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Nine Killed in Bronx Fire; Former Sailor Charged with Espionage; Bush to Meet with Central American Leaders
Aired March 08, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN word headquarters in Atlanta.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CO-HOST: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips.
Spy arrest on American soil. He's a man with two -- two names, rather, who allegedly fed valuable information about U.S. battleships. Do they think he acted alone or is he part of a terror cell in the U.S.?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lady was screaming and yelling, "Please save my baby. Save my baby."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It is just a horror story in the Bronx. One of the deadliest house fires in years claims the lives of eight children. The heroes who helped rescue some families and the investigation.
WHITFIELD: Immigration raid in Massachusetts, but while the feds are moving in on the parents, who was watching the kids? Details coming up in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: It is the top of the hour. We start with an unbelievable story. Flames shooting out of doorways. Mothers tossing babies out of windows, hoping someone would catch them. Nine people died in the Bronx this morning when fire consumed their apartment building. Eight of the dead were children.
And CNN's Jim Acosta is on that scene.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Investigators are now starting to say more about what may have caused this fire. But the bottom line in this tragedy is that simple fire safety measures may have been forgotten or ignored.
(voice-over) As a fast-moving fire roared through this building, neighbors said they heard screaming and then ran to the rescue. At the back of the four-story building, the neighbors urged a desperate mother trapped inside to throw her children from a third-story window. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lady was screaming and yelling, "Please save my babies. Save my babies." So me and a friend of mine, we ran to jump the gate. And she started tossing the babies out the window.
ANDRE, HELPED RESCUE CHILDREN: The kids was out and was howling. And we told them to jump. And we caught them, you know.
ACOSTA: After the mother jumped out of the window to escape the flame, this was the horrific scene. Children rushed from the burning building. Children receiving CPR from paramedics. It seemed everybody on the scene was in tears.
Neighbors say most of the people who shared this row house were immigrants from Mali.
Investigators say a space heater or an overloaded power strip sparked the fire. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the building was up to code. The smoke detectors inside lacked batteries.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: Smoke detectors aren't useful unless they have batteries and -- that are operative. Here somebody took the trouble to put smoke detectors in, but there were no batteries in either one.
ACOSTA (on camera): After the fire started, investigators say the people inside this building may have delayed their rescue by trying to put the fire out themselves instead of calling 911.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg says this tragedy underlines the need for all residents in the city to have a fire plan.
Jim Acosta, CNN, the Bronx, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: We have some breaking news to tell you about. This is happening in Houston. This is from our affiliate KHOU. According to our affiliate there, one person has died from a fire -- rather, an explosion at a Houston tool plant. It is a Hughes tool plant. You're looking at investigators on the scene.
We don't have control of the helicopter here, but if they pulled out, you'd be able to see the entire building.
But according to our affiliate here, it was -- this warehouse was evacuated after a blast killed at least one person. It is an explosion at the Hughes tool plant in Houston, Texas.
We're going to keep on top of this developing story and bring you the very latest right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: He was once an enlisted man in the U.S. Navy, known to some by the name of Paul R. Hall. But federal investigators say his name is really Hassan Abujihaad. And today he's accused of sharing secrets about the location of Navy ships and the best ways to attack them. Our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has been following this case from Washington -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the allegations are that in 2001 when he was serving on the Navy ship USS Benfold in the Middle East, Abujihaad provided classified information to people the government alleges were providing material support and resources to terrorists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH MCCARLEY, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: He provided details of the battle group's transition, or the battle group's movements 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)
MESERVE: According to government documents, Abujihaad shared the battle group's perceived vulnerability to terrorist attack, described a force protection briefing given on board his ship and even praised the attack on the USS Cole, which had taken place a year earlier.
He alleged provided this information to a London-based group which ran jihadist web sites, Azzam Publications. The man who led Azzam is named Babar Ahmad. He was arrested in 2004 and is currently fighting extradition to the U.S.
He's described as a pioneer in jihadist use of the Internet and is alleged to have contacts with al Qaeda, the Taliban and Chechen rebels, so that he was in position of the classified Navy information was a cause for significant concern -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Wow. It's pretty alarming. So Jeanne, any other possible links to terrorism?
