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President Bush En Route to Georgia; Changing Face of an Insurgency; 'Harry Potter' Star Changes Roles

Aired March 03, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Bus crash tragedy, a team, a campus, a town all in mourning. We'll hear more from the survivors.
Also, President Bush in the tornado zone, we're with him as he surveys the damage. A live report straight ahead.

Two big stories we're following all day long on this Saturday, March 3. I'm Frederica Whitfield, and you're in the NEWSROOM.

A tragic loss, four college baseball players are among the victims of a deadly bus accident, here in Atlanta. Teammates who survived are asking why. Investigators are asking the same question. CNN's Don Lemon is at Grady Hospital where some of the injured are being treated -- Don.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah they are, and you know Fredricka, yesterday 19 of those players were brought here, and we learned 15 of them overnight or either this morning were discharged, so they're at local hotels now.

We're also hearing this new information just in that a bunch of the players at those hotels have just loaded up on buses, they're going here to come to the hospital to visit their teammates. Four of their teammates still in the hospital, two in critical condition, one in fair condition and one in serious condition.

We also learned some new information this morning from one of the doctors who treated one of the critical patients. One of the doctors says that one of those patients had to go back into surgery last night, he needed work on his spleen. So, they're monitoring that. Families are upstairs now, awaiting word, trying to figure out exactly what's going on.

But, I wanted to talk to you -- let's talk about some of the players who were on the buses. I spoke to two of them this morning, they were on the bus when it went over the side of that overpass, yesterday morning, very early on. They talked to us about the smell of gas, waking up to the sound of the bus rumbling around and then all of a sudden being disheveled once the bus hit the ground. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG SIGG, BLUFFTON FIRST BASEMAN: It's really hard to realize that this just happened. Like all day, you're just like, is this really happening? You're waiting to wake up, but then you see your teammates, and this is -- you see -- realize there's players not there, and it just kind of hits you slowly and hits you hard at sometimes and other times it just still feels unreal. Just continue to pray for us. I'd like to say that the community and everyone around us has been extremely supportive and extremely kind. I can't thank them enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So again, those players telling some really harrowing tails about crawling out of that emergency hatch on the top of the bus and trying to get to safety, being inside that dark bus. Not very long after that accident happened -- and you heard the players talk about how quickly the emergency workers got there -- well, some of the first on the scene, if not the first on the scene is Brian Schepler.

You and your partner were the first on the scene, there. Tell us what happened. You tell me you hadn't seen anything like it since you've been here.

BRIAN SCHELPER, EMS WORKER: No, not in Atlanta. It was a lot of people all at once. We were the first ambulance on scene, we were responsible for medical command, really triaging people as far as getting them off scene as quickly as possible, contacting other ambulances to get there and arranging for their transport. As far as getting the patients out of the bus, as well as the patients that were left on scene.

LEMON: Was it tough getting the patients out? Did you have to break glass? Or how -- explain to us what happened.

SCHELPER: Well, we had help doing that. The patients were -- when we got them out, we were able to triage them. Some were trapped in the bus, took a little while to get them out and once they were out, we triaged them and sent them to hospitals.

LEMON: Yeah, and because we're live, we don't have time to talk to all of you, but again, even you say, 17 years, this is unbelievable.

MICHAEL CHAMBERS, EMS WORKER: Seventeen years in EMS, it's the, by far, the large NCI (ph) I've been on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

LEMON: In case you guys haven't heard on the news, those players are crediting all of you, saying that you got there fast and you really did make a bad, very terrible situation better by what you did. So, we thank you for joining us today. Amazing work for you guys.

Also, as far as the investigation goes, the National Transportation and Safety Board just left here not more than 10 minutes ago. We got a little bit of video of them leaving. They said they really couldn't tell us what they were talking about, but they did interview some of the people who were on the bus to try to get to the bottom of the situation, here. So, they have taken over the investigation. They say they're going to be on the ground here for quite a while. Their answers may not come, they say sometimes for about a year. But also, it's going to be doubly hard for them to figure out exactly what happened because the person who was driving the bus, who might have the most knowledge, the driver, died as well as his wife.

