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American Morning
Rescue Mission on Mt. Hood; New Plans to Limit War Powers; Amazing Icy Rescue
Aired February 19, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Terror on the tracks. Two explosions and a devastating fire on a passenger train in India. At least 65 people are dead. We've got a live report for you straight ahead.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Battered blue. This morning, JetBlue takes drastic measures to get back in the air, days after the storm that first grounded its reputation.
O'BRIEN: A developing story we're watching for you this morning. Another rescue attempt on Mt. Hood.
ROBERTS: And a royal deployed? Prince Harry may be shipping out to Iraq. But is it an unnecessary risk to his unit? We're live from India, New York, Washington and London on this AMERICAN MORNING.
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody, or good morning. It's Monday, February 19th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
ROBERTS: I'm John Roberts in for Miles O'Brien on this President's Day morning. Thanks very much for joining us. Good morning to you.
O'BRIEN: Thanks for joining us. We appreciate your help.
ROBERTS: Always a pleasure when they invite me up to sit next to you. It's like, I'm there.
O'BRIEN: Oh, more, more, more.
Let's begin with some serious news. We begin with a story developing out of India this morning. Those deadly explosions happened late last night on a train that was heading from New Delhi to Pakistan. Two train cars completely burned out in the attack. The trains is called the Friendship Express, named to symbolize a new era of cooperation between longtime rivals India and Pakistan. CNN's Satinder Bindra is on the scene right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This train called the Sanjota (ph), or Friendship Express, was on its way from New Delhi to the Pakistani border when officials say there were two explosions. The explosions, according to officials, was set off by crude petrol based devices. Following the explosions, there was a fire in one of the wagons of this train and it quickly spread to another coach. The fire was intense and it occurred in the middle of the night. Screaming, terrified passengers tried to get off the train. But because the doors of this train were locked for security reasons, many could not.
According to officials, more than 60 people were killed. More than a dozen people were injured and they were rushed to a hospital about 80 kilometers, 50 miles north of Delhi.
When officials arrived at the scene this morning, they also uncovered two more crude and unexploded petrol devices. Those bombs were quickly defused. Officials are describing this as "an act of sabotage."
Now this incident comes just two days before the Pakistani foreign minister was scheduled to visit New Delhi and hold talks with his counterpart, the external affairs minister and the Indian prime minister, Doctor Monmohan Singh. These talks are part of the ongoing peace process between the nuclear neighbors.
Now officials here in India are saying that this incident was meant to drive a wedge between the ongoing peace process, but they'll do all possible to make sure they maintain the momentum of peace.
Satinder Bindra, CNN, the Ivano (ph) Village, north India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Some more problems for JetBlue. The airline is canceling more flights today. Nearly a quarter of its fleet is grounded, trying to get back on track from those storms that left passengers trapped in aircraft last week. The ripple effect still being felt this morning. CNN's Allan Chernoff is live at New York's JFK Airport.
How are things going there this morning, Allan?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
Well, as you can see behind me, the lines are very long, but at least all flights on the board are on time. At least those flights that are scheduled to fly today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF, (voice over): JetBlue's reputation as one of the nation's most efficient, most comfortable, small airline, has come plummeting back to earth. Five days after a winter storm left its passengers stranded and trapped on runways for up to eight hours, the company says they still needed to cancel almost a quarter of flights on President's Day weekend. The cancellations affect flights in and out of 11 cities across the country.
A statement posted on the company's website called the cancellations part of an operational recovery program and said "JetBlue is taking this aggressive, unprecedented action to end rolling delays and cancellations, and to operate a new schedule reliably." Essentially, JetBlue is canceling flights now in order to avoid canceling future flights, which doesn't seem to help irate passengers just looking to either get home or away on vacation.
GEORGE MATRONI, STRANDED JETBLUE PASSENGER: Last night our flight was canceled, last minute, going to D.C. We were put on a 2:00 a.m. flight out of JFK. We arrived. Our baggage was missing. We were told it was put on another flight. We had to go home, come back, pick it up. It's been a brutal two days definitely with JetBlue.