MESERVE: Well, there is another twist. Abujihaad was discharged from the Navy in 2002 and was living in an apartment complex in Phoenix for a time with a man named Derek Sharif (ph). Sharif was arrested in December, charged with plotting to set up grenades at a Rockford, Illinois, shopping mall during the holiday season.
According to the criminal complaint, Sharif told authorities after his arrest that he had been with Abujihaad when Abujihaad read an article about the classified Navy information, found during the investigation of Azzam Publications. And according to Sharif, Abujihaad said, "I think this is about me" -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jeanne Meserve, thanks so much.
A federal raid, hundreds of undocumented workers and a fallout so severe that 48 hours later it's being called a complete mess.
It started Tuesday when federal agents went into this leather factory in New Bedford, Massachusetts. When he came out, they brought 327 of the factory's workers. But here's what no one foresaw. Many of those detained workers had young children who were stranded at schools and with babysitters. Their parents were too afraid to speak up.
Today, though, the governor of Massachusetts has plenty to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. DEVAL PATRICK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I want to be clear that the commonwealth had no role in the criminal investigation or immigration enforcement action taken by the federal government in New Bedford, other than our efforts in advance to help -- to ask them to scale back the heavy-handed nature of this approach.
Our role from the moment we learned of this investigation has been to make available the resources of the commonwealth to protect the safety and well-being of the kids and the families affected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: An immigration advocacy group is speaking out at this very minute. The Immigration Department is also sounding off, and we're covering all of that. And we'll bring you the comments later on in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: President Bush is on his way to Brazil this hour, the jumping off point for an almost weeklong tour of Latin America.
CNN's Ed Henry reports Mr. Bush has some work to do in America's backyard.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the 2000 campaign, George W. Bush vowed to use his experience as Texas governor to make neighboring Latin America a 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, FORMER BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: 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 a seven-day swing through South and Central America.
BUSH: The fact is that tens of millions of our brothers and sisters in 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 Venezuela strongman, 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 weakens the influence of Chavez' oil reserves.
In Uruguay, Mr. Bush wants to set up a free trade deal.
Then on to Columbia 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.
HENRY: But is it too little too late?
MICHAEL SHIFTER, 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Now, the White House strategy is to try and not directly engage Chavez. That's what he wants. He wants to be elevated so it's this kabuki dance, if you will, the U.S. goes through, where they push back against Chavez but not too hard so that they won't give him more oxygen, more attention.
But I can tell you, it will be hard for Mr. Bush to avoid Chavez this weekend when the president is in Uruguay. In fact, the Venezuelan dictator is going to be across the river in Argentina, leading a major demonstration -- Don. LEMON: Yes, very interesting story, Ed. President Bush is expected to sign the so-called ethanol alliance with the Brazilian president. Won't that cause some headaches with the farm lobby back home?
HENRY: Absolutely. On the world stage, that's something the White House really wants to get. They see that as a victory, try to help Brazil and others in this region. But also back home in the U.S., deal with the dependence on foreign oil, come up with alternative sources like ethanol.
But you're exactly right. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa has already raised concerns about how this, bringing more ethanol in, will affect corn growers in his state.
And as you know, next year on the political calendar, you have the Iowa caucuses. All these candidates in both parties trying to suck up to the farm lobby, talk about how much they love ethanol. They're not going to be too happy about Brazilian ethanol coming into the U.S. market, so a very tough balancing act for President Bush, Don.
LEMON: All right. Ed Henry in Brazil, thank you so much for that report. We'll check back with you as the president progresses there.
We want to get you back to Houston, the site of our breaking news. Specifically, it's at the Hughes tool plant. We have some new video in. Actually, this is live pictures. Look at that. That's the sides blown off of this tool plant.
The explosion happened just a short while ago. And we have reports from our affiliate there that one person has died in all of this.
You can just see the devastation and the damage there on this one building, the sides just blown off. The Houston plant, an explosion there at a warehouse. It has been evacuated. But we're hearing that at least one person has died in all of this.
We'll keep you updated on this breaking news, the situation right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: Back to some talk about the president, a dramatic new challenge for President Bush today as House Democrats put forth a deadline for pulling U.S. troops from Iraq.