That's the latest for the Grady Hospital, here. I'm going to toss it back to you -- Frederica.

WHITFIELD: All right Don, thanks so much.

Well, it's still hard to imagine what the paramedics went through and what the players on that bus went through. So much so, it's why so many people are still gathering at the site of that accident, yesterday, the I-75 overpass. You're looking at live pictures, right now. A number of people who have gathered, along with some of the investigators that Don just mentioned, still checking out the scene, a lot of onlookers who have come by, even placing flowers there in what's become a makeshift memorial there, at the overpass at I-75, here in Atlanta.

So many of the players and coaches on the bus were asleep at the time of the accident, and then many of them were jolted awake with the bus on its side on the interstate. CNN's Drew Griffin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The explanation is simple to anyone trying to navigate through an unfamiliar city in the dark of early morning. The bus was headed south on Interstate 75 in this HOV lane. It is here at this point the bus followed the clearly marked exit, heading up the ramp instead of straight now straight down the highway, reflectors on the ground warn of a stop ahead.

But the evidence left behind, paints a picture of a bus traveling onto this exit ramp at high speed, barreling through the intersection and smashing over the other side, leading to the conclusion, the driver had no idea this was the end of the road.

MAJ C.W. MOSS, ATLANTA POLICE: We don't have any evidence on the roadway suggesting that the bus had attempted to stop in a quick manner, if you will. There were no skid marks.

GRIFFIN: Sleeping in the back, A.J. Ramthun an 18-year-old freshman, says the only warning was the crash itself.

A.J. RAMTHUN, ACCIDENT SURVIVOR: All I remember, as I woke up -- I woke up as soon as the bus hit the overpass' wall, and that's when I looked up and the bus landed on the left side, which is the side I was sitting on and I just looked out and saw the road coming up after me and, it just -- that's all.

GRIFFIN: What was going through the driver's mind? What mistakes may have been made? Why the driver turned at such a high rate of speed onto an exit ramp, we will never know. Both the bus driver and his wife were among the dead. Ramthun, who has a broken collar bone and stitches on his ear, says there was no plan to stop anywhere in Atlanta.

RAMTHUN: We were supposed to be driving all the way through. The next time we were supposed to stop was supposed to be 8:00 this morning for breakfast.

GRIFFIN: Atlanta police say they believe they have ruled out at least one possibility, no evidence of driver fatigue. Around an hour before the crash, the bus company actually conducted a driver switch, a fresh driver and his wife taking over the trip.

MOSS: Essentially a second driver met them at an area north of the city on the bus stop they swapped drivers and then they continued southbound.

GRIFFIN: And while road crews were out making sure all exit signs were in place and the exit was properly marked, it may still have been confusing to an out-of-town driver. On Interstate 75 heading into Atlanta, this exit for an HOV lane, is the first of its kind where you leave the highway on the left.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that Bluffton baseball player, A.J. Ramthun, who you saw in Drew's piece, made some incredible movements -- moving statements from Grady Memorial Hospital, yesterday. Today at 12:30 Eastern, we'll bring you more of those comments in its entirety; it's something you just don't want to miss.

Unbelievable devastation, that's what President Bush is seeing as tours the tornado damaged Alabama town of Enterprise. Just moments ago, he got a firsthand look at the town's high school where at least eight students were killed when the twister hit on Thursday. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Bush offered his condolences to the victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Looked as bad from the air as it looks from the ground and you can see, right here, the effects of the storm. But the biggest effect of the storm is the shattered lives. We can rebuild buildings, and the fundamental question is, will the spirits stay strong in Enterprise, Alabama, and I predict it not only will stay strong, will be strengthened. That's my prediction. And it's easy to tell when you talk to, whether it's young or old, this town refuses to be uh -- uh, to be uh -- devastated. This town is a town full of people that will not be -- will succumb to uh, the effects of this storm.