CHERNOFF: The problems at JetBlue all started on Valentine's Day, when northeast ice storms left planes and hundreds of passengers literally frozen on runways for hours, which then triggered what the company said was a domino effect, causing them to cancel hundreds of flights since Wednesday. JetBlue says passengers can choose either to convert the value of their travel to a JetBlue credit or a full refund to the original form of payment. That is clearly not enough for those stranded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the CEO of JetBlue is watching, I'd like to say, either your resignation should be tenured or you should implement a new dynamic within JetBlue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: The CEO is promising an overhaul and he's also promising to start paying passengers per hour if they're stranded on an airplane. But it certainly remains to be seen if that will be enough to win back the loyalty of passengers.
John.
ROBERTS: I don't expect he's going to do that retroactively, though, for all those people who were stuck on that plane for eight to 10 hours.
Allan Chernoff at JFK, thanks very much.
Trouble on the ground this morning, by the way, at Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. Two airport shuttle buses collided head on late last night. Two people killed, seven people hurt. It happened on the airport's perimeter road. They're still trying to clear the wreck this morning and figure out what went wrong.
Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Now to a developing story we're watching for you this morning out of Oregon. A rescue attempt is underway right now in Mt. Hood. It's about 60 miles east of Portland. Crews are trying to reach three climbers who are still stuck after a fall. Five other climbers with the group have been rescued already. Jim Hyde is with CNN affiliate KPTV. He's got our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JIM HYDE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The 911 call came in just before noon. A man and two women from a climbing party of eight fell off a ledge into the White River Canyon. We're at 6,000 feet at Timberline Lodge. The White River Canyon is up here. The problem all day for the climbers and for the would-be rescuers is the snow. And there's sideways snow happening. It's very, very difficult to locate these folks.
What happened, the five that did not fall were on top of a ridge. They looked for their friends who had fallen. Could not find them. They called 911 for help.
The searchers have been mustering, trying to get up into the White River Canyon where those three people are. There are several factors working in the favor of the three missing climbers. They're well-equipped. They're wearing electronic locator units which emit a signal that the searchers can hone in on. They have clothing. They have food. They have a tarp and they have a cell phone.
The search commander tells me that they've been getting regular cell phone calls about hourly from the three missing folks. They know approximately where they are. But in these conditions, it's very, very difficult to precisely find them. But they're going to work through the night.
Reporting for CNN at Mt. Hood, I'm Jim Hyde.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: You might remember it was just back in December when three climbers died on Mt. Hood. Two of their bodies have not yet been recovered. A live report from Mt. Hood is coming up in our next half hour.
John.
ROBERTS: New this morning.
U.S. intelligence officials are reportedly seeing a resurge in al Qaeda operation in Pakistan. "The New York Times" is reporting al Qaeda has set up training camps in the mountainous tribal regions near the border with Afghanistan. "The Times" also says Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, have regained significant control over the terror network in just the past year.
Developing news from Iraq right now. At least nine people are dead after a wave of overnight explosions in and around Baghdad. Early this morning, the military also confirming that another U.S. Marine died in an attack outside the capital.
New rumblings this morning about Congress's next move, since Democrats failed in that rare Saturday Senate session to get enough votes to pass its rebuke of the president's war plans. CNN's Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): CNN is told that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has tentatively agreed to try to modify Congress's 2002 broad authorization for war.
SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) CHAIRMAN, FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Saddam Hussein is no longer there. The 2002 authorization, in my view, is no longer relevant to the situation in Iraq.
BASH: Senate Foreign Relations Chairman, and presidential candidate, Joe Biden floated legislation limiting U.S. troops in Iraq to a support role instead of combat.
SEN. JACK REED, (D) RHODE ISLAND: We have to start thinking hard about a change mission in Iraq for our military forces, support them in that mission, but not an open-ended commitment to the Iraqis.
BASH: But there are other Democratic ideas. Presidential candidates Chris Dodd and Barack Obama already introduced bills requiring congressional authorization for more troops in Iraq. And over the weekend, Hillary Clinton detailed her plan.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: Now it's time to say the redeployment should start in 90 days or the Congress will revoke authorization for this war.
BASH: And Republicans, from the president on down, are taunting Democrats to choke money for the mission.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: Have the courage of your convictions to stop this war by cutting off funding.
