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American Morning

Hearings on Condition at Walter Reed; Atlanta Bus Crash: What Went Wrong?; Afghan Anger: U.S. Blamed for Civilian Deaths

Aired March 05, 2007 - 08:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: This is including five new models. One being the Toyota RAV4, which is actually voted the most reliable small SUV. Also there, the Honda Fit, the most reliable budget car.
Overall, the most satisfying, the Toyota Prius for the fourth straight year. Second, the Chevy Corvette.

Now, taking a look at General Motors, they really beat everyone's expectations here, logging 3.7 percent in boosted sales over February of last year. That's mainly because of truck sales up 8 percent. So that's good news for that company there, obviously.

The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Worldwide slide, again. Stock markets around the world losing ground overnight. Can Wall Street avoid its own nose dive today?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: More wounds. Congress is set to grill military commanders today about conditions at Walter Reed. More heads could roll.

M. O'BRIEN: Plus, signs of confusion. Disturbing new information about the off-ramp bus crash that killed four college baseball players and a message from the father of one of those boys.

We are live from Atlanta, New York, Washington and elsewhere on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning to you, Monday, March 5th.

I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Thanks for being with us.

Today Congress goes right to the source at open hearings at Walter Reed Medical Center. Commanders are going to be called for -- to account, rather, for conditions in building 18. It's an outpatient dorm. Veterans staying there complained about mice and cockroaches, complained about walls that were covered in mold.

Now, some heads have already rolled at Walter Reed. The hospital's commander, Major General George Weightman, was fired just after six months on the job. Last week that happened. Then the Army secretary, Francis Harvey, resigned, partly for trying to bring back Walter Reed's former commander, Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley. Major General Eric Schoomaker is going to take over now.

We have two reports on the fallout at Walter Reed this morning. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us. Bob Franken live outside of the hospital where the hearings will begin later this morning.

Let's start with Barbara.

Barbara, good morning.

First, let's talk about overall impact that these hearings are going to have.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, these hearings are going to be very grim. Army officials already saying they are prepared for what they're calling an ugly day.

They even do expect personal attacks, they say, against some of the top leadership when the questions are raised, how could this have happened? Healthcare for the wounded from the war is supposed to be the top priority, but soldiers left living in these conditions, and many of them in the outpatient care at Walter Reed were basically left on their own.

They were not cared for, according to standards. And the question that the Army still has yet to answer is, it may have been overwhelmed by the number of wounded, but how could it let all of this really happen -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question about what we will hear today. I assume they're going to put some soldiers before the commission, and that's got to be heartbreaking. I mean, really, the devil is going to be in the details for these folks.

STARR: This is a tragedy that has, of course, a very human face. There will be plenty of generals testifying, explaining their actions, but, indeed, we are going to hear from some of the wounded troops and from some of their family members who are also, of course, trying to cope and help.

One of the men we expect to hear from is Staff Sergeant John Daniel Shannon (ph). He is a young man who had his skull and eye shattered by a bullet round in an attack in Iraq. He was treated at Walter Reed, but once he moved into the outpatient care facility, which is such a matter of contention now, Staff Sergeant Shannon (ph) is expected to testify that many times he was basically left to fend on his own, couldn't get the help that he needed, and felt very overwhelmed by the bureaucracy at Walter Reed.

We'll hear from the wives of some of the other troops that are also suffering from traumatic injuries. It should be a very difficult hearing -- Soledad. S. O'BRIEN: I read a quote from one of these -- these injured troops who said, "Why did they bother to save my life on the battlefield if they weren't going to help me when they brought me back to the United States?" It's really heartbreaking stuff.

Barbara Starr, thanks. I know you're going to be watching it for us -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: President Bush is calling for a commission to give Walter Reed a thorough review. This isn't the first time he has called for a special commission when the going gets tough.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken is at Walter Reed, where the hearings are happening in just a few hours.

Bob, what's the latest?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's so interesting, Miles, that when there's a problem, when there's a controversy, there's often such a predictable knee-jerk reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice over): When politicians and other celebrities get into trouble, they often go into rehab. But just as often, when there's scandal in Washington, like the one at Walter Reed hospital, someone calls for a commission.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm announcing that my administration is creating a bipartisan presidential commission.

FRANKEN: The president's announcement Saturday didn't stop one Democrat from having his own novel idea Sunday.

