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Fire in the Bronx; Looking South; Democrat's Iraq Plan; Words of a Killer; Gerri's Top Tips
Aired March 08, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two families shared this residence. Twenty-two people in all. Seventeen of those 22, children. And as you said earlier, nearly half of those 17 did not survive.
Firefighters did all they could, as you can see in the videotape, which is just dramatic to save these children. But for too many of them, it was just too much. Before firefighters arrived on the scene, neighbors did try to race to the rescue, making their way to the back of the building and then literally catching these children as one desperate mother threw them from the window on the third story of this building to try to save their lives. Then she jumped herself. It was a harrowing scene as described by neighbors who were here this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of flames, smoke. Couldn't see nothing. I (INAUDIBLE) couldn't see the kids coming down either. I just to a guessing and they fell right in my arms.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lady was screaming and yelling, please save my baby, save my baby. So me and a friend of mine, we ran, we jumped the gate and she started tossing the babies out the window. And the first one I caught and I leaned against my friend and he sent the baby towards my other friend, David Todd. And, David Todd (ph), he took the baby and covered the baby up with some warm blankets and stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Investigators say a space heater or perhaps an overloaded power strip may have sparked this fire. Mayor Michael Bloomberg briefed reporters this morning, saying this may be one small building, but it was a large tragedy for the city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: Using stoves, using space heaters, these are dangerous ways to heat a house. We do know in this house that the central heating was working. It is still working. The fire department checked it this morning. And so it wasn't a case where there was no heat. The hot water system was working this morning in the house. There were two smoke detectors. Unfortunately, neither had batteries in them. So there are a variety of things here that could have prevented this fire. And I think it's incumbent on all of us to look at our own homes, to talk to our neighbors, to see what we can do to keep tragedies like this from happening ever again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Mayor Bloomberg also mentioned that making matters worse in this situation is that some of the people inside may have tried to put out this fire themselves before actually calling 911. So that just compounded the magnitude of what was going on here. Also should note that most of the immigrants that were living inside of this building were from the west African nation of Mali. Actually all of the people inside were from the west African nation of Mali, from what we understand. And right now, city officials are working with that country to bring relatives from Mali to the United States, to New York City to start working on funeral arrangements.
Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Jim, with so many children dead, obviously, families are turned upside-down. What can you tell us about the families this morning?
ACOSTA: Well, as you're asking this question right now, literally, 15 to 20 relatives, loved ones, friends from across the street just filed out of this building. Many of them covering their eyes, wiping away tears. People here are still very distraught.
I don't think the people who survived this fire will be literally out on the street. They can go across the street here to relatives and neighbors who are living nearby. We actually heard just one woman walking up the street earlier this morning saying, what's being done for these people? They can stay at my house. Also a local church opening up its arms. So at least for the survivors of this fire, they are being offered some help.
Rob.
MARCIANO: The community coming together. Jim Acosta live for us from the Bronx.
Thanks, Jim.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A former Navy enlisted man facing charges this morning, accused of helping terrorist. Hassan Abujihaad, formerly known as Paul R. Hall, lived in an apartment in Phoenix, Arizona. He was arrested Wednesday at his workplace. He is charge with supporting a suspected terrorist network and espionage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH MCCARLEY, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: He provided details of a battle groups' transition or battle groups' move from one place to another as they engaged in missions concerning al Qaeda and as they were enforcing sanctions against the Taliban.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Court papers say Abujihaad described the October 2000 attack on the USS Coal as a "martyrdom operation."
MARCIANO: President Bush head south on his way to Latin America this hour, hoping to bolster the U.S. image as a good neighbor. CNN's Ed Henry has a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN ANCHOR: In the 2000 campaign, George W. Bush vowed to use his experience as Texas governor to make neighboring Latin America top priority.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Should I become the president, I will look south, not as an afterthought, but as a fundamental commitment to my presidency.
HENRY: Seven years later, that promise has become yet another casualty of the Iraq War. Even the president's allies in Latin America privately grumble his administration has all but neglected their massive economic challenges.
PETER DESHAZO, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Clearly the United States is paying most of its attention to the Middle East. That's where we have troops.
HENRY: Now the president, looking for legacy items, is trying to make up for lost time with the seven-day swing through South and Central America.