The Dems unveiled a measure that would require U.S. combat troops to be out of Iraq by the fall of next year. It will be tacked onto legislation funding the war. If passed, it would require U.S. forces to begin leaving by next March, even earlier, if the Iraqi government fails to meet a series of benchmarks for improving security, allocating oil revenues and amending its constitution.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says it's time for the Pentagon to turn its attention from Iraq to Afghanistan. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: If those benchmarks are not met, or even if they are at some point, calling for the redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq, so that we can focus more fully on the real war on terror, which is in Afghanistan. This bill takes giant steps toward putting resources into that war. Again, a war that has -- is unfinished and nearly forgotten by the administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Pelosi's proposal doesn't go far enough for some war critics. Before she spoke, Representative Maxine Waters and some other House Democrats demanded a pullout by the end of this year.
The president's supporters say the Democrats' proposals would lead to a U.S. defeat. Coming up in our 3 p.m. Eastern hour, we'll get the views of Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter of California.
The new leader of U.S. troops in Iraq says military force won't be enough. General David Petraeus says political negotiations with militant groups are crucial to stabilizing Iraq in the long run. In the short run, and probably the medium run, the military buildup will continue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL FORCES, 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 chief its desired effect.
In partnership with our Iraqi colleagues, help improve the security situation and enable the Iraqi people to control the demons responsible for the vicious sectarian violence of the past year, demons that tore at the very fabric of Iraqi society. Indeed, our operations will endeavor to provide Iraq citizens and leaders a chance to mend that fabric.
If we can do this, and I do believe that Iraqi and coalition soldiers and police will be able to improve levels of security for the Iraqi population, then the Iraqi government will have the chance it needs to resolve some of the difficult issues it faces, to develop the capacity of its institutions, to improve the delivery of basic services to its citizens, and to reconcile the differences between the factions that are the stakeholders in the new Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Yesterday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a plan to send more military police to Iraq, bringing the totally anticipated troop surge to 26,000.
The most precious 90 seconds of your life. Surviving a plane crash like in Indonesia. Critical information straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: What makes more people sick, bad produce or bad meats? A safety check straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: And howdy neighbors, Ed Nabors, to be precise. Mr. Nabors, America's newest mega millionaire, or at least its latest known mega millionaire. You'll meet him, next, in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Our new best friend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Almost 20 past the hour. And here are a few of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A New York City apartment fire has killed nine people, eight of them children. Five more children are in critical children.
An immigration raid in Massachusetts has left dozens of children stranded. Authorities arrested more than 300 undocumented workers at a leather factory in New Bedford. That left their children stranded at school and with babysitters.
And President Bush has left on a Latin American tour. He'll visit five countries in a region that's taken a strong turn to the left since he took office.
WHITFIELD: Back now to that heart-breaking building fire in the Bronx, New York. Nine people killed, including eight children. Gary Anthony Ramsey is of New York 1. He joins us now from the Bronx.
Any idea how this started?
GARY ANTHONY RAMSEY, NEW YORK 1 REPORTER: Well, Fredricka, investigators are focusing their attention on a space heater and the power strip it was plugged into in the basement.
While the exact cause isn't known, everyone knows for sure that eight of the nine people who died were children. The oldest was 7; the youngest were two babies just 6 months old.
The blaze started about 11 p.m. yesterday and raged for a couple of hours before firefighters were able to get it under control. It burned primarily in the basement and on the first floor.
Now, even though the space heater is what investigators are looking at now, there are other elements that came together in a perfect tragic storm. Investigators say that there were smoke detectors in the house, but they didn't have batteries.
And as people fled the basement, they didn't close the doors, so the fire followed them upstairs. And there are no fire escapes on this building, so as the building turned into an inferno, survivors had to make some tough choices to stay alive, including jumping and throwing their children into the arms of strangers, those strangers now being hailed as heroes. At least nine people were taken to area hospitals. We know -- we learned now that five of them are children that are listed in critical condition. So the odds of this deadly fire claiming more victims is still high.
The mayor of the city of New York says that this fire is the worst fire of its kind, with the exclusion of 9/11, in some 20 years.
Now, the buildings department for the city of New York says the absence of fire escapes on buildings like this one is not a violation of city code, but not having them in a fire like this one was certainly a part of the puzzle of this tragedy that has many pieces and has left several families heartbroken.