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: ... an independent commission to look at all of the outpatient facilities throughout the country.

FRANKEN: We can't seem to have too many commissions. Or can we?

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: Let's don't pass the buck where a study is done, three months, six months, and they come back and it will wind up at somebody's door.

FRANKEN: Former congressman Lee Hamilton knows commissions. He's been co-chairman of both the 9/11 Commission and the Iraq Study Group.

LEE HAMILTON, DIRECTOR, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: The value of commissions sometimes can be hugely important in the public policy debate. Other times they're just totally ignored.

FRANKEN: Or followed selectively.

When the Iraq Study Group said it would not oppose a short-term redeployment of U.S. troops, President Bush ordered his so-called surge. And sometimes things don't happen right away. Take the study group's recommendation to hold diplomatic talks with Iran and Syria. No way, said the administration. Well, guess's who attending some regional meetings with the U.S.?

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The Iraqi government has invited all of its neighbors, including Syria and Iran, to attend both of these regional meetings.

HAMILTON: Well, the political heat can be very strong on a policymaker.

FRANKEN: Which means some commissions just can't be ignored, like a 9/11 Commission or a base closing commission. But when it comes to commissions, Lee Hamilton is one of the kings.

HAMILTON: Well, I'm serving on a new commission. And the commission is on the war powers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: So, Miles, the next time we have an editorial question, I've got an idea. Let's form a commission. I understand we can get Lee Hamilton.

M. O'BRIEN: I think he is Mr. commission, isn't he? We'll give him a blue ribbon, in any case.

FRANKEN: That's right. Bob

M. O'BRIEN: Franken, thank you -- Soledad.

FRANKEN: He's a sucker for punishment.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, he is. You've got to tip the hat to him for that -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Outside of Atlanta, federal investigators say they're going to recommend changes to that exit ramp where a charter bus crashed early on Friday. For now, though, the ramp is open and those who survived the crash are coming home to Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN (voice over): Bluffton University baseball players and their parents returning home on Sunday from Atlanta, where four teammates perished in a bus crash on Friday. John Betts lost his son, David, a sophomore. He came home to Ohio wearing David's Bluffton baseball cap.

JOHN BETTS, SON DIED IN BUS CRASH: He died doing what he loved and who he enjoyed being with. And I think that's a very important part for us as a family, to know that he was very, very happy in the last moments and seconds of his life.

S. O'BRIEN: Three of David's teammates died, too -- freshmen Cody Holp and Scott Harmon and sophomore Tyler Williams. The bus driver and his wife, Jerome and Jean Niemeyer, were also killed.

Crash investigators believe the driver mistook an exit ramp for the regular HOV lane on I-75. The charter bus apparently failed to stop at the top of the ramp, careening across the intersection before plunging on to the interstate below. Twenty-nine passengers were injured in the crash. Several remain in Atlanta hospitals, including the team's coach, James Grandey.

JIM GRANDEY, FATHER OF BLUFFTON BASEBALL COACH: About all he remembers, he remembers sitting -- what he called was on the median. It might have been the berm of the road, up against some concrete looking at the bus on its side and thinking, my goodness, we must have fallen off.

S. O'BRIEN: Federal investigators are now looking closely at this highway interchange that has seen more than 80 accidents in the past decade.

KITTY HIGGINS, NTSB: I personally believe that we should be talking to the state of Georgia to see whether there is any sort of interim steps, not necessarily a recommendation coming from us, but is there something that the state of Georgia could do to recognize that it shouldn't be business as usual at that intersection?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Is there something that the state of Georgia could do? This morning we're going to talk to a spokesman from the Georgia Department of Transportation about that. He says the exit ramp met and actually exceeded what the feds require -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: In Afghanistan overnight, anger over civilians killed in a NATO airstrike and firefight. U.S. forces carried out an airstrike that killed nine civilians in Kapisa Province. Protesters already angry over reports eight civilians were killed in a shootout on Sunday. This morning we're hearing from Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Kabul with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The very latest incident occurred in Kapisa Province overnight, Sunday into Monday. According to U.S. military officials, enemy combatants fired a rocket at a U.S. military in that province just north of Kabul. The rocket missed.