The mayor is strong, the principal of the school is strong, superintendent, and children, high school seniors. And so, it's a -- these are very tough times for the people, here. And they're going to be tough times for the people in Georgia that were affected. And I just hope they know that a lot of people are praying for them. That a lot of strangers that they'll never have met, care for them and that out of this rubble will emerge a better tomorrow and that's the commitment that I hear here in Enterprise and the role of the government is to help to the extent that we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Bush is expected to also tour another tornado devastated area, Americus, Georgia, within the hour. That tornado that ripped through that town killed at least two people, shredded parts of a hospital and damaged more than 500 homes. CNN's Allan Chernoff is there and joins us live with the latest.

What is the president going to see when he visits -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's going to see lots of devastation, but I can tell you there's been plenty of cleanup, as well. Much of the forest that really littered this parking lot is all gone. But let's have a look at some of the damage that remains.

This is just an example of the force of the storm. This is a huge block of concrete, here, a light post, you see it just knocked it right down, essentially chopped the concrete. Come over here and we can see some more damage still remaining. The power lines have been put back up, but you can see some of the remains over here, the crews this afternoon will be restringing the power lines over here, and beyond is the hospital, Sumnter Regional Hospital. You can see that the windows were all blown out, the roofs also destroyed in many, many places. The facade of part of the hospital is also destroyed. But if you want to see real damage, come with us now inside the hospital where patients and staff rode out the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Walk through the remains of Sumnter Regional Hospital and imagine the terror that patients and staff endured during the tornado. About 60 patients were here Thursday night when the twister struck. Nurse Bridget Barrow was among those caring for them. Today she feels lucky to be alive.

BRIDGET BARROW, NURSE: You could feel the suction and the doors, immediately -- emergency doors and the doors to the rooms stated flapping open and on and on.

CHERNOFF (on camera): You feel the suction and what are you thinking?

BARROW: I'm thinking we're all going to go out of the ceiling and the roof.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): We'd swept away part of the roof, yet everyone in the building survived.

(on camera): There were four infants, here in the nursery, when the tornado struck. Nurses took those infants out of the nursery and then brought them into interior rooms with their moms. Then the nurses gathered here in the hallway, got down low and held on to this railing for dear life. BARROW: I was holding onto the rail and I really did, I just started saying, "please, god, protect us. Just be with us." And then truly, really and truly in that moment, about five seconds later is when it lifted.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): Contractor, Rick Newell, helped build the hospital's newest wing seven years ago and brought CNN along as he assessed the damage.

RICK NEWELL, CONTRACTOR: The hospital done an amazing job with getting everybody out in the timeframe that they did with no injuries.

CHERNOFF (on camera): Can you believe no one died here?

NEWELL: Not from what I've seen, no, sir.

CHERNOFF: It's incredible.

NEWELL: It's very incredible.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): The same is true for the devastation. Far more than a hospital was destroyed in Americus, a shopping center, including the Winn Dixie supermarket and at least 500 homes, according to the county sheriff.

Alma Camp and her sister, Rina Dariso (ph), in the red, had one of the scariest experiences of their 80 plus years in this town, Thursday night.

ALMA CAMP, AMERICUS RESIDENT: Sounds very much like a freight train and I don't know, oh, I don't know, I just -- you go back and try to relive it. It's terrible.

CERNOFF: Their home suffered no damage, but it's painful for them to see what has become of their beloved town.

CAMP: I'm almost...

RINA DARISO, CAMPS' SISTER: Well, that's OK.

CAMP: It hurts to see it destroyed this way. We watched this place grow, and it's terrible. It's terrible to see it gone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: Among the structures that will be gone, right behind us, an annex to the hospital. This is where they conducted x-rays and as you can see, the structure completely collapsed. That's going to have to be destroyed, this, among the items that the president will be seeing shortly. At least some good news, the new portion of the hospital will actually be able to rebuild. Structural engineers have gone through and determined that, in fact, the building is structurally sound still -- Frederica.

WHITFIELD: All right, little slice of good news in there. Thanks so much, Allan. A father remembers his son killed by the tornado that struck Enterprise High School. His sorrow is tempered with pride, that story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

And 30 minutes from now, the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan is much different than it use to be. Iraq is to thank for that. We'll explain.