BUSH: The fact is that tens of millions of our brothers and sisters to the south have seen little improvement in their daily lives. And this has led some to question the value of democracy.
HENRY: Fuel for the anti-American Venezuelan strong man Hugo Chavez, whose education and health programs have won the hearts and minds of the impoverished in his nation, as American development programs have lagged. Chavez has formed a close alliance with Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro and, armed with massive oil revenue, wants to spread his brand of socialism.
DESHAZO: Chavez has enormous resources at his disposal. He's trying very hard to promote himself as the leader of a hemisphere-wide revolution.
HENRY: The White House insists this is not an anti-Chavez tour, but the itinerary suggests otherwise, with stops in five democracies ringing Venezuela. First, it's Brazil, where the president hopes to ink an ethanol deal to ease America's energy crisis, but also to weaken the influence of Chavez's oil reserves. In Uruguay, Mr. Bush wants to set up a free trade deal.
Then on to Colombia, to highlight the battle against Narco- Terrorists. More trade talk in Guatemala and Mexico, as well as the thorny issue of immigration reform. The president's overriding message to those in poverty, the U.S. feels your pain.
BUSH: The trip really is to remind people that we care. I do worry about the fact that some say, well, the United States hasn't paid enough attention to us.
MICHAEL SHIFTER, V.P., INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE: Bush is in a very weak position. His political capital is depleted. There's a lot more mistrust in the region. And so he's got his work cut out for him.
HENRY: Is it too little too late?
Ed Henry, CNN, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Military might alone won't end the bloodshed in Iraq. That assessment today from the new U.S. commander in his first briefing since taking over last month. General David Petraeus says improving security for the Iraqi people will be a top priority of the crackdown but it's going to take some time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, CMDR., MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: We are, in any event, still in the early days of this endeavor, an endeavor that will take months, not days or weeks, to fully implement and one that will have to be sustained to achieve its desired effect. Putting Iraq above personal and sectarian agendas will be critical as Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi people grapple with some very tough issues in the months ahead. If they can do this, and again I believe they can, Iraq's leaders will be honored as the founding fathers of the new Iraq and Iraq's citizen will be respected as a wise and courageous people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Pentagon will send additional troops to Iraq to serve as military police. That's on top of more than 21,000 troops already deployed.
COLLINS: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders are getting ready to make an announcement today. We'll show you this live shot now of the folks gathering there, getting ready to address those microphones. They're trying to change U.S. policies in Iraq. Our Dana Bash is standing by to tell us a little bit more.
Dana, this is all about war funding. What's going on behind those closed doors likely at this point?
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're waiting for the speaker to come out and announce the same thing that she announced to her caucus, the rank and file Democrats behind closed doors just a few moments ago. And essentially what we're told from Democratic sources is that they plan to try to change policy in Iraq, as you said, by attaching conditions to the $100 billion war fund request the president sent up. And most importantly, along with this, what House leaders want to do is set a deadline for U.S. troops to come home by the end of 2008.
In addition to that, Heidi, what this will do is set some benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet, whether it's political or in terms of security, making sure that the Iraqi forces are stepping up to the plate. And they will make it so that the president has to certify that those benchmarks are met. If he doesn't do that, the Democratic plan would speed up the deadline for troops to come home and they would make that at the end of this year.
That is something that is very controversial inside her caucus. So it is expected that there was certainly some emotion inside that meeting.
Why? Because as she was speaking, Heidi, some of the more liberal members of the caucus were having a press conference, saying that they think that is the wrong way to go. They released their own plan. And that plan is to say, you know what, no fund willing go for the war except to bring troops home by the end of this year.
So she's got that and then she's got the conservatives, Heidi, who say, you know what, none of this is a good idea because we're micro managing the president.
COLLINS: Yes, well it's interesting, too, because I remember back when we were looking at the non-binding measure that was opposing the troop surge, opposing some of this funding. The president came to the microphone and he said, you know what, forget all this non-binding measure stuff. If you really want to go on record in opposition to my plan, then just stop the funding.
BASH: You're exactly right. Now this wouldn't exactly cut the funding. Republicans have been challenging, almost taunting Democrats to do exactly that, to just cut the funding for Iraq and force the end of the war. This would do it. This plan would do it more gradually with a lot of conditions and essentially force the president to do it.