And in Bronx, New York, Gary Anthony Ramsey. Back to you in Atlanta, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Now Gary, these eight children who were killed in the fire, were they all of the same family?
RAMSEY: We're hearing from relatives of the victims that there were three families living in this one-family -- multi-family -- in this one-family house that was subdivided into apartments. So at least three families were affected by what happened here last night.
WHITFIELD: Oh, so terrible. Gary Anthony Ramsey. Thanks so much for your report from the Bronx -- Don.
LEMON: He served his country and would do it again. But then it gets complicated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tried to do that, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. But being a Catholic, I -- you know, I acknowledge that I committed sins.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You haven't heard this one before. A window sticker sets off a sticky debate. Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: An upbeat session on Wall Street is putting a spring in the step of many traders, but the prospect of Daylight Savings Time arriving three weeks early could give some travelers a big old whopping headache.
Felicia Taylor is at the New York Stock Exchange with those stories.
By the way, Felicia, love your work. I'm so glad you're with us.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you so much. How nice of you to say that, Don. It's a pleasure to be here and to work with you.
(STOCK REPORT)
LEMON: I'm sure, just like everyone else, have been getting all the e-mails. I've got to ask you about Daylight Savings Time. We've been reporting on potential problems for computers and other tech devices like BlackBerries.
TAYLOR: Yes, I know.
LEMON: So what about this travel problem?
TAYLOR: Well, Daylight Savings Time does kick in this weekend, for anybody that doesn't remember. It's three weeks earlier than usual.
But here's the problem: even though U.S. clocks spring forward, it's not going to happen in Europe for another two weeks. So because of that disconnect, the "Wall Street Journal" reports that international flyers may end up missing connections. And that could mean waiting hours for the next flight.
Changing departure time is not going to resolve the problem either. Because of the regulations, each flight gets a certain timeslot.
And that's not all. Many people, like you mentioned, you know that your computer clock, BlackBerry, Outlook e-mail program, they could all be off, too. And while many offices are working to manually adjust software complications, Forrester Research estimates that the added time in labor could end up costing the average company $50,000.
So here's the irony: the whole idea of moving up a switch to daylight time was to save money by using less energy. This might turn out to be a lesson in unintended consequences.
That's the latest from Wall Street.
Coming up, talk about more bang for your buck, some of the new $1 coins may actually be worth a whole lot more. I'll have the details next hour.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Bottom of the hour, a developing story happening just near Houston, Texas, one person is known dead after an explosion. You can see it just ripped through a warehouse, near downtown Houston. It happened just a short time ago. People who were in the area said they could feel it up to a mile from the plant. The plant is American Elastomer Products. It is a warehouse. They said you could see there the explosion destroyed walls and windows and ignited a fire at the warehouse, which is about two miles. If you're in that area, two miles southeast of downtown Houston. No word on the cause yet and the injuries to other folks or the identity of the person who has died. But one person died in this blast of a tool plant near downtown Houston, Texas. We'll keep you updated on the latest developments.
WHITFIELD: Yet another day of congressional hearings into conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and allegations that wounded troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan have been neglected. Defense officials are promising action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. PETER SCHOOMAKER, ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF: There is an opportunity here that I hope we take. And that is, to fix this comprehensively. This isn't about painting things and dealing with mildew and fixing some administrative processes. There needs to be a really top-down look.
WILLIAM WINKENWERDER, ASSISTANT DEFENSE SECRETARY: The quality of our medical care for our service members is excellent. No one should question that aspect of this issue. There's no question about that. On the other hand, with regard to the quality of life for people while they're receiving bad care, that's where our focus is, that's where we did not meet our standards.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And we're staying on top of the Walter Reed hearings. Emotional testimony is expected this afternoon.
LEMON: Life in prison or death for the killer of Jessica Lunsford. The jury that convicted John Couey yesterday will take up his sentence next week. The father of the 9-year-old victim says there's no doubt in his mind Couey should be executed. Mark Lunsford talked with CNN's Larry King last night about coming face-to-face with his daughter's killer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING: Did Mr. Couey ever look at you?
MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S FATHER: One time. One time. When I sat down and I testified and I said that I was her father he looked me right in the eye. And that's the only time he ever looked at me.