BASH: In the House, Democrat John Murtha has a plan to set strict conditions on the president's war funding request.
Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: We'll talk about the Senate's next move with Senator Charles Schumer of New York. He's going to be joining us here in the studio. That's in our 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time hour. Be with us. He's got a lot to say.
Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Here's what's happening this morning.
Civil unions are now in effect in New Jersey. This, right there, the first couple to make it legal. That's Steven Goldstein (ph) and Daniel Gross (ph), reaffirming their Vermont civil union in a midnight ceremony in Tenak (ph), New Jersey. New Jersey is now the third state to offer same-sex civil unions.
Another food recall to tell you about this morning. This time they're finding listeria in ready-to-eat chicken breast strips made by Oscar Meyer and Lewis Rich. The packages have the number P19676 and a use by date of April 19th. So far, no illnesses have been reported, but listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headaches and it can be fatal in children and in the elderly.
Seventy lucky passengers on this plane right there skidded off the runway when it landed at the airport in Cleveland. The plane went right through a fence. It finally stopped about 150 feet past the runway. Now it was snowing pretty heavily at the time. Fortunately, though, nobody was hurt.
John.
ROBERTS: Ouch.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the Middle East this morning, holding a summit between the Israeli prime minister and the Palestinian president. CNN's State Department correspondent Zain Verjee is live in Jerusalem and joins us now.
Zain, what are the expectations, if there are any, for this summit?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The expectations going into this meeting, John, were extremely low. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with both the Israeli and the Palestinian leader in a three- way meeting that lasted about two and a half hours. Just a short while ago, she came out and made a very short statement and uttered a positive note.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: It was a useful and productive meeting. All three of us affirmed our commitment to a two- state solution, agreed that a Palestinian state cannot be borne of violence and terror, and reiterated our acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the road map.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: Secretary Rice really wanted this to be an informal conversation where the leaders could speak freely and voice their opinions. She didn't want this to be a formal negotiation where anyone was staking out an official position.
But really, John, this has been overshadowed by an internal Palestinian problem, the formation of a government of national unity that includes both Hamas and Fatah. Hamas, as you know, has refused to recognize Israel. It has refused to renounce violence. And it says it's not going to explicitly abide by any past agreements that the Palestinians have made with Israel.
The United States says that has to happen and Israel says it's not going to deal with the Palestinians if they don't recognize or fulfill that criteria. Secretary Rice, though, said that there's never a perfect time to talk peace in this part of the world, but she's committed and she plans to be back to the region soon. ROBERTS: Well, any time there's such a high level meeting, Zain, expectations, even though they try to keep them low, are always very somewhat.
Zain Verjee for us this morning in Jerusalem.
Zain, thanks.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, freezing cold in the Northeast, and would you believe in Florida today. Chad Myers is taking a look at the extremes for us.
Plus, some fighting words from Hillary Clinton, under fire for her vote to authorize force in Iraq. Well, now she's got a new plan. We'll tell you what that is.
And Britain's Prince Harry in camouflage and ready to go to war. Does it make him a patriot of is it a foolish risk for him and his unit?
Those stories and much more ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
Two people dead at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. It happened when two shuttle buses collided. Seven more people were injured.
And a rescue operation underway as we speak on Mt. Hood in Oregon. Three climbers stranded there after falling off a ledge. Five climbers in that party have already been rescued after spending much of yesterday evening in a snow cave.
It's now coming up to 15 minutes after the hour. Chad Myers is at the CNN Weather Center.
Good morning, Chad.
We've got some cold weather coming into Florida and risking the citrus crop down there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Senator Hillary Clinton dogged on the campaign trail by her vote for the Iraq War back in 2002, is now trying to change the debate on her website. The Democratic presidential candidate delivering this ultimatum to the White House. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to begin a phased redeployment of our troops out of Iraq. I've been pushing for this for almost two years. Now it's time to say the redeployment should start in 90 days or the Congress will revoke authorization for this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is keeping track of Senator Clinton's campaign. He's live in Washington for us.