If this seems like a very complicated piece of legislation that we're going get more information about in just a couple of minutes. But that is exactly why this so-called out of Iraq caucus, which makes up, you know, dozens and dozens of Democrats in the House of Representatives say, you know, we agree that the president, what the president says, and that is that we do want to end the war by cutting off the funding and we'll do that by the end of the year. Or at least use the funding only to bring the troops home by December of 2007.
COLLINS: All right, Dana Bash is watching this one for us. And as soon as the speaker comes to those microphones, we will monitor it and bring it to the viewers just as soon as possible.
Dana, thank you.
BASH: Thank you.
MARCIANO: Buried alive with her favorite toy. The chilling confession of a convicted child killer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DETECTIVE: Where, where's her dolphin at? COUEY: In there buried with her.
DETECTIVE: In the bag with her?
COUEY: Yes, sir, I let her keep it. She wanted to take it with her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: The confession the jury didn't hear in the murder trial of John Couey. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Also, he says he was the right man for the job. Would that make him a bad woman for it?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven days ago I was a good guy and now I have no integrity, I have no trust, I have no confidence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Changing your sex and losing your job? Details ahead in the NEWSROOM.
MARCIANO: Plus, the most precious 90 seconds of your life. Surviving a plane crash like the one in Indonesia. Critical information ahead in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: And he's one very, very happy man, and rich. Yes, you're looking at him. But who's the other mega millionaire. Still don't know, do we? Half a mystery still to solve in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Let's check on the markets. Yesterday, the Dow didn't do much. Down about 15. Today, up solidly higher, plus 83. The Nasdaq up about 21. The U.S. retailers came in with somewhat disappointing news led by Wal-Mart. But it seems like overseas gains overnight are carrying some momentum. Almost to 90 now is the Dow.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Will it be life or death for a convicted child killer, John Couey. The jury will take up that question next week. Couey was found guilty yesterday of kidnapping, raping and killing nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford. The jury never heard his chilling confession, but you are about to. Here now is CNN's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): John Evander Couey, cold-blooded killer, in his own words.
JOHN COUEY: I went out there one night and dug a hole and put her in it. Buried her. (INAUDIBLE) plastic bag, plastic baggies. DETECTIVE: Was she dead already?
COUEY: No, she was still alive. I buried her alive.
CANDIOTTI: Buried alive with her favorite stuffed toy.
DETECTIVE: Where is her dolphin at?
COUEY: In was in there buried with her.
DETECTIVE: In the bag with her?
COUEY: Yes, sir, I let her keep it. She wanted to take it with her.
CANDIOTTI: A warped moment of humanity from a murderer who buried alive a nine-year-old child? John Couey's confession was never heard by the jury for legal reasons, but it opened a window into a soul of a sexual predator. Couey's troubles didn't begin with Jessica Lunsford. When he was only 19, Couey broke into a home and kissed a 12-year-old girl. He did only about two years of a 10-year sentence for violating his probation on a burglary conviction.
In 1991, he was caught fondling a five-year-old and was convicted of attempted molestation. He was sentenced to five years but was paroled after only two. In a tape recorded confession back then, he begged for a cure he didn't get in prison.
COUEY: So I will never have to do this again. I feel bad about it, really, I do. And I don't want to go to prison. I just want to get help for myself. That's what I need. I want help for myself.
CANDIOTTI: After that confession, Couey told police he once molested his wife's daughter but she kept it quiet because he gave her a divorce. At that time, a police officer wrote, "Couey knows he has a problem, however, has never sought medical assistance to help him control his sexual attraction for young children."
And the system didn't give him help either, even after he asked for it. Couey was arrested 25 times by the time he was 46. Finally, two years ago, Couey raped Jessica Lunsford and buried her in a hole. While she was still missing, he sallied up to this bar in Augusta, Georgia, appearing not to have a care in the world. A local TV station videotaped him by chance. The next day, Couey's days of preying on children were over. Florida cops found him.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: This woman in a coma for almost seven years. One morning, she startles her mother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I always say, hi, baby, how you doing? And she says, fine. And then, I knew, you know, that she was awake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: That mother's visit with her daughter turned out to be a brief one. A baffling case in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: And Gerri Willis is here with us today, our personal finance editor, with all kinds of great tips.