And "Harry Potter" has you've never seen him before. Daniel Radcliffe tackles a more grownup role. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: You're looking at tape -- pictures, right now, that we're just getting in of a Marine One or a contingent of helicopters involving the president's tour of Alabama. He's touring the tornado- devastated area of the Southeast. His next stop today will be Georgia where he will be on the ground and talking with survivors and people who are trying to pick up the pieces in Americus, Georgia. But these pictures just coming in, right now, of the president's tour.

A brave teen, a tragic hero as the tornado bore down on the high school in Enterprise, Alabama. A protective wall began to crumble. Eight students were killed. Our Gulf Coast correspondent Susan Roesgen brings us one of the stories there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tim Jackson is a parent who is both proud and grieving. Grieving because his son A.J. was one of the eight opportunities who died, but proud because he knows his son saved another student's life.

TIM JACKSON, FATHER OF A VICTIM: One of the rescued, one of the guys that was there had said that A.J. had kept a concrete beam from falling on a girl and saved her life and that she survived. I don't know who the girl is, but that sounds just like A.J., with a smile on his face, he would do it again.

ROESGEN: The students were huddled in the hallways when the tornado struck, and A.J., a 16-year-old junior, made a split-second decision.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was in where the walls were collapsing and he held -- basically jumped, got himself in front of the wall before it landed on her and unfortunately the walls landed on him and she slid out of the way so she could get to safety, and we dragged her out of the building and then went back and got more.

JACKSON: He's in a better place.

ROESGEN: Tim Jackson spent the day making funeral arrangements. His son was a school cheerleader.

JACKSON: He was a wonderful, wonderful young man and he's in a better place. He's up there in heaven doing stunts right now, and I can't wait until I get up there and see him again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: That report from Susan Roesgen. She'll join us live in the 2:00 p.m. hour to tell us more about the stories of those left behind following those tornadoes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAMTHUN: I just wish there was something I could do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Their accident touched everyone, the emotional account of one of the players who was on that bus in Atlanta. That is 10 minutes away.

But next, redefining a child star, the actor behind "Harry Potter" does his bit to defy type casting. You're in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: He's a familiar face, you know him as "Harry Potter," boy wizard, but actor Daniel Radcliffe is trying something different. He shed his glasses and cape and a whole lot more. CNN's Alphonso van Marsh has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Taking a well-earned bow, "Harry Potter" star, Daniel Radcliffe, receives the admiration of his fans after his West End Theatre debut. The play is a world away from magic and Hogwarts and is a big gamble for Radcliffe.

The 17-year-old actor stars in "Equus," a dark psychological thriller about a stable boy who blinds (ph) horses. In "Equus" The former "Harry Potter" loses not only his trademark glasses and scarf, his clothes come off too, for a nude scene, but all in the name of art, you understand.

DANIEL RADCLIFFE, ACTOR: No, I was never really that worried about the nudity thing. I didn't -- it was just -- I was a bit nervous early on in the first couple of months we did it in front of everyone, after that, you get over it very, very quickly, surprisingly quickly, actually.

VAN MARSH: After the performance came the praise from a star- studded audience.

BOB GELDOF, MUSICIAN: Certainly proved himself as a proper -- as a serious actor. I mean, "Harry potter" is a great role, but this is -- this is serious stuff.

CHRISTIAN SLATER, ACTOR: Yeah, it was wonderful, really, really amazing. VAN MARSH: Critics, it seems, agree.

"Daniel Radcliffe electrified the stage," wrote the "Daily Express." "The Guardian" called it "Fine acting." "Brilliant," wrote the "Telegraph." "The 17-year-old truly impressed," gushed the "Daily Mail."

(on camera): Daniel Radcliffe's role as an emotionally disturbed teenager is based on real-life events. Now that's a change from his cinema blockbuster roles, based in a fantasy world that's made him one of the richest teen actors on the planet.

VAN MARSH: Oh, what a ride it's been for Radcliffe since he first brought J.K. Rowling's boy wizard to the big screen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harry potter!