Hey, Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Hillary Rodham Clinton is not somebody who shoots from the lip, to put it mildly. Not someone who treads where angels fear to tread, without each step being thoroughly processed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN, (voice over): Senator Clinton's campaign has been bedeviled by her vote in 2002 to authorize the Iraq invasion. And now perhaps even more so, for refusing to apologize for it. This weekend, in New Hampshire, she was ready with the latest carefully formulated impromptu response.
CLINTON: I have to say that if the most important thing to any of you is choosing someone who did not cast that vote, or who has said his vote was a mistake, then there are others to choose from. But, to me, the most important thing now is trying to end this war.
FRANKEN: Could she be talking about her opponents? John Edwards, for instance, who says he, too, voted to authorize Iraq but now does call it a mistake. Or Barack Obama, who wasn't in the Senate but says he wouldn't have made that mistake. Candidate Clinton is tiptoeing between what is variously viewed as the politics of toughness and the politics of stubbornness.
Ultimately, it may not be a matter of principle, but more, how will it play. And advice is coming from all sides. Her side and the unwelcome advice from the Republican side.
FRANK LUNTZ, GOP STRATEGIST: If I were her adviser, I would tell her that the most human thing you possibly can do is to say those two words, either "I'm sorry" or "I apologize."
FRANKEN: Adopted New Yorker that she is, she has one word, "forget about it." And another of those Clinton conversations on her website. This one about a troop pullback.
CLINTON: Now it's time to say the redeployment should start in 90 days or the Congress will revoke authorization for this war. Thanks for listening. And, please, let's keep the conversation going.
(END VIDEOTAPE) FRANKEN: Well, she'll be having her next conversation in South Carolina today, which is where Barack Obama was over the weekend. Go figure.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I can do the math on that. All right. Bob Franken for us in Washington, D.C.
Thank you, Bob.
Ahead this morning, already trimming 13,000 jobs, DaimlerChrysler might be taking another dramatic steps to turn business around. We're "Minding Your Business" straight ahead this morning.
Plus, Prince Harry heading to Iraq? We'll tell you why some people say it's not worth the risk to him or his unit. That's straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
Royalty at war. Prince Harry, who's the younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, is reportedly heading to Iraq. CNN's Paula Hancocks has details for us this morning. She's live in London.
Paula, good morning.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Soledad.
Well, it does appear as though Prince Harry has got what he has always wanted all along. He said that if he's training for service in Iraq, then he wants to be allowed to go. But, of course, trying to protect the third in line to the throne, who is not a normal soldier, is going to be a security nightmare.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS, (voice over): This is Prince Harry, age eight, inspecting the troops with his mother, the late Princess Diana. And clearly enjoying playing soldier. Fourteen years later, Troop Leader Wales, third in line to the British throne, has trained for service in Iraq, and it looks as though he may be going. Military sources tell CNN that at this moment, Prince Harry is expected to head for active duty in Iraq in April or May, but that could still change. No public confirmation from military or royal officials.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Incoming!
HANCOCKS: This footage shows what life in Basra can be like. These British soldiers taking cover from a mortar attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Incoming!
HANCOCKS: One hundred and one British soldiers have been killed in action in Iraq since March 2003, but Harry has long insisted he wants to see action, to fulfill his role as an officer, even reportedly threatening to resign if he's stopped from deploying for security reasons.
PRINCE HARRY, "TROOP LEADER WALES": The last thing I want to do is have my soldiers sent away to Iraq, whatever like that, and for me to be held back home twiddling my thumbs thinking, well, what about David, what about Derek, you know, whoever, you know?
HANCOCKS: Harry would not be the first royal to fight in a war. His uncle, Prince Andrew, served as a helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands War. There are fears that Harry's presence in Iraq could make him and his unit a trophy target for insurgents. No word on how close to the front line Harry would be allowed. One thing is clear, though, his brother, Prince William, is unlikely to ever see fighting in his army career. A second in line to the throne and the Prince of Wales's first son, he is widely expected to eventually become king.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: And we could be expecting an announcement from the ministry of defense as to whether or not that squadron is going to Iraq within the next couple of weeks.
Soledad.
O'BRIEN: And would they make that a public announcement? They'll make that clear to everybody that, in fact, when Harry gets sent over to Iraq, it's happening?
