain how the events unfolded. WALKER: As soon -- I seen the police officer's car in the left- hand side, and as soon as I seen it, I tried to get over in the other lane to pass up the police cruiser. I pressed on my brake and I lost control of my car. I almost hit the median, and I swerved out of the median, and I hit the police cruiser.
As soon as I hit that, the police officer ran over to me and said, "Get out, get out." He took me out of my car, threw me into a median, and threw himself over top of me, and after that a semi had totaled my car.
O'BRIEN: I mean, just imagine if you're in that car. I tell you what, to help people understand what was going on here, I want to slow this down and let's play it, and we'll go through it very quickly so they can see what was happening.
Your car is the kind of reddish car that is slamming in. You're not in it. And if you can see in it, there was some damage there from the previous wreck. As a matter of fact, let's go to -- if we can freeze it here, we'll show you what was going on.
This car was obviously disabled. There you see the damage from the wreck with the police officer, and the truck obviously unable to get out of the way in time.
I got to tell you, both -- to both officers, you had such a little amount of time to react. Was it pure instinct, Officer Eagler? You take it away.
EAGLER: Yes, it was -- there wasn't time to do anything, but we saw a truck coming. We started yelling to each other, myself and Officer Allen. There was a semi coming, and we knew that Ashley and that there was another car out there with our cruiser. And we had to get her out of the way.
She got her seat belt off, and somehow she got herself out and opened the door, and then we got to her and pulled her. And I just threw her down in the median, against the wall.
O'BRIEN: Wow. And Officer Allen, did you -- was it pure reaction like that. And at any point, did you think, "Oh, my gosh, I got to run for my own life?"
OFFICER BILL ALLEN, ERLANGER POLICE: I don't think we had any time to think really at all. We just kind of reacted and worked as a team to save the three of us. Between Officer Eagler and I, we just took over and reacted.
O'BRIEN: The minute you got into the wreck with Ashley, you knew you were in a precarious position, didn't you? I mean, this was a very slick road, a lot of traffic. Not a good place to be, right?
ALLEN: As soon as it took place, it was almost like everything else was going to happen. There was just going to be chaos everywhere because you could see the other cars sliding, as well, because the road was solid ice. O'BRIEN: I'm looking at these cars right now. It's just -- it's incredible. First of all, this blue car, what car was that? Who was in that vehicle?
WALKER: I was in that car.
O'BRIEN: You're in the blue car. The red car then, who was in the red car?
EAGLER: There was another gentleman that had actually parked with his hazard lights on. He had to stop because of the blue car in front of him. He was behind her with nowhere to go. He got hit also.
O'BRIEN: Was he in that vehicle when that happened, though?
EAGLER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And he's OK?
EAGLER: Yes, he's fine.
O'BRIEN: Amazing. I assume all the vehicles involved here are totaled, right?
EAGLER: We believe so, yes.
O'BRIEN: Yes. What about the driver, officers, of the Federal Express, that double semi? Will there be a ticket issued, or was this just one of these beings that was unavoidable?
ALLEN: The investigation is still ongoing, but at this point I can't say whether there will be or not. The county sheriff's office here in the county is working that accident.
O'BRIEN: All right.
Ashley, through all of this the only injury you have is a very minor one. I'm told you just have a bruise from where your shoulder harness hit you. Can you show us the extent of your injuries?
WALKER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That's about it, huh?
WALKER: Yes, I have this, and then I have an indentation, a zipper indentation, in my arm from my coat actually, too.
O'BRIEN: And that's it?
WALKER: Yes, that's it.
O'BRIEN: All right. What is it like for you -- actually, all of you, but you in particular, Ashley, to watch this thing again? It must just -- it makes us cringe. I can only imagine what it's like for you. WALKER: It just -- it gives me goose bumps. I almost cry every single time I see it. It just makes me realize how lucky I am to be here.
O'BRIEN: Guys next to you are humble guys, and I know they'll reject this label, but would you call them heroes?
WALKER: Yes, I would.
O'BRIEN: Gentlemen, are you going to take it? Are you heroes?
EAGLER: I guess we are if she says we are. But we just do our job that we do.
O'BRIEN: Officers Bill Allen, Doug Eagler, great job. And Ashley Walker, we wish you all the best. We're glad everybody is here to tell the tale -- Kiran.
EAGLER: Thank you.
WALKER: Thank you.
CHETRY: Unbelievable, especially, as you said, when you look at the wreckage, as you said, and she's standing there today to talk about it. Unbelievable.
Well, coming up, who should pay when you get stuck in the airport? The plane delayed for hours on end. Is anyone responsible? We're going to meet one woman who's pushing Congress for a passenger bill of rights. Will that make a difference? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Showdown. The House set to send President Bush a message today over the troop buildup in Iraq. The deadlocked Senate forced into a rare Saturday session.
CHETRY: Stranded on I-78. It was a 50-mile traffic jam, people stuck in their cars. They ran out of gas. They ran out of food, certainly ran out of patience. Twenty-four hours, that's how long some were trapped.
O'BRIEN: And fighting back. Passengers trapped, at the mercy of the airlines, say there ought to be a law. Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Good to have you here. Friday, February 16. I'm Miles O'Brien.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry, in today for Soledad. Thanks so much for joining us.
O'BRIEN: Your first day. You barely know where the pencils are. Welcome.
CHETRY: I have one there. O'BRIEN: There you go. You're on your way. Good to have you here.
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