VAN MARSH: He's traded fighting sinister evil spirits for dealing with the demons in his "Equus" character's own head. In short the boy actor is growing up.

JEREMY AUSTIN, THEATRE CRITIC: We've seen it so many times, get type cast with one massive internationally successful role, you never do anything else. He's done exactly the right thing. He's taken a challenge, he's shown that he can act.

VAN MARSH: It seems Daniel Radcliff has shed his "Harry potter" character, yet managed to put a spell on London's theatre crowd and its critics. But don't think you've seen the last of the glasses and cape. Harry's back later this year. Alphonso van Marsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So a proply bug-proofed home doesn't only mean savings for the homeowner, it also means fewer hassles and less- squeamish kids. For the next three installments of "Modern Living," we'll look at ways to keep those household pests from bugging you and your family. This week Gerri Willis tackles bed bugs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite. If you think it's just and old nursery rhyme, think again. Bed bugs are becoming a nightmare in a growing number of American households.

(on camera): How am I getting them in my house?

BRENDAN GOLDBLATT, LIBERTY PEST CONTROL: A lot of times, people, especially if you go shopping at one of the thrift stores or especially if you go to yard sales, you're going to see a lot of stuff that comes in, you know, that will bring in infestations.

WILLIS (voice-over): Another common place to pick them up, hotels.

(on camera): When I'm traveling, how do I know that there are bed bugs in that hotel room?

GOLDBLATT: The best thing to do is to check, especially around the mattress. Pull up the linens and you will actually see some bed bugs if there's an infestation.

WILLIS: Tell me what they look like.

GOLDBLATT: They're a fifth of an inch long, a quarter of an inch, and they're about an eighth of an inch wide. They're brownish in color, so they're very dark, but when they've fed, they're actually red.

WILLIS (voice-over): Here's what you can do to protect yourself. Bag all linens and clothing that have been infested and wash them in 120 degrees or hotter. Vacuum regularly, discard bags right away to prevent trapped bugs from escaping. And when traveling, keep your clothes in your bag and keep the bag off the floor to avoid bringing home a bed bug as a souvenir.

I'm Gerri Willis, and that's this week's "Modern Living".

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can't always catch every minute of the news, but a statement from a Bluffton baseball player who survived yesterday's bus crash is something you don't want to miss, his moving account, straight ahead.

The Afghan war, a battle against two enemies, the Taliban with terror techniques imported from Iraq. An ex-CIA man tells that story in the NEWSROOM.

How would you look if your every move were videotaped? A light- hearted look at the president's best trips and slips.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to the on NEWSROOM this busy Saturday, March 3rd. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

As we await the president to land in Americus, Georgia as he continues to survey the damage throughout the southeast after tornadoes ripped through the area on Thursday, we're also learning new information from weather experts from NOAA who now say that based on the wind damage in many of those southeastern towns, it looks as though the tornadoes measured EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, meaning that the wind speeds were estimated to be between 136 and 165 miles-per-hour. And of course when the president does land in Americus, Georgia, we'll be able to bring that to you. He has already toured parts of the tornado-ravaged Alabama towns.

A solemn vigil now at Bluffton University in Ohio, mourning the loss of four baseball players killed in Friday's tragic bus accident in Atlanta, Georgia. The driver and his wife were killed when the bus plunged from an overpass and onto the Interstate 75 during a road trip to Florida. One of two brothers injured in that accident takes us inside that bus as he describes what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

A.J. RAMTHUN, BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY BASEBALL PLAYER: I was involved in the bus accident this morning. Pretty much, I just wanted to -- I wanted to get my heartfelt -- to the families, to the baseball players involved, my teammates.

I understand four of them deceased, and I just wanted to say -- I just wish there was something I could do for the families who lost their loved ones. This is something that's not going to leave the guys who were on that bus this morning. This is going to be with us forever.

We've been living together, practicing together and just -- we've been a family for the past five months, and something like this morning really makes you think twice about life. I just wanted to say -- I just wanted to give my condolences to the families who suffered losses and just wish there was something we could do.

QUESTION: Can you tell us your recollection of the crash?