KING: Was it rough for you to listen to the testimony?
LUNSFORD: Actually, it was rougher to see that there was no remorse from this man. Or whatever you want to call him. I mean, no remorse at all.
KING: How do you explain that to yourself?
LUNSFORD: Welcome to the world of sexual offenders and predators. They don't care. They have no value for anything but themselves.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Catch "LARRY KING LIVE" every week night at 9:00 eastern right here on CNN.
WHITFIELD: Lots of speculation, but no hard answers in the fiery crash of a passenger jet in Indonesia. Survivors recall the plane slamming into the runway, careening into a field, then bursting into flames. One said the plane was going at a crazy speed as it approached the airport. The pilots are quoted as blaming, quote, a huge gust of wind. Police say they suspect human error. The plane's flight data recorders have been sent to Australia for analysis. The Indonesia crash like several over the past few decades provides you can walk away sometimes. It's not just a matter of fate. CNN's Brian Todd asked the experts how to maximize chances for survival.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The planes nose sheared off. Smoke and flames whipping around inside and out. A survivor says getting out alive meant getting out quickly.
ALESSANDRO BERTELLIOTI, INDONESIAN CRASH SURVIVOR: Everything was dark and smoky and people were shouting and screaming. 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 survival 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 end 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 way, you can buy yourself a few more seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bring your shirt up over your nose and mouth and breathe 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. Do something most of us never do, pay attention to the flight attendant's preflight safety instructions. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: What makes more people sick, bad produce or bad meat? A food safety check straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: A woman in a vegetative state for almost seven years startles her mother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I always say, hi, baby, how are you doing? And she says, fine. Then, I knew that she was awake.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Wow. A baffling awakening coming up in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Amazing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: E coli in spinach, salmonella in peanut butter, listeria in chicken. Well eating isn't risk-free any more. It's not a risk- free activity but with some new form of contamination cropping up every few weeks, you might be surprised to learn federal funding for food inspection is down. CNN's Greg Hunter takes a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Food and Drug Administration's food safety budget has been cut almost in half in the last three years. Consumer advocates say more people get sick from eating bad produce than seafood, beef and poultry combined. And that's not a coincidence.
CAROLINE SMITH DEWAAL, CSPI: Right now, that agency is more like a fire department running and responding to emergencies, rather than a public health agency charged with preventing these emergencies.
HUNTER: Smith Dewaal says without more oversight, consumers can expect more large outbreaks nationwide.
Guaranteed?
SMITH DEWAAL: Yeah, unless something changes. And that change has to be more money and more inspectors to manage the risks in FDA- regulated food.
HUNTER: On top of that, there are no mandatory rules for handling produce, only voluntary guidelines.
REP. BART STUPAK, (D) OVERSIGHT & INVEST. CMTE.: There should be mandatory guidelines with mandatory fines and costs. And the fines and costs are then put back into the system to help ensure compliance.
HUNTER: The expert on food safety at one think tank says the only way to kill bacteria in produce is by eradiating it, zapping it with radiation. And that consumer advocates are wrong to think more inspections is the answer.
ALEX AVERY, HUDSON INST. CTR. FOR GLOBAL FOOD ISSUES: They're not educating people, they're just demonizing the technology and demanding more inspectors which is completely counterproductive.
HUNTER: Meanwhile, the FDA declined to speak to CNN about the 39 percent decline in inspections since 2003. Smith Dewaal says that's a recipe for future disaster.
SMITH DEWAAL: I think the outbreaks are going to continue to be large and to impact consumers nationwide.
HUNTER: Greg Hunter, CNN, New York.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Awake after six years, in what doctors call a vegetative state. It's something even Christa Lilly's doctor can't explain. Lilly suffered a heart attack and a stroke in 2000 and slipped into a minimal consciousness, that's what they call it. This week she woke up and started talking and eating by herself. Learning for the first time that she has grandchildren and that her youngest daughter is now 12.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTA LILLY, AWOKE AFTER SIX YEARS: It's wonderful. I'm so happy.