Hey there, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good too see you, Heidi. Congress is calling credit card company's on the carpet about their practices. So we'll tell you what you can do to avoid those hidden credit card fees. Next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: If you ever watched your credit card bill skyrocket because of interest and fees, you are not alone. A Senate panel yesterday examined sometimes confusing credit card penalty practices. The senators questioned bank executives and also heard from an Ohio man who started out owing $3,200. He ended up feeling like he was drowning in a $10,000 debt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WESLEY WANNEMACHER, OHIO RESIDENT: It's a feeling similar to riding in a submarine when the water pressure is really high and every time the phone would ring, it gets hard to breathe and you're not sure whether you should even answer it or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Lawmakers are threatening possible legislation to stop what they call predatory practices by credit cards. Some of the banks say they have already changed certain policies, including the one that hit Mr. Wannemacher.
MARCIANO: So how do you keep the price of plastic from getting out of control? Well, CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis is in New York with her tips.
Good morning, Gerri.
WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rob, good to see you.
You know, some of these fees that were talked about yesterday, it's difficult to know if you're actually paying them. So we're going to show you how you can find out and then how do get rid of them.
Tip number one, universal default allows issuers to raise your interest rate on your credit card if you're late paying any other bills. Well, you can avoid cards that do this by getting a card at cardratings.com. They let you know who charges that. Look in your card holder agreement if you've already got a credit card for the area that mentions default pricing. Now if your default pricing is based on your credit card report, your credit card probably has a universal default policy.
Good news here, this practice may be falling out of favor. Citigroup, for example, recently announced it was getting rid of the practice.
MARCIANO: You know, one of the more confusing things, Gerri, when you get your credit card statement, you pay for part of the bill and then they charge you interest on what seems to be almost the whole thing. Is that true?
WILLIS: Yes and double billing when it comes to interest is really frustrating. And it happens when the credit card company charges interest on the sum of your balance for this month and last month, regardless of whether you've already paid it off. You're most vulnerable to this if you occasionally carry a balance on your credit card. Make sure your bank calculates your finance charge in one billing cycle. Look for the phrase "average daily balance" on your credit card agreement.
MARCIANO: Gerri, I hate to do this to you. We've got two of your four tips. We've got to jump. We'll try to get back to you. Nancy Pelosi is going to speak right now at the podium about the out of Iraq caucus. This is Congressman Obey, who's speaking now and Pelosi will be up soon.
REP. DAVID OBEY, (D) CHAIRMAN, APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Will essentially redirect more of our resources to the war against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, fighting the right war, in the right place, against the people who attacked us and who are giving al Qaeda sanctuary.
Secondly, it will attack the neglect of our returning troops and veterans who are badly in need of healthcare. That neglect has been symbolized by what we've learned about what has been happening at Walter Reed over the past few days.
And thirdly, it will set a time line for bringing the United States participation in Iraq's civil war to an orderly and responsible close.
In addition, it will do a number of other things. Or I should say in detail, it will do a number of other things. It will provide some $3.5 billion in additional funding above the president's request to deal with the problems faced by returning servicemen and returning veterans by way of healthcare.
It will, in addition, provide $1.4 billion to fully cover the shortfall in funds for base housing allowances. It will provide $3.1 billion to fully fund the BRAC base realignment and closure program that we promised we would provide when we passed a continuing resolution several weeks ago. And as the speaker has indicated, to pressure Iraqi leaders to make the compromises necessary to end the chaos that has resulted from their lack of performance to date, this proposal establishes a meaningful time line for ending U.S. participation in the Iraqi War.
COLLINS: All right, we are listening in to Congressman Dave Obey of Wisconsin. And prior to him, we had House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking and addressing the press there. They are talking about this measure that will be a binding measure that will attempt to change U.S. policy in Iraq, certainly by putting conditions on war funding. A lot of controversy about this. Certainly even inside the Democratic Party.
If you would like to watch more of this, you certainly can always do that. Just go to cnn.com/pipeline and those comments will be there.
MARCIANO: Well yesterday on Capitol Hill, big bank managers were on The Hill on the hot seat talking about credit card fees. And hopefully there's going to be some change. That's what Gerri Willis is talking about. There seems to be some sort of a promise as to what your tip number two was, Gerri, which is maybe there won't be this double billing.