They then saw enemy combatants go into a compound. They called in air support, two 1,000-pound bombs were dropped on a building there. They can confirm that there were nine deaths in that bombing. But according to the deputy governor of Kapisa Province, he says that the dead include five women, three boys and one man.

The Interior Ministry here also confirmed nine civilian casualties in that particular strike. And that comes hard on the heels of the information about -- at least comes hard on the heels of President Hamid Karzai condemning the incident that took place at Jalabad Airport, where a suicide bomber attacked a U.S. military convoy. A gunfight ensued during what U.S. military officials describe as a complex ambush in a civilian area, killing at least eight Afghans, wounding more than 30 others who were taken to the hospital.

It is a very sensitive political time. There is widely expected to be a Taliban offensive, a step-up in action, a spring offensive right now.

The political stakes are high because it is widely expected the Taliban will capitalize, in propaganda terms, on those civilian casualties, trying to build support. U.S. military, NATO here, very concerned. They say they take every step to avoid civilian casualties, and they say these two incidents are indicative of what they see the Taliban trying to do, which is conduct operations where there are civilians and where there may be -- where there's every likelihood of being civilian causalities.

And they blame the Taliban for taking -- taking offensive actions where civilians can be caught up. But it is of deep concern, not only to NATO, but also to the Afghan government.

They want NATO to be supported. They want NATO to be supported because they want to see the reconstruction here that will build support for President Hamid Karzai and, therefore, diminish support for the Taliban.

These two incidents, however, not conducive for that at the moment. Not conducive for continuing to build support for NATO and for President Hamid Karzai.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning is here on CNN.

A congressional committee is set to grill military commanders today about those filthy conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

And give yourself a little extra time if you're flying US Airways today. Problems with automated ticketing kiosks in some cities are making check-in lines longer than normal. You can check in online, by the way. That appears to be working just fine.

About a quarter past the hour. Chad Myers at the CNN weather center.

(WEATHER REPORT) M. O'BRIEN: A closer look this morning at that horrible bus crash in Atlanta that killed four members of a college baseball team. Let's take a look at some animation and give you a sense of what happened.

It appears the driver mistook an exit ramp for the regular HOV lane on Interstate 75. The bus hurdled up the ramp, on to the bridge, in to a guardrail, and then tumbled over on to the road beneath.

Now, that intersection is an odd one. It's a left exit. It is only for vehicles traveling in the HOV lane. The idea is to avoid people in the HOV lane crossing several lanes of traffic to the right to get off on Northside Drive, but it appears the signage there did not conform to federal standards.

David Spear, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Transportation, he joins us now from the highway overpass in Atlanta where it all took place.

Mr. Spear, good to have you with us.

M. O'BRIEN: I am going to drive people through that intersection, for those who have not driven it, just to give them a sense here. And let's talk about the signage that's there. Let's go on up the ramp, if we could, and take a look here.

Here's the sign -- if we could advance that tape, John (ph).

And we'll freeze the video for you right about there, right now if we could. And I want to point out here and ask you, Mr. Spear, on this sign here which says "Left Northside Drive," it says "Buses and Carpools only." It does not have the rectangular yellow box with black lettering which is the federal standard for left exits.

Why is that not on that sign?

DAVID SPEAR, SPOKESMAN, GEORGIA DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION: Miles, my understanding is from our engineers as late as last night that the exit is entirely appropriately signed, both in terms of leading up to the exit, advising motorists that the exit is there, as well as the signage on the exit itself.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, we looked, as a matter of fact, in to the manual of uniform signage that the federal government puts out. Let's take a look.

We put together a graphic with what the recommended signage is supposed to be for a left exit. It should have, as you see below there, this yellow box.

How can you say it jives with the federal regulations when it is very clear in the regulations that left exits are supposed to have that yellow rectangle there with the black lettering?

SPEAR: Miles, I can't see the graphic that you're talking about, I don't have that capability here. But I know the yellow panels that you're talking about. And the exit, all I can tell you is, from our traffic engineers, that the exit is appropriately signed. And they're very confident of that.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's go back to that point of view videotape, if we could, please, John (ph). I want to take people a little farther up the ramp here.

Now, imagine, first of all, if this truck was going, say, 65 or 70 miles an hour. Let's freeze it right here, if we could.

And I apologize that you can't see. I thought you were going to be able to see, Mr. Spear.