RAMTHUN: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: Can you tell us what you remember of the crash?

RAMTHUN: I was asleep, like most of the guys on the bus. It was roughly 4:00 in the morning. All I remember, as I woke up, I woke up as soon as the bus hit the overpass' wall. That's when I looked up and the bus landed on the left side, which is the side I was sitting on. I just looked out and saw the road coming up after me, and that's all. I remember our catcher Kurt Schroeder (ph) tapping me on the head, seeing if I was awake, telling me we needed to get out because there was gas all over the place. And that's about it.

QUESTION: Do you remember if there was a plan to pull off the highway at that point or were you just driving through Atlanta?

RAMTHUN: We were supposed to be driving all the way through. The next time we were supposed to stop was supposed to be 8:00 this morning for breakfast.

QUESTION: Can you discuss your injuries, how you're feeling right now?

RAMTHUN: I'm one of the lucky ones. I broke my collar bone, had to get stitches in my ear, both corners of my eyes and my finger was ripped to the bone.

But I was lucky. I'm feeling fine. You know, I'm going to heal, cuts and bruises are going to go away. But there's just some things -- my older brother, he's on the team as well. He got trapped underneath the bus. He has hip damage. You know, he might not recover from that. And I don't know how to come up to some of these guys and say I'm sorry while I'm standing, you know. It's just not a lot you can do.

QUESTION: Have you spoken to your parents?

RAMTHUN: I've spoke to my mom and dad. I spoke to my mom as soon as it happened, and my dad was still off up at work. And I eventually got a hold of my dad as well while I was at the hospital. And he will be coming down to take me back home.

QUESTION: Where are you from, what town?

RAMTHUN: I'm from Springfield, Ohio.

QUESTION: Will you describe the scene on the bus after the impact, just you all trying to get out and trying to manage what was going on.

RAMTHUN: The guys who walked away uninjured, pretty much, they -- they were really selfless about it. They helped other people.

I told you earlier, Kurt Schroeder (ph) helped me off the bus. One of the guys I drove here with, another patient from the other hospital, one of the guys, he got hit pretty hard, but he helped him out of the bus.

It was just -- it was what you expect out of any college team, just more concern for others than you have about yourself. And guys passing up the opportunity to get on a squad and go to the hospital so that other people who were seriously injured could go.

Coach Miller (ph), he had to go to the hospital. We had a guy back off the squad and say, "Take Coach Miller (ph)." And it's just what you would expect. You know, even in a situation like that, when you're this tightly-knit, it's -- you don't care about yourself after that.

QUESTION: A.J., what caused the injuries to your face? What was it that caused it?

RAMTHUN: I was sitting on the window seat. So...

QUESTION: It was the window?

RAMTHUN: Yes, it was the window.

QUESTION: A.J., describe what you saw and what you heard (INAUDIBLE).

RAMTHUN: I didn't really -- I don't really have a whole lot of memory of exactly what started first, but the first thing I heard was Kurt (ph) telling me to get off the bus, there was gas everywhere.

I heard some guys crying, "I'm stuck. I'm stuck."

I walked by Coach Grandey, who is now in stable condition, but at that time he was -- he was horrible -- he was so bad off. And I tried to help him up, and that's when I realized my shoulder was hurt. And I told the coach he was just going to have to sit there and wait for the medics to get there. And Kurt (ph) tried to help him up as well. But our coach is a big guy. He's not -- it was just chaos in my mind.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So it used to be a rarity in Afghanistan. But now suicide bombings are the norm. The changing face of an insurgency, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Afghanistan, it's been called the other war. And while a lot of attention has been focused on Iraq, the Taliban has been hard at work. CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST (voice-over): In Afghanistan, suicide attacks, like the one the Taliban claims targeted Vice President Dick Cheney, were once all but unthinkable.

ART KELLER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: They didn't believe in suicide. They believed that was a sin against Islam. And now there are waves and waves of suicide bombers being dispatched.

BERGEN: He knows firsthand. Art Keller is a former CIA officer who was most recently based on the Afghan/Pakistan border.