What about late fees? Can you get around those? Sometimes you can just pick up the phone, can't you, and beg for it off?
WILLIS: Well, you can. You know, late fees are on the rise and penalty interest rates, if you are late, can be over 30 percent in some cases. So it's really onerous. Here's an easy way to avoid late fees. Automate your payments online. But if you know your payment is going to be late, you may be able to avoid that fee if you call ahead. Credit card companies may give you a reprieve.
MARCIANO: What about you get these checks in the mail from some credit card company that says it's going give you 0 percent interest for six months. And you say, this is a great deal. I'm going to transfer my balances to this card. What should we look out for there?
WILLIS: Well, there's a hidden little problem there. Transferring a high credit card balance to a card with low rates, it can be a great move, but it's becoming more expensive. Balance transfer fees used to be capped at $75. But today, credit card companies are getting rid of caps on balance transfer fees. To find out if you're going to be a victim of these fees, look at your credit card agreement. If there's a reference to a minimum fee for a balance transfer, but there's no reference to a maximum fee, chances are you're on the hook for one of these fees. You need to know what it is. Call the company. Ask specifically what they're going to charge you.
Rob.
MARCIANO: And, of course, try to pay it off every month if at all possible.
WILLIS: Bottom line, you know, look, you've got to pay this thing down to make sure you're paying the fewest fees possible. And pay on time.
MARCIANO: "Open House" coming up this weekend. Gerri, what do you have lined up?
WILLIS: That's right, 9:30 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN. We'll talk about why going green at home can cut your budget. We start our series on tax tips. And we'll take a look at a boot camp where lawyers are training to fight the mortgage industry. Join us Saturday morning on CNN.
MARCIANO: We'll look for that. Thanks, Gerri Willis live for us in New York.
WILLIS: Thank you, Rob.
COLLINS: Credit cards are a part of life for many people, but some say a new version of "The Game of Life" goes too far. "USA Today" reports the Visa card will replace cash in the latest version of the classic board game. Visa says this will encourage families to talk about money. Critics say it targets kids too soon and will just confuse them about how paper money actually works.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: Among our top stories this morning, a deadly blaze in the Bronx. Eight children and one adult killed. At least 10 other people injured including firefighters and one emergency worker. The fire broke out overnight. Relative says most of those killed were immigrants from the West African nation of Mali. Witnesses describe a woman tossing children through the broken windows in hopes of saving them from the raging inferno.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of flames, smoke, couldn't see nothing. I couldn't see the kids coming down either. Just took a guess and fell right in my arms.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lady was screaming and yelling, please save my baby, save my baby. So me and a friend of mine, we ran and jumped the gate and she started tossing the babies out the window. And the first one I caught and I leaned against my friend and he sent the baby toward my other friend, David Todd. David Todd took the baby and covered the baby up with some warm blankets and stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Fire investigators are on the scene trying to figure out just what caused that blaze.
COLLINS: A former Navy enlisted man faces charges this morning accused of helping terrorists. Hassan Abujihaad (ph) formerly known as Paul Hall lived in an apartment in Phoenix, Arizona. He was arrested Wednesday at his workplace. He's charged with supporting a suspected terrorist network and espionage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH McCARLEY, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: He provided details of the battle groups' transition or battle groups' movement from one place to another as they engaged in missions concerning al Qaeda and as they were enforcing sanctions against the Taliban.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Court papers say Abujihaad described the October 2000 attack on the "USS Cole" as a quote martyrdom operation.
MARCIANO: He's likely feeling like a million bucks or probably a lot more this morning. Georgia truck driver Ed Nabors is enjoying being a newly-minted millionaire. He won half of the record $390 million mega millions lottery. After taxes, he's expected to get about $80 million. Nabors talked about what happened when he found out he was a winner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED NABORS, LOTTERY WINNER: I just went numb, weak in my arm. You know, I just sat there and looked at both the paper and the ticket. You know, I sat there, I know, for probably 15 or 20 minutes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: What's he going to do with all that money? First off, he's going to go fishing. The other winning ticket was sold in Woodbine, New Jersey, but the winner there has yet to come forward.
COLLINS: You know we learned that he did buy the boat before he knew he won the lottery because he did buy this beautiful fishing boat. Now he's apparently going to give it to his son.
MARCIANO: And upgrade.