HANCOCKS: Well, that's the question. I mean, it would be very unusual if they did say, yes, Prince Harry is going to Iraq. This is the timing of when he goes to Iraq. This is the plane he will be on. They are very unlikely to give that kind of information out.
And, of course, how do you keep him safe once he is there? Twenty-four hours a day he's protected by the Metropolitan Police Protection Service. But, of course, these men are no defense against a roadside bomb. They don't have the training to be able to protect Prince Harry when he is in a war zone itself. So these are the questions that the military are trying to answer at the moment. It will be a security nightmare for them.
Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Paula Hancocks for us this morning in London.
Thank you, Paula.
John.
ROBERTS: A new leaner Chrysler may be ready to put itself up for sale and it would appear that there are some suitors as well. It's 26 after the hour. Stephanie Elam "Minding Your Business."
Good morning, Stephanie. STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Soledad.
That's true, we've heard so much about the problems that Daimler is having and now we're taking a look at maybe some changes here as far as Chrysler is concerned, which, obviously, is their U.S.-based unit. This is according to "The Wall Street Journal." And sources are telling them that they've already got an expression of interest from around the world for their Chrysler unit.
Last week, Daimler said it was considering all of its options in an effort to turn around the unprofitable U.S. business. It's also considering some partnerships there. Last week it also said it was looking at a partnership with GM on building SUVs. So, obviously, trying to do something here to make money.
Let's move on and take a look at Mercury Interactive. They're a software company out of Silicon Valley and they have had some backdating options issues. The latest twist now, they've have executives e-mails coming out from 2000 where one of them they actually refers to magic backdating ink. That's a quote there. So, obviously, they're going to have to see what happens with this one, but not looking good for them. Especially since they were acquired by Hewlett-Packard.
The last thing. The markets are closed today for President's Day. The Dow was up 1.5 percent last week, as was the Nasdaq. And also, just so we can end on a good note, hitting an all-new fresh high on the Dow last week as well.
ROBERTS: It keeps on doing that.
ELAM: It keeps on doing that.
ROBERTS: You keep waiting for the dip to get in, but it's just not happening.
O'BRIEN: No we're not.
ELAM: No, we're not. It's all good. Right now it's been a very good thing. So we'll take it.
ROBERT: All right. Thanks, Stephanie.
O'BRIEN: All right, Stephanie, thanks.
Top stories of the morning are coming up next.
Rescue crews are battling wind and snow to try to save three stranded climbers in Oregon. We've got a live report for you straight ahead this morning.
Plus, a dramatic rescue to tell you about. Little boys pulled from the ice thanks to a neighbor they never knew.
Then we'll tell you what happens when worlds collide. How Beijing is trying to clean up its English. That's straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A developing story. A daring rescue mission happening right now on Mt. Hood, trying to save three stranded climbers.
ROBERTS: Round two. The Democrats prepare to raise the stakes in the war to stop the war.
O'BRIEN: And heroic measures. Three little boys owe their lives to one quick-thinking teenager after a plunge through the ice.
Those stories and much more on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back, everybody. It's Monday, February 19th.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
ROBERTS: I'm John Roberts. President's Day -- in for Miles O'Brien this morning.
Good morning to you.
O'BRIEN: Here's what's happening this morning.
(NEWSBREAK)
O'BRIEN: Now let's take to you to that rescue mission that's under way right now in Oregon. Crews are trying to save three climbers who fell off a ledge in Oregon's snowy Mt. Hood on Sunday.
Russell Gubele is the commanding officer with Mt. Wave Search and Rescue. He's with us by phone this morning.
Nice to talk to you, sir. I know you're busy, so thank you very much for your time.
You've got three climbers out there, one man, two women. I know you've had a little bit of contact with them.
Do you know exactly where they are? Have you been able to pinpoint that?
RUSSELL GUBELE, MT. WAVE SEARCH AND RESCUE: Yes, we were. Good morning, Soledad.
We have pinpointed the location where they are, and we have been in contact with them on their cell phone. They are currently staying in their position. They're in sleeping bags.
They have a black Labrador with them, helping keeping them warm. We have a team right now from the 304th Rescue Squadrons from the Air Force that's coming up from the bottom of the White River Canyon. And during the night, we have teams try to come in from the top, and we also have had teams that repelled over the side.