2001 was the start. A single suicide attack in Afghanistan, before that, none. The number crept up gradually until 2005 when there were 27 attacks. Finally last year, the number of suicide attacks in Afghanistan jumped more than 400 percent to 139.

KELLER: A very strong cultural prohibition has been eroded, and that's the influence of al Qaeda and the so-called Afghan/Arabs.

BERGEN: Keller has seen this and he's seen the growing use of IEDs and other weapons used in Iraq, and he's made a connection that worries him.

KELLER: Well, Iraq is really a training ground. Tactics from Iraq have migrated, especially the employment of IEDs and suicide bombers.

BERGEN (on camera): Certain irony?

KELLER: Yes, seems like the reverse of the way the war on terror was supposed to work.

BERGEN (voice-over): We met Keller where he lives in New Mexico. It's a landscape similar to Waziristan. The wild and lawless tribal region of western Pakistan on the Afghan border. Keller spent time there last year chasing al Qaeda. His job was to gather intelligence about the terrorists from his post on a Pakistani army base.

KELLER: Probably the movie image that people have of spies running around with guns couldn't be further from the truth. You're more like a spider sitting in a Web, waiting for people to be caught.

BERGEN: Waziristan is believed to be the kind of enemy sanctuary for hundreds of foreign terrorists, possibly including Osama bin Laden himself and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri. At the same time he says, CIA resources were increasingly directed to the war in Iraq.

(on camera): You didn't really feel there were enough Americans on the job?

KELLER: No, I know for a fact that the people were incredibly shorthanded. That's why it was such a challenging situation.

BERGEN: I mean, we're spending hundreds of billions of dollars every year on national security. We can't send enough people to look for al Qaeda in Pakistan.

KELLER: Yes. All I can report is the ground truth that I saw.

BERGEN: So where do the resources go?

KELLER: Well, I think a great deal of the resources have gone to Iraq. I don't think -- it's appreciated that the CIA is not really a very large organization in terms of field personnel, so we do not have an infinite amount.

And if you do a couple of larger deployments, that uses up a lot of people because we also have the rest of the world that we have to keep an eye on.

BERGEN: So the Iraq war shortchanged the fight against al Qaeda?

KELLER: I definitely think it put a dent in it. We have not stopped the fight, but it certainly from a resource issue, stretched people incredibly thin.

BERGEN (voice-over): The CIA declined to comment on operational matters to CNN. However, they did say they're going all out in the hunt for al Qaeda's leaders.

But the Taliban have flourished in the years they were thrown out of power in Afghanistan. They now rule quite openly in Waziristan, either co-opting or killing traditional tribal leaders. They even administer their own harsh justice. Keller obtained Taliban-produced videos sold openly in local markets. They serve as a brutal and graphic warning to those who might resist the Taliban.

KELLER: Those are obviously bodies displayed in a public area as an object lesson.

BERGEN: Three men, tortured, executed, their bodies paraded through a dusty town before a large public gathering. Another video speaks of the peril facing the Pakistan army in the tribal regions. It's a Taliban raid, planned and executed with precision, targeting a Pakistani army outpost. Attacks like these led to truce agreements in 2005 and 2006. The Pakistani government promised it would scale back military operations if tribal leaders would give up Taliban and al Qaeda fighters.

MAHMUD ALI DURRANI, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO US: I do not think that the deal that we signed with them has helped the extremists and terrorists, not at all.

KELLER: I believe the Pakistani government kept up their end of the deal, but on the other end, it hasn't been very successful.

DURRANI: On a daily basis, about 200,000 people cross the Pakistan/Afghan border, and it becomes difficult to discern who's a fighter, who is just coming to meet family. There would be, I would agree, there would be some people crossing the Pakistan/Afghan border, and probably the Taliban and maybe al Qaeda. But what you need to realize is that 90 percent of the problem is in Afghanistan.

BERGEN (on camera): The bottom line is these peace deals seems to have empowered al Qaeda and empowered the Taliban.

KELLER: I would say it's given them a free hand. I mean, it was successful in one measure in one measure in that attacks against the Pakistani military went down dramatically after the signing of the peace deal. The question is at what cost.