COLLINS: You can have that one.
Chad Myers joining us now to talk more about, I don't know, fishing forecast?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Upgrading from fishing boat to fishing yacht.
COLLINS: Yeah, possibly.
MYERS: With a crew.
COLLINS: A little deep sea fishing maybe.
MYERS: Exactly. Good morning guys. Still a little cold to be doing all that up in the northeast, 24 right now in Boston, 23 in Detroit, but it feels a lot colder when you add in the wind well below zero on up into Ottawa, on up into Quebec as well. Newfoundland there in the teens and 20s below zero this morning with wind chill. Orlando, beautiful and 81, even Atlanta, 72, DC at 45 this afternoon. So it does warm up. The farther you get to the west as well it's going to warm up, beautiful day in Denver. Spring skiing out there in the west, 61 in Denver today, 63 in Rapid City.
The marine layer is in for San Francisco, 66 in LA and then even up into the 70s and 80s for some of those big cities especially through and into the inland empire. Tell you what, New York City today, 34, but see how it warms up by Sunday. We're all of the way to 50, Atlanta, 72 today, beautiful golfing weather out there, Los Angeles, 66 and then on up into the 80s for the end of the weekend. And speaking of Vegas, was I speaking of Vegas? Speaking of Vegas, 84, Sunday, 86, Monday. Here's a live shot of Las Vegas looking up the strip, I believe. There you go. (INAUDIBLE) the sun rise. Now, when we do this again, on Monday, it will be dark.
COLLINS: Yes, it will.
MARCIANO: Daylight savings time.
COLLINS: Three weeks earlier.
MARCIANO: Hey, Chad, obviously you're on the take in Vegas is --
MYERS: I'm sorry, what?
MARCIANO: You're on the take in Vegas. You mentioned them more times in the last two days than I've ever heard but we never get tired of it.
MYERS: I do have a trip planned with a couple friends.
COLLINS: Oh, boy.
MARCIANO: You gave Heidi and I a great idea. Maybe you should join us this afternoon for a little golf.
COLLINS: Yeah.
MARCIANO: Thanks, Chad.
This is Steve, soon he'll be Susan. A shocker for his wife, for sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN STANTON, LARGO CITY MANAGER: She's very upset, you can imagine. This is probably a wife's worst nightmare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Susan could also cost Steve his job, a case of transgender discrimination. And he says, yes, that's ahead in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: And this gas station attendant really delivers. Just listen to him on the phone with 911.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tie a string or a shoe lace tightly around the umbilical cord.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, OK.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COLLINS: Oh, boy, starting life in the fast lane. High-octane baby, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Steve wants to be Susan, but does changing his gender mean he must surrender his livelihood? CNN's Carol Costello reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Steven Stanton's life got very ugly very fast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Terminate Mr. Stanton.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ethics bothers me a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody in the city of Largo is just supposed to roll over and accept that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is wrong.
COSTELLO: Stanton was city manager of tiny Largo, Florida, for 14 years. He recently got a raise for doing a good job. He was a devoted husband, a loving father, a great citizen. But it all fell apart when the local press revealed his secret, this 48-year-old man was planning to become a woman. So Steven Stanton suddenly found himself holding a news conference, telling total strangers his wife couldn't understand why he wanted a sex change.
STEVEN STANTON, LARGO CITY MANAGER: Not pleased. She's very upset, you can imagine. This is probably a wife's worst nightmare.
COSTELLO: He hadn't yet told his 13-year-old son.
STANTON: Hopefully he's not watching television.
COSTELLO: And almost as fast, the town of Largo held a a public meeting. The commissioners who had rewarded him now abandoned him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I no longer can trust his judgment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do not feel that he has the integrity.
COSTELLO: And despite those 14 years of service, seven of the nine commissioners voted to fire him.
STANTON: Seven days ago I was a good guy and now I have no integrity. I have no trust. I have no confidence.
COSTELLO: Did you expect you were going to be fired once this information became public?
STANTON: Not at all.
COSTELLO: You didn't expect you were going to be fired?
STANTON: Not at all.
COSTELLO: Steven Stanton has been a winner all of his life, but even as a little boy he was haunted by his secret.
STANTON: What you feel when you're growing up with this condition is you feel that the outside doesn't match the inside in a very -- in a very real way.