DR. RANDALL BJORK, NEUROLOGIST: This is all mystical and I can't explain it.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Wow. So Lilly was awake for three days before slipping back into her minimally conscious state. Her mother says she can cope with it. She says, quote, the good Lord let me know she's all right.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: A man left his house near Monterey, Mexico yesterday. Normally this would not be news, but this is the first time Manuel Uribe has been outside in five years. He's been confined to his bed, by his enormous weight, more than 1200 pounds at one point. A high protein diet has gotten him down to 840 pounds now. It still took a forklift however to put Uribe and his bed on a trailer for a day out. He eventually hopes to get down to 265 pounds, but doctors say that may take another three or four years.
LEMON: Good luck to him. The accused Barbie bandits, remember them? Well if they took the money and ran as police allege, what did they do with it? Well, they got their hair done of course.
WHITFIELD: It's all about the hair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what are we going to do today. And she goes, I want you to make me really blond. I want to blond like Barbie.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What were they thinking, what were thinking.
WHITFIELD: They really wanted to be like Barbie.
LEMON: Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: So it's a sticker in the back window of a pickup truck. It's also a statement. An Iraq war vet in California decided to share his thoughts on combat for all to see. Then, someone called a radio station. Reporter Bryce Anslinger of CNN affiliate KERO has more from Bakersfield.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYCE ANSLINGER, KERO (voice-over): Jaz McKay on 1560 KNZR calls his show the institute of right-wing ideology, which could explain why a caller called in to complain about this decal. It says "lord please forgive me, I've committed sins for our freedom."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had to pull over, I was so mad I had to pull over. I really wanted to --
JAZ MCKAY: That's basically how this whole thing started. I went on a rant because frankly I found it insulting to our troops.
SGT. MATHEW GONZALEZ, U.S. ARMY: Somebody called into a radio station, and they started going off on it. And it just badgered me and they didn't even know the meaning behind it.
ANSLINGER: Sergeant Gonzalez served 13 months in Iraq as an army ranger. He was part of the mission that brought down Saddam Hussein. He says he would serve again if that's what it took to keep his family safe, but that doesn't change how he feels about his religion and what he did on the battlefield.
GONZALEZ: I'm proud to be a vet and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. But being a catholic, I, you know, I acknowledge that I committed sins.
ANSLINGER: Other vets with different views called the Jaz McKay show to disagree with Sergeant Gonzalez.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You putting something like that on your window, it's just saying that, not only is he guilty of sinning, but he's calling me a sinner and a lot of my buddies.
MCKAY: That's a very good point.
GONZALEZ: It takes a little bit of thinking outside the box to you know critically analyze what I wrote down and I had made and put on my truck.
ANSLINGER: Gonzalez says for all of the criticism he's received over the past few days, he has had many people thank him for his service and the message he displays on his truck.
GONZALEZ: You'd be surprised how many people a day stop and thank me. Yeah every once and a while you get those people that don't understand it, give me the finger and what not. But a lot of people thank me. And you know what, I thank vet's myself, every time I see one.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
WHTIFIELD: And KERO held an online vote after airing that report. It's not scientific, of course, but asked whether the words on the soldier's truck are disrespectful, 90 percent of respondents said no.
LEMON: Well, for more than 20 years, he's been the powerful voice of the controversial Nation of Islam. Now, at 73, illness and age threaten to silence the Minister Louis Farrakhan. A speech he delivered last month was billed as Farrakhan's final major address to his followers and last September, he revealed details of a very serious illness. In January, he underwent a 12-hour operation. Just yesterday, Farrakhan invited us into his home in Chicago for a rare, a rare sit-down interview. One of the first topics he hit was his health.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOUIS FARRAKHAN, NATION OF ISLAM: I was in constant, constant pain. And I was dying. And it got so bad some of my naturopath physicians told me they didn't want me to take the operation because it was horrific. Because it was a complete pelvic exoneration, where everything in the pelvis would be taken out. And my medical doctor said if I didn't take the operation, I would surely die.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Tomorrow in the CNN NEWSROOM, more extensive excerpts of our interview with the Minister Louis Farrakhan. We touched on global events, U.S. politics and he says the entire Bush administration should go. And I asked him if his fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama was the one to replace that administration?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Do you think Barack Obama can do that?