BERGEN: Well, I think we know that the cost is pretty high for U.S. and NATO troops on the other side, right?

KELLER: Yes, to use a medical analogy, it's like quitting a course of antibiotics too soon. You just leave a reservoir of infection even stronger to come back after you.

BERGEN (voice-over): The Taliban in their black turbans. Gun- toting mullahs in camouflage. Foreign jihadists in training, launching deadly attacks. Graphic evidence that al Qaeda and their allies in the Taliban have largely survived the west's curious assaults and that what didn't kill them has only made them stronger. Peter Bergen, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Pretty frightening stuff.

Meantime, President Bush is expected in Americus, Georgia shortly. We'll get a live update coming up next.

And later, the maligned cavemen, well they get their due. They've made you laugh in the insurance commercials. Could they be ready for a bigger stage? You're in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. President Bush should be arriving in Americus, Georgia momentarily. Two people were killed when the tornado cut through that town of 20,000. Our Allan Chernoff is on the ground there. And Allan, give us an update as to when you think the president will be arrived and what he's likely to see first? CHERNOFF: Well, Fredricka, about a half hour ago, we actually did see large military helicopters overhead. And there's certainly a good chance that the president's helicopter was among those.

And behind over here there's a command post set up, and the state trooper is all ready to receive the president here. So we would expect him here any minute. He will see a tremendous amount of damage here in Americus. Just one example from the spot we're standing, this is a CVS Pharmacy. You can see the exterior structure entirely ripped out, the insulation, everything just gone. I looked inside of the store. There is nothing left. I mean, absolutely nothing.

And over here, this is an annex from the hospital here, Sumpter Regional Hospital. This is where they conducted X-rays. And it's obviously just all destroyed. Beyond there, homes destroyed. The sheriff of the county told me that he estimated at least 500 homes were destroyed here. So it's very extensive damage. The president is certainly going to see quite a lot of devastation here.

WHITFIELD: And of course, we'll be covering that when the president does make his arrival. Thanks so much, Allan Chernoff in Americus, Georgia.

Meantime, you've seen them in the commercials. Can a caveman get any respect? Well, not on your television set. But there might be a light at the end of their tunnel after all. That's next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So new rules took effect for travelers in January. Everyone must have a passport if they go out of the country, even to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean. Now the Department of Homeland Security has relaxed the passport rules for children traveling by land or sea. More in this week's "On the Go" segment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY ZIFF, TRAVELOCITY: The new rule will mean that kids under the age of 18 can travel with their parents and get in with a copy of their birth certificate. And if children of the ages of 16 to 18 are traveling with, say, a religious group, a social group, a school group, something like that, they'll be able to get into the country from Canada or Mexico, the Caribbean as well, with just their copy of their birth certificate. And that is by land or by sea.

Air travel, everybody needs a passport. That's really important to emphasize. If you're cruising or if you're driving, you don't need a passport until January 1, 2008. For people who have any questions on how to get a passport, where to get a passport, if they want an expedited passport, renewal questions, anything like that, they can go to www.getapassport.com. It has all the answers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: In football, they call it a hail mary. But whatever you call it in basketball, well, it's a screaming thrill. This long- shot buzzer beater, boom, right there. Thrown last month during a seventh grade basketball tournament at St. Paul Catholic School in Westerville, Ohio. They kid who hurled it making daddy very proud, is the coach's son after all. The video courtesy of a local fan, just wanted you to see it.

And you've probably seen the commercials, but are the Geico cavemen really ready for primetime? So easy even a caveman can do it? Well, you've seen the pitch everywhere on TV, including here on CNN. Well now, the cavemen might get their own sitcom. ABC has ordered a pilot for the fall TV season. No guarantee if it will make it on air. The show will be set in Atlanta, of all places.

And President Bush is on his way once again to the tornado- ravaged Americus, Georgia. And when he gets there and makes his remarks, CNN will carry that live.

A look at the top stories coming up next. First, a preview of what's ahead, "IN THE MONEY."

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