The conditions here are just really terrible. And...
O'BRIEN: Yes, we can see in some of the pictures that the conditions just in this videotape looks pretty bad.
What condition are they in? Have they been able to update you on what kind of shape they're in? I mean, are they going to be able to help in their own rescue?
GUBELE: They are. They are doing fine. Both of them had some minor head injuries and they're cold, but they are OK. And they're all conscious, and we've talk to them, and they're -- under the circumstances, they're doing remarkably well.
O'BRIEN: You know, Chad was telling us that you guys are expecting a foot, maybe two feet of snow coming in the next 24-plus hours or so. What is the day -- once the sunlight comes up, what's the day going to look like for you?
GUBELE: Well, we've got other problems, too, besides that snow that you just mentioned. And that is avalanche hazard is extremely high later on Monday afternoon. And we want to get this -- get this done well before that.
We're going to have a huge effort here in just a couple of hours. Besides those folks that have been trying all night to reach them in these, you know, conditions, where there's zero visibility, there's going to be a huge effort just in a couple of hours.
We have teams coming in from all over the Northwest that are going to be heading that direction. Our hope is that within the next few minutes, we can reach these folks, give them some shelter, get them warmed up, and at first light we'll evacuate them out.
O'BRIEN: Wow. So you think in the next few minutes you're actually going to be able to at least reach them and get some supplies to them?
GUBELE: We can -- we can be hopeful. I don't think it's going to be in the next few minutes, but it might be within the next hour or so. We're optimistic.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
GUBELE: We have -- we have the teams. They're actually in the area right now, coming up from the bottom. So we're very hopeful.
O'BRIEN: Wow, that's terrific news. I hope that goes well for you.
We'll continue to check in to see how it's going.
Russell Gubele is the command officer with the Mt. Wave Search and Rescue. Obviously, as he said, many teams there hopefully just within an hour of getting to them -- John.
ROBERTS: Fortunate that they had those beacons that they could actually locate them with, yes.
New rumblings this morning about the next move in Congress since Democrats failed in that rare Saturday session to get enough votes to pass its rebuke of President Bush's war plans.
CNN's Kathleen Koch with more on that, and reaction from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iraq may not be on President Bush's agenda this Presidents Day, but it's almost certainly on his mind after Republicans over the weekend were able to block Senate debate on the president's troop surge. Still, it's not a decisive or clear victory, because seven Republicans, more than ever before, defected and voted with Democrats.
So, some see that as a sign that the president is increasingly isolated and weakened when it comes to Iraq. But White House Press Secretary Tony Snow denies that the Senate vote and a vote in the House Friday condemning the troop surge are -- should be seen as votes of no confidence.
Snow says, "The strategy has barely had a chance to begin working." And Snow urged lawmakers to vote to approve an additional $93 billion that the president is requesting to fund the troop increase. Any White House face-off with Congress will have to wait. Congress is in recess until February 26th.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Senate Democrats are intent on having their say on Iraq after failing this weekend on the resolution opposing the troop buildup. Some Democratic leaders now say they'll try to modify the authority that Congress gave the president in 2002 to wage war, stipulating that U.S. troops move to a support role from a combat mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI), CHAIRMAN, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: One thought is, is that we should limit the mission to a support mission. In other words, an anti-terrorist mission to go after al Qaeda in Iraq, to support and train the Iraqi army, to protect our own diplomatic personnel and other personnel in Iraq, rather than this unlimited mission which was described in the authorization for the use of force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: But Senator Levin is careful to say that the plan does not include cutting off funding for the troops -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: This morning, a young man in the suburban New York community of Bellmore is a neighborhood hero. He saved three boys who fell into a frozen canal.
Reporter Christine Insinga is with News 12 Long Island and she's got the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE INSINGA, REPORTER, NEWS 12 LONG ISLAND (voice over): Tom Fortunato says the frozen canal behind his house has been a hotspot for kids during these bitter cold days. So Sunday morning, he and his two little brothers decided to slide their way to the store just up the block. But they learned quickly that was a huge mistake.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all fell through. Everyone was going nuts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We thought we were going to die.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were screaming, "Help! Help! Help!"
INSINGA: Maryann Rosati saw it all from her back deck.