If we look over here on the right, the exit sign there, the actual exit sign right there, has the black diamond indicating HOV. And it also has an exit on it. But if you're looking at it kind of quickly, you might see that diamond and see the arrow and say, oh, that's the HOV lane, I should continue to the left in order to stay in the HOV lane.

SPEAR: I assume, Miles, your visual now is down -- is it below the ramp?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, just below the ramp, at the base of the ramp, exactly.

SPEAR: OK. All I can say without exactly seeing what you're looking at is that it requires a very distinct and deliberate movement to the left to get on that exit ramp. The HOV lane is clearly delineated by the double white lines. There is a clear sight of vision directly ahead of that HOV lane and exit, and it simply requires a deliberate movement to the left to get off on that HOV ramp.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Let's -- let's move along up the ramp a little bit here. And as we roll the tape and go a little bit closer, you have two signs there which indicate a stop sign ahead.

Let's stop it right now, if we could.

That's very clear. I'm curious, though, given the fact that, you know, people are coming at such high speed off Interstate 75 there, particularly if they're in the left lane, they're going fast and in that HOV lane, have you ever considered, have you thought about, and might you include those so-called rumble strips which would kind of wake up a driver, that they're headed for an area that they should slow down?

SPEAR: We're certainly going to take a look, Miles, at anything we can do and anything the National Transportation Safety Board recommends to prevent something like this. The issue with rumble strips is, the normal driver expectations, as we talk about in the industry, are that rumble strips indicate to a driver that they strayed out of their lane of traffic and...

M. O'BRIEN: Well, no, no. Actually, they use rumble strips at toll booths all the time. They're used frequently on exit ramps to get -- to tell people it is time to wake up and slow down and pay attention.

Let's go to the end of the ramp here for just a moment, if we could. I want to make one final point here.

We'll just roll up to the top here and we'll stop it right there, if we could, John (ph). Thank you.

You see the stop sign there. What about the possibility -- have you looked into this -- shouldn't there be a blinking light up there somewhere to give -- you know, just make it very clear? Because you're going into -- it's a busy intersection as it is, might even require a street light, I don't know.

Have you looked at that, as well?

SPEAR: I'm sure we've looked at traffic signals there before. I'm sure we're going to look again, Miles.

What I would say in defense of that is that if the driver -- and in this particular instance, we don't know why, but we do know it happened -- if the driver ignored or didn't see four specific stop indicators, what's to say a traffic signal is going to make any more difference?

M. O'BRIEN: All right. All good points.

David Spear with the Georgia Department of Transportation.

We thank you for your time, sir.

SPEAR: Sure. Thank you all.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, hearings begin today on Capitol Hill over those terrible conditions at Walter Reed. We'll tell you just whose jobs might be on the chopping block.

Plus, want to be the next Warren Buffett? The world's second richest man is looking for a successor. Dust off that resume. We're "Minding Your Business" straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Looking for a gig?

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: This is a good one. This is a good one.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: The world's second richest person is looking to groom an understudy. Job hoppers or money grubbers should not apply, apparently.

M. O'BRIEN: I guess I'm out.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You made it clear, right?

S. O'BRIEN: Twenty-six minutes past the hour, Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business."

Warren Buffett needs a little help.

ELAM: It does make you think about it just a little bit.

S. O'BRIEN: I've got my resume here somewhere.

ELAM: Somewhere, right?

The chairman, he's looking to share his wealth, but of knowledge in this case. He wants to find an understudy, really to take a look at what what's going on with his investment branch.

He's 76 years old now. He's like, you know, it's time.

In the latest annual report, he said he plans to higher a younger person or two younger -- I mean, I guess that's relative. You don't really know what that means, really.

But in October, Buffett did acknowledge that their succession plan on the investment side was a little lacking and they needed to do that. However, for the CEO, he says right now his board knows that if he were to die right now, that there are three strong candidates for them to choose from at Berkshire Hathaway.

But he said he wants to retain this investment manager. This is where that money-grubbing part comes in, because the issue there is they want someone who is going to stay. Kind of like the investment manager at GEICO, which is a unit of Berkshire Hathaway.

He stayed there for 25 years. And he could have gone anywhere else and gotten a lot of money -- not that he's under-compensated. But he stayed there for all this time. That's the same sort of idea that he wants to inspire in a new person.