COSTELLO: On his wedding day he hoped the confusion would end. As you look at this young face, what was this young man thinking?
STANTON: That young man was thinking like many other transgender people do, that if I get married, if I settle down, find love, I can outrun this thing.
COSTELLO: But he couldn't outrun it. So after 48 years of pretending, Steven Stanton told his boss, Largo Mayor Pat Gerard (ph), that he was planning to have a sex change. Once he told you, what was your response?
MAYOR PAT GERARD, LARGO, FLORIDA: Well, when I was able to speak again, I think I said, you know, did you ever doubt that I would support you in this? And, you know, just let him know that I would support him through that process.
COSTELLO: The mayor did fight for Stanton but so far with no success.
GERARD: We're making a decision here about whether we're going to be an inclusive and compassionate community or are we going to be small-minded and bigoted.
COSTELLO: By law there has to be one last hearing before the firing becomes final.
STANTON: I'm still extremely confident. I'm not willing to concede that something I passionately invested in that many years of my life is going to have to change because of something going on with me.
COSTELLO: Stanton says at least he takes comfort in this, for now his wife and son have decided to stand by him. Carol Costello, CNN, Largo, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: The new top commander in Iraq talks about ending the bloodshed and safeguarding civilians. General David Petraeus on the security crack down. That's in the NEWSROOM.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Felicia Taylor at the New York Stock Exchange. A winter chill left retailers out in the cold for February sales, but things are feeling toasty on Wall Street as stocks are perking up after the recent down swing. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: So we've been keeping a close eye on Wall Street for more than a week now as investors deal with some incredibly wild swings. We're just about an hour into the day's trading session. Let's get an update from Felicia Taylor at the New York Stock Exchange. Hi there Felicia.
TAYLOR: Hey Heidi, well, the market is off to a very strong start today. Investors here seem to be following the lead of their overseas counter parts. Asian stocks moving higher and Europe's main indices were doing the same. Right now the Dow industrials are off their session highs but still better by 90 points. The Nasdaq Composite adding 25, while the S&P 500 is better by almost 14. Investors seem to be looking past some disappointing retail sales numbers as many retail stocks are posting strong gains. JC Penny is up more than 4 percent. Heidi?
COLLINS: I'm curious, though, Felicia, is there any particular reason the stores didn't do very well last month?
TAYLOR: Usually when retailers disappoint, they actually blame the weather, believe it or not. Back in December they complained that temperatures were too warm so shoppers didn't buy sweaters and boots. In January the cold snap pushed consumers to go out and by discounted winter items like you'd think. So then in February many stores stocked their shelves with spring items but February was also pretty cold you remember. In some areas, it was the coldest February in more than 25 years, so shoppers weren't really ready for the shorts and tank tops just yet.
Retailers like Wal-Mart, Limited Brands and Costco all posted disappointing results last month. Wal-Mart even says the weakness in its home and apparel business is going to continue for the next few months, but there was a bright spot. High-end stores continue their run of strong gains. Sales at Nordstrom and Saks actually beat expectations and Nordstrom stock right now is up more than 5 percent so far in today's trade. Saks posted a whopping 25 percent sales jump.
Now still many retailers are worried that consumers may be frugal due to last week's stock market tumble which you remember and housing's prolonged slump. According to the nation's largest homebuilder, that housing slump is going to continue. DR Horton's chief was very blunt about the outlook. Here's what he said. Quote, I don't want to be too sophisticated here, but '07 is going to suck all 12 months of the calendar year, end quote. He did, however, say that next year should be better. I'm quoting him, really.
COLLINS: I know. I know.
TAYLOR: I swear to you.
COLLINS: We have heard that today. It's pretty unbelievable. He certainly doesn't dice it up, does he?
TAYLOR: Nope. He was very straight arrowed about what he thought.
COLLINS: Felicia Taylor, thanks so much.
TAYLOR: Heidi, back to you.
MARCIANO: I wouldn't be surprised if the people in this next story used that term during this experience, quite a story. Check it out. An expectant mother couldn't make it to the hospital in time so she made a pit stop. Reporter Ann (INAUDIBLE) of Boston affiliate WHDH has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNKNOWN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call her the impatient infant. Mom and dad were driving to the hospital but little Sonya wasn't waiting around for a maternity ward.