MARYANN ROSATI, SON RESCUED BOYS FROM WATER: He went down for the second count. I was already on the phone with the police and I was screaming.
INSINGA: Her 18-year-old son Tommy heard the commotion from his room.
THOMAS ROSATI, RESCUED THREE BOYS FROM WATER: I woke up, I was like still half asleep. I don't know, I just -- my mom said they were drowning.
INSINGA (on camera): And without a second thought, Tommy said that's when he bolted out his back door, went down these two flights of stairs, jumped over this fence, went around the dock. And that's where he found the boys.
T. ROSATI: I laid on my stomach on like the dock right there, and I just pulled them out.
INSINGA (voice over): With shorts and no shoes on, he got the frozen and scared boys out in a matter of minutes and tried to put them at ease.
T. ROSATI: I'm like, "You're not going to die. Just come inside." You know, my mom, like, got blankets for them and stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thank that guy so much. Because if he wasn't there, they'd be dead right now.
INSINGA: Now the Fortunatos are calling the neighbor they never knew a hero, a term he's not too comfortable with.
T. ROSATI: I don't know. I'm just glad they're all right. You know?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: What a great story. All three boys got a clean bill of health. They're all fine and they're going to be fine. And they're never going to do that again.
ROBERTS: Another example of the epidemic of heroism that has swept not only the city, but the surrounding areas as well.
O'BRIEN: Good, good, good.
ROBERTS: Good for him. Always good to have a story like that on a Monday morning.
Coming up, yet another food article to tell you about. This time, contaminated meat. We've got the details for you just ahead.
And lost in translation, a look at how Beijing is working on its English ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
The most news in the morning is on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: To take notice of safe, the slippery are very crafty. Make any sense to you? It's an example of Chinglish, a language barrier that the Chinese are trying to fix before the world arrives at their doorstep for the Olympics.
John Vause gets lost in translation this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sometimes when English and Chinese collide, the result can be downright terrifying. And if you think "Keep off the grass" would be fairly simple, in China that translates to "Tiny grass has a life. Sincere concern shows under your feet." But with the Olympics fast approaching, Beijing is trying to correct what's commonly referred to as Chinglish, often humorous, sometimes mysterious translations.
DAVID TOOL, ENGLISH TEACHER: The Chinese are very, very anxious that everything go very, very well and that they look very sophisticated and things come off very smoothly.
VAUSE (on camera): For the Olympics.
TOOL: For the Olympics, right.
VAUSE (voice over): David Tool is a teacher and one of dozens of volunteers trying to demuddle Beijing's English. His biggest success so far, he says, taking the "anus" out of the Anus Hospital.
TOOL: I'm really amazed at how quickly they've put it up. This has been less than a month.
VAUSE: Restaurant menus, though, are another matter. TOOL: (INAUDIBLE) soup. It's just a typo.
VAUSE (on camera): What does crap taste like?
TOOL: Actually, fortunately, I've never eaten crap, but the carp is very good.
VAUSE (voice over): Typos are one thing, but sometimes it's not even worth trying to guess.
(on camera): OK. I think a serve of the husband and wife lung slice, the stab the body platter.
Ah, yes, the hexangular (ph) germ fries, the cowboy bone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
VAUSE: And that's good?
So this is what the order looks like. The husband and wife lung slices are, in fact, heart and stomach. The stab the body platter is sashimi, which doesn't look too bad. And the hexangular (ph) germs, well, they're mushrooms and beef ribs.
(voice over): Across Beijing, the rush is on for better English from one of the volunteers...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm speaking English.
VAUSE: ... to taxi drivers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our taxi driver, they will come for foreign people to Beijing.
VAUSE: But along the way, some fear a little something is being lost, the old world charm, that special Chinglish.
John Vause, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Protect circumstance. Begin with me.
ROBERTS: It certainly does make ordering dinner more interesting.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. You never know what you're going to get, I guess. That was very funny.
Forty-five minutes past the hour. Let's get right to Chad Myers. He's watching it for us this morning weather-wise.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, another health alert for you. We've got a meat recall to tell you about. Plus, there's even a threat from your lunch bag, believe it or not. A little news that you need to know this morning.