S. O'BRIEN: I'm willing to stay. You have to know a lot about money, though, is the problem.

ELAM: And I think you might have to live in Omaha, right?

M. O'BRIEN: Nothing wrong with that. If you can afford the jet, there's no problem...

ELAM: So, you know, I'm saying, for city people, that might be a transition for them.

S. O'BRIEN: I could do that.

M. O'BRIEN: Omaha's a great city. ELAM: Yes. Yes. Then, again, you could fly all the time wherever you wanted to go.

S. O'BRIEN: Exactly.

ELAM: I'm sure you would still make enough money, you know. I still think it's comfortable.

S. O'BRIEN: To commute from New York.

ELAM: Yes. Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting.

ELAM: There you go.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Stephanie.

S. O'BRIEN: It will be interesting who he picks -- or the people he picks.

ELAM: Right. That's what I think everyone will be looking to see.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Thank you, Stephanie.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, I think our hats are in the ring, anyhow, for what it's worth. Big ring.

From bluster to breakthrough, the U.S. and North Korea trying to talk things out today. But can they put all the saber rattling and the trash-talking behind them? The story is next.

And senators Clinton and Obama battling it out at the site of a civil rights turning point. The surprises in their speeches ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

The most news in the morning right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: It's hard to believe after all the fiery rhetoric and the underground detonations that North Korea and the U.S. could actually be sitting down today for one-on-one talks, but that's what is going to happen.

Our senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth joining us now with a preview. What led to these talks?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, they had an agreement at the so-called six-party talks, but we've had breakdowns before. So it's hard to get too encouraging, but the goal eventually is removing nuclear weapons in the Asian Korean peninsula, and maybe normalization of relations between the U.S. and North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ROTH (voice-over): The last time North Korean diplomats were on the sidewalks of New York...

PAK GIL YON, NORTH KOREAN AMB. TO U.N.: I said the sanctions will not solve the problems at all.

OK, OK, please do not block my way.

ROTH: North Korea had just tested a nuclear device.

North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very ironic that we are where we are now.

ROTH: Today both sides are changing tunes and sitting down to talk.

DARYL KIMBALL, ARMS CONTROL ASSOC.: Both sides recognize that the situation was worsening. The only option was to really bargain with one another.

ROTH: The goal of these new talks, as far fetched as it once sounded, normalizing relations. With a recent multination agreement negotiated by China, the U.S. appears more willing to deal, or forced to deal, given failures abroad, especially in Iraq. Election losses, Democrats advocate more dialogue, even with dictators and the departure of hardliners on North Korea.

JOHN BOLTON, FMR, U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: I don't see any real utility to these talks. I think that they simply help legitimize North Korea. I don't think there's any chance that North Korea will voluntarily give up its nuclear weapons.

ROTH: But today's Bush administration seems convinced. Unlike with Iran and Syria, Kim Jong-Il, though unreliable and unpredictable, has made serious overtures worth exploring.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECY. OF STATE: The policy is not a matter of just talking; it is matter of getting results. And when you sit down to talk, I think you want to have some belief that you can get results.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: The State Department has cautioned against, perhaps we'll call it irrational exuberance, to use a financial term there, but we'll see what happens.

M. O'BRIEN: Careful what you say, the markets are kind of jittery.

Let's talk about what is bringing them back to the table here? Do we have a sense? Is it carrots? It is sticks? Is there a combination? Is there a lot going on behind the scenes we don't know about?

ROTH: Well, people criticize sanctions, but it may be U.S. actions against a bank in Macaw, which the U.S. says has been helping North Korea with counterfeiting of U.S. dollars and money laundering, and it may have had some bite with the North Koreans, cutting off its access to funding.

M. O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, well, we'll see what happens. It is all kinds of twists and turns in this story, aren't there?

Richard Roth -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Political news now. Two new polls on the Republican presidential candidate race. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won a straw poll over the weekend. It was taken at the Meeting of Conservative Political Action Conference. Romney's 21 percent, four point ahead of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, followed on that list by Senator Sam Brownback, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who by the way, isn't even running, and Senator John McCain, who didn't even show up for the conference.

A "Newsweek" poll of registered Republicans has Giuliani, though, with a huge lead over McCain or Romney in a theoretical head-to-head contests with each one.