TATYANA MOISEYEVA, MOTHER: In the car on the road, I felt the urge to push. Husband said, don't push.
CORRESPONDENT: But push or not the passenger seat became Sonya's birth place.
MOISEYEVA: Then she jumped out on the seat.
CORRESPONDENT: So the Moiseyevas pulled over to this Getty's in Newton for some roadside attendance and a main attendant turned mid wife.
RAFET ELANANZEH, GAS STATION ATTTENDANT: Today we add a complete different meaning to full service, included babies.
CORRESPONDENT: Rafet Elananzeh called 911 for some medical coaching.
DISPATCHER: Clean out his mouth. Dry the baby off with a clean towel or cloth.
ELANANZEH: OK. We're trying. He's in the car. It's so cold outside.
CORRESPONDENT: Those cries a good sign but at times the attendant didn't sound so confident.
DISPATCHER: Tie a string or a shoe lace, OK, tightly around the umbilical cord.
ELANANZEH: Oh, OK.
CORRESPONDENT: But he got the proud parents through and mom has one big message for him.
MOISEYEVA: A big thank you. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The urge to push.
MARCIANO: OK. OK, tightly around the umbilical cord.
COLLINS: The most precious 90 seconds of your life. surviving a plane crash, the one in Indonesia unbelievable. Critical information for you as a traveler, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
MARCIANO: And life on a ledge, a whole new way to see the Grand Canyon, if you're not afraid of heights. Glass spot and perch in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This morning investigators are trying to determine what caused that deadly plane crash in Indonesia. The plane overshot the runway and burst into flames yesterday. Twenty two people were killed, 67 of 110 survivors are still in the hospital. Eight people are still missing. Investigators say the plane's front wheels snapped off as it touched down, but they don't know why. The flight data and cockpit reporters have been recovered and are being sent to Australia for analysis. The NTSB says it is sending a team to help with the investigation.
MARCIANO: So let's say your plane crashes, smoke begins to fill the cabin, what do you do? CNN's Brian Todd tells us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The plane's nose sheered off, smoke and flames whipping around inside and out. A survivor says getting out alive meant getting out quickly.
VOICE OF ALESSANDRO BERTELLIOTI, INDONESIAN CRASH SURVIVOR: It was smoky and people are shouting and screaming and then 10 seconds after everything was over because we managed to get out from the back door.
TODD: Current and former U.S. aviation safety officials tell CNN time is crucial in survivable plane crashes like the one in Indonesia and the 2005 Air France crash in Toronto when all 309 people on board made it out safely. Experts point to a simple rule.
DENESE GOUBIN, FLIGHT ATTENDANT: You have to be able to exit an aircraft within 90 seconds.
TODD: Federal officials tell us that in as little as a minute and a half, a fire like this one can erupt into a flashover, filling the cabin with deadly smoke as shown in this simulation. How dangerous is that in a survivable accident?
BLAIN STANLEY, PLANE EVACUATION INSTRUCTOR: Most people who are alive when the airplane comes to a stop but ends up dead die because of smoke inhalation. They are consumed by the smoke and fire because the evacuation does not proceed rapidly enough.
TODD: To get out rapidly, experts say, know ahead of time where the nearest exit is. After the crash, find that exit or any break in the fuselage. To get to it, crouch if you have to but don't crawl.
STANLEY: Getting really low on an aircraft to evacuate simply makes it so people start to trample over you.
TODD: If you can't get to an opening right away, you can buy herself a few more seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bring your shirt up over your nose and mouth and breath through it.
TODD: Before those heart stopping moments, before your plane even takes off, some other advice from safety experts. Wear long pants and sleeves and shoes that cover your feet completely to protect from burning. And do something most of us never do, pay attention to the flight attendant's preflight safety instructions. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: A house fire takes a tragic toll in New York. Nine killed. Most of the victims are children. The investigation in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Just a short while ago, House Democrats announcing a plan to get U.S. troops out of Iraq if there is no progress. A lot of other ifs and buts to tell you about, war plan, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Good morning. You're with CNN. You're informed. I'm Rob Marciano, sitting in for Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Good morning everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM on this Thursday, the 8th of March. Here's what's on the rundown the 8th of March. Firefighters trying to find out why nine people lost their lives in this burning house. Most of the victims, children.
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