Plus, if you love chocolate as much as I do, finally chocolate's good for your mental health, it turns out. We'll tell you how and why straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: The most news in the morning is right here.
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How do you make fitness a forever in your life? "Consumer Reports on Health" surveyed nearly 22,000 people who were committed to exercise. Here are some of their secrets for success.
Tip number one, fine your personality match.
NATASHA RICHARDSON, PERSONAL TRAINER: Some people are more extroverts, and they -- those people are probably best in, like, a group-type setting, maybe group fitness or dance class, kick boxing, cardio funk.
COSTELLO: For introverts, a circuit training workout might be a better personality fit.
Fit number two, squeeze it in. Work exercise into your busy schedule. Try to exercise at the same time of the day and be sure to schedule it on your calendar.
Tip number three, make it a habit. Keep a food accountability journal.
RICHARDSON: So, 60 percent of your results would be from nutrition and dieting, 40 percent would be from your cardio, your weight-lifting.
COSTELLO: Tip number four, take lapses in stride. If you skip a workout or eat something fattening, don't beat yourself up, just keep going forward.
Tip number five, consider a trainer. A trainer can motivate you and make it easier for you to make exercise a lasting part of your life.
Carol Costello, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back. You're watching the most news in the morning right here on CNN.
A worker for IBM is fired and says he's addicted to the Internet. He's the victim here.
Fifty-six minutes past the hour. Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business."
That's crazy. Yes, it is.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is a new twist every single time. Well -- and this is exactly what's going on.
This man was visiting adult chat rooms at work, and now he's suing IBM for $5 million, saying really he needs to be treated because he has an addiction to the Internet and needs sympathy as well. That's another thing that he needs here.
He suffers from traumatic stress from 1969, when he was in Vietnam and saw his best friend killed before him. So now he's claiming protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act. He says he uses the chat rooms to release his stress, and that...
O'BRIEN: And these are like porn chat rooms?
ELAM: Well, adults. That's why they're saying, adult. And his lawyer points out that he's never actually visited pornographic sites or violated any written rule from IBM or has done anything different as far as how he surfs the Internet compared to other employees.
So it's an interesting idea. He's also saying -- it's interesting that even someone would bring this up, but he's also saying age might be a part in it because he was 55 at the time. One more year, he could have retired. He had been with the company for 19 years, and so he thinks that may be playing a part as well. But it speaks to a bigger issue.
O'BRIEN: So he's covering a lot of ground.
ROBERTS: He is, yes.
ELAM: Yes. Right.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Or he's not Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from his time in Vietnam...
ELAM: Right.
O'BRIEN: ... or he's an addict.
ELAM: Right. These are all the thing. And he's saying that...
O'BRIEN: That's a busy lawyer.
ELAM: No. He's saying that if this does go through and if he does win, it could have a bigger message for how...
O'BRIEN: For everybody who surfs porn on the Web. I guess.
ROBERTS: It's the spaghetti principle. You know, throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks.
ELAM: See what sticks.
O'BRIEN: Wow. That's kind of crazy.
ELAM: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right. Other headlines we're watching for you this morning on CNN.com.
(NEWSBREAK)
O'BRIEN: Chad Myers is at the CNN weather center watching lots of things for us this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Terror on the tracks. Explosions and fire rip through a train in India. It left dozens of people dead. Was it an attempt to sabotage peace?
We're live there with the very latest.
ROBERTS: Battered blue. Weather clipped JetBlue's wings. Now it takes drastic measures to get back in the air and get back its reputation.
O'BRIEN: A developing story we're watching this morning. A daring rescue is now under way on a frozen mountain, and the lives of three climbers are hanging in the balance.
ROBERTS: And royal risk. Prince Harry may be shipping out to Iraq, but will he put his unit in the crosshairs?
We're live from New York and Oregon on this AMERICAN MORNING.
O'BRIEN: And good morning. Welcome, everybody. It is February 19th.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
ROBERTS: I'm John Roberts, in for Miles O'Brien for the next couple of days.
Thanks for joining us. Good morning to you.
O'BRIEN: Nice to have you.
ROBERTS: Always good to be here.
O'BRIEN: We love when you help us out. We appreciate it. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