On the Democratic side, the fight for black votes kind of in a showdown in Selma, Alabama. Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were both there on Sunday. They were marking the anniversary of the violent civil rights march in Selma.

Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley in Washington, D.C. for us this morning.

Hey, Candy. Good morning.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POL. CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad.

It was an iconic moment in civil rights history and an early moment in the 2008 presidential race. The black vote, history and religion combined to make for an interesting Sunday in Selma, Alabama.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): Competing for the attention and votes of African-Americans, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spoke at churches within shouting distance of each other, each laying claim to the legacy that was Selma.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is the gift that keeps on giving. Today it is giving senator Obama the chance to run for president of the United States. And by its logic and spirit it is giving the same chance to Governor Bill Richardson, a Hispanic, and yes, it is giving me that chance, too.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't tell me I'm not coming home when I come to Selma, Alabama. I'm here because somebody marched for our freedom. I'm here because y'all sacrificed for me. I stand on the shoulders...

CROWLEY: This was two high-profile competitors, united by a cause giving roughly the same message.

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: All the good speaking has been done by Hillary and Senator Obama today.

CROWLEY: Make that three high-profile people. Former President Bill Clinton, often referred to in the African-American community as the first black president, came along, too. Another sign of how fierce the competition is for the black vote.

Consider John Lewis, who was beaten in the original march from Selma in '65. Sunday he was in church with Barack Obama and then walked holding hands with Hillary Clinton. Ask him who he'll support.

REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA; Well, it's a very difficult position to be in, but it's a good position to be in. We have choices.

CROWLEY: Obama, Clinton, Clinton and Lewis walked across the Edmund Pettis (ph) Bridge Sunday where 42 years ago marchers were stopped with dogs, and horses and police batons. This time only the cameras got in the way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: It is a mark of some progress of the anniversary of a march designed to ensure that black votes are counted, two candidates, a black and a woman, came to Selma to see if they can count on the black vote -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Candy Crowley for us this morning. Thanks, Candy -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN; News just in from the Georgia Department of Transportation about the deadly bus crash in Atlanta. Were there signs of trouble at that freeway exit? Investigators are pretty certain the bus driver mistook an exit ramp for the regular high- occupancy vehicle lane on Interstate 75, up the ramp they went on to the bridge and over the bridge it went.

A short time ago we spoke to David Spear, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Transportation. about the way that exit is designed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SPEAR, SPOKESMAN, GA. DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION: Miles, my understanding is from our engineers as late as last night that the exit is entirely appropriately signed, both in terms of leading up to the exit, advising motorists that exit is there, as well as the signage on the exit itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Six were killed in the crash, in all, including four baseball players from Bluffton University in Ohio. The bus driver and the driver's wife also died. Twenty-nine passengers on the bus were hurt. Spears also says the exit required a very distinct and deliberate move to the left to get on to that exit ramp.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(NEWSBREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: The warning came earl and the system worked, and still lives were lost. A view from above Enterprise, Alabama, after a tornado roared through. We'll tell you about that.

Also, new concerns about the possible hidden dangers in cold medication for your kids.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning, right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: In Enterprise, Alabama this morning, the schools will not be open. In fact, they will remain closed for the week while folks in that city try to pick themselves back up after that killer tornado last week.

On Friday I flew over the wreckage as one of the meteorologists got a firsthand look of the aftermath of the storm that he saw for the first time on a radar screen on Thursday afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): Flying low and slow over Enterprise, Alabama.

BOB GOREE, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: There's home damage, first we've seen.

M. O'BRIEN: We were joined by the man who, 24 hours earlier issued the tornado warning for enterprise. Bob Goree is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.

GOREE: That is definitely the ground zero of this event.

Yes, it's humbling to see the power of these tornadoes, these tornadic thunderstorms, and then, finally, when that vortex hits the ground and structures and other entities get in the way, and to see that damage is just amazing.

M. O'BRIEN: What he saw surprised him. The area damaged much smaller than expected for a tornado this strong. GOREE: It was still, apparently, having a difficult time bringing all that tornado circulation down to the surface, because with the strength of the storm, we would have suspected it would have stayed on the ground a little bit longer, but we're glad it didn't.

M. O'BRIEN: Goree issued a tornado warning about 20 minutes before the tornado hit Enterprise High School, the third warning that day. He says the latest Doppler radars allow meteorologists to see tornadoes in the making sooner than ever, but there are limits to the technology.

GOREE: The sad fact here is people died. That's the continued challenge. It will never be perfect when it comes to safety, especially with Mother Nature or even other hazards that we run into we have to accept that sometimes we're dealt a cruel blow and people suffer the consequences.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: That question remains this morning, should the principal of the school have sent those kids home earlier in the day? The problem is every time they tried to do that, another warning was issued. There were three in all that day. And of course they all assumed the interior hallway of that school was as safe a place as any for those kids to be.

S. O'BRIEN: When you were there over the weekend, what were people saying? Talk about between a rock and a hard place, right -- send them now, wait.

M. O'BRIEN: The one thing they say was imagine if they had sent them into a bus and the tornado struck then, it could have been much worse. So none of them there were pointing the fingers at the administrators or the principals. 20/20 hindsight, Monday morning quarterbacking, it really comes back to an issue of the structure of these schools, which I think a lot of school systems should be looking at. If you're in a tornado zone, do you really have a safe place for those kids to be.

S. O'BRIEN: When they're all in tornado zones, they really have to have. Them, they have to.

Interesting.

Well, "CNN NEWSROOM" is just a couple of minutes away, and Heidi Collins is at the CNN Center with a look at what they've got ahead for your. Good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Soledad.

That's right, a whole going on today. Here's what we'll be looking at, Army chiefs in the crosshairs this morning. Congress wants to know what happened with wounded warriors at Walter Reed. We'll talk about that.

And outrage in Afghanistan over civilian casualties. The U.S. and NATO are blamed. Will the deaths drive Taliban recruiting?

And a Maryland family mourns their 12-year-old son, dead for want of a dentist. Join T.J. Holmes and me coming up in the "NEWSROOM." We get started at the top of the hour right here on CNN -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Such a sad story. All right, Heidi, thanks.

(NEWSBREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, had to happen sooner than later, Hollywood is making a movie about Valerie Plame, the CIA operative whose identity was leaked in Washington D.C. We'll tell you all about it, right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Here's a quick look at what "CNN NEWSROOM" is working on for the top of the hour.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN ANCHOR: We've got these stories on the "NEWSROOM" rundown this morning. Anger in Afghanistan. The U.S. and NATO accused of killing civilians.

And recovery from tragedy -- the father of a hospitalized survivor of the Atlanta bus crash talks with us.

Who's minding the kids? Police say they have pot smokers caught on tape, just 2 and 5 years old.

You are in the "NEWSROOM" 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 out West.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: I'm in the motel room in Enterprise, Alabama, turn on to Fox, and there you are. And, gosh, you looked good.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you. Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm telling you. This is the NAACP 38th Annual Image awards.

S. O'BRIEN: Notice my brother stepping on my dress?

M. O'BRIEN: Aye carumba! Mui caliente! Soledad O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: Hispanic Heritage.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh yes, that's right, different awards.

S. O'BRIEN: Later on in the year, October.

M. O'BRIEN: That's fasizzle, that's a fasizzle gizzle thing.

S. O'BRIEN: There you. M. O'BRIEN: Who did that dress for you?

S. O'BRIEN: Carmen Marcello (ph) designed that dress. Isn't that a great dress? I am so...

M. O'BRIEN: You should wear that every morning here. Our ratings would skyrocket. Tell us about the award, though. This is fantastic, in all seriousness.

S. O'BRIEN: A lot of the award was given for coverage of Hurricane Katrina and it's a public service award, just given to people for mentoring, and really the coverage of Hurricane Katrina over the last year.

M. O'BRIEN: You deserve every bit of recognition you get.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you. It was so much fun. Prince was there. Mary J. I sat in the same row as Q -- Quincy Jones -- Bill Cosby of course, you know.

M. O'BRIEN: So you're out hanging with the...

S. O'BRIEN: Kind of, kind of. It was kind of a fun night.

M. O'BRIEN: Kind of fun? I'd say.

Well, congratulations. I'm not so worthy to sit here besides the...

(CROSSTALK)

M. O'BRIEN: No, we are very proud of you.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you. It was a ton of fun.

M. O'BRIEN: That's all from us on this edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: "CNN NEWSROOM" with Heidi Collins and T.J. Holmes starts right now.

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