FARRAKHAN: No, absolutely not.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Very interesting. Very interesting what he had to say, Fredricka. He didn't say that he doesn't like Barack Obama. He does. But you'll be interested tomorrow to find out why he doesn't think that Barack Obama and maybe anyone else who is running can replace the Bush administration.
WHITFIELD: And we know that he has been ill. He's talked about not feeling well, but you look at him right there, he looked like the picture of health. He looked like a strong man.
LEMON: Well he is a good looking man. Let's put it that way, but he is frail. And looking at him and speaking to him, you can see that when you talk to him that he is a frail man. But if you're just looking at the pictures there, he looks like the picture of health. But in all honesty, he looks good, he feels good now. But he was very, very near death and he talks about that experience.
WHITFIELD: All right we look forward to that. More of that tomorrow, thanks a lot, Don.
Two winning tickets, but still only one known winner. Whoever bought a very lucky mega millions ticket in New Jersey still laying low or laying unconscious, maybe. Still can't believe they have the winning numbers. Well here in Georgia, the mega millionaire has stepped up and told the world what he plans to do first. Oh, and then, there's the store that sold the winning ticket. CNN's Rusty Dornin explains why the lottery is cutting a $25,000 check to it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The convenience store where Ed Nabors bought his ticket is called Favorite Market Number 41. It's certainly his favorite market at this point and the gang's all here that sold him the ticket that day. Aileen Bowers who they all call granny, she was here, she was the one that sold him 10 tickets on Tuesday. Nabors came by, he usually comes here on his way to work, buys a cup of coffee on his way to be a truck driver at one of the local carpet mills. He bought the tickets, didn't think much about it. Didn't watch the lottery winnings televised the night before. Didn't hear it that morning, until a truck driver friend hollered to him that somebody from Dalton won the big lottery, he said that's when he compared his ticket and he couldn't believe it.
ED NABORS, LOTTERY WINNER: I just went numb in my waist and my arms. I just sat there and looked at both the paper and the ticket. And I sat there, I know, for probably 15 or 20 minutes.
DORNIN: Nabors says he's going to buy one of his daughters a house to replace her mobile home. He has two other kids and six grandchildren. He says he's going to try to help all of them out and after that, well, it says it all, he's going fishing. As for the convenience store, they'll get $25,000. And apparently, they're going to split it. The manager will get half the money, the other half will be split among six employees, leaving a lot of happy, smiling people besides Ed Nabors. Rusty Dornin, CNN, Dalton, Georgia.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And just in case you're wondering, where is Dalton, it's the home to a lot of carpet mills, about 90 miles north of Atlanta in Georgia. The other winning ticket was sold in Woodbine, New Jersey at Campark Liquors right there, not far from Atlantic City. So far, no one has stepped forward in the garden state. They have a year in which to step forward and talk about a few decisions, perhaps what to do with the money, spend it before they get it. You know how it goes. The winner will choose between an annual payout of $7 million for the next 26 years or a lump sum of $110 million before taxes.
LEMON: I'm not wondering where is Dalton I'm wondering where he's going fishing.
Coming up, a very serious story. A murder suspect's plea to prosecutors was simple, curb your enthusiasm. The strange case of the HBO alibi ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We want to get you back to the scene of that developing story. Look at the sides, just blown off of this warehouse here. This warehouse is just southeast of Houston, about two miles southeast of Houston. An explosion occurred there a short while ago, causing this, and according to the "Associated Press," and also to one our affiliates there, one person has died in this. Here's some interesting information we found out from the Harris County Precinct constable. We spoke to him just a short time ago and he said his officers were involved in a class right next door to this building. When that explosion occurred, he said 40 officers in all. They stepped outside. They actually witnessed this. And people said they could feel this explosion from a mile away. Again one person suspected dead in all this. We're going to follow it right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: Meantime, in Atlanta, two sets of experts return today to the scene of last week's deadly charter bus crash. As you know, the crash killed four members of an Ohio college baseball team, along with the bus driver and his wife onboard. We get more now on today's reenactment from Valerie Hoff of CNN affiliate WXIA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIE HOFF, WXIA (voice-over): A survey team from the Lil Engineering Firm arrived at the crash scene this morning. The Georgia attorney general's office says it hired the firm as part of its own investigation into the crash and that it does anticipate possible lawsuits as a result of the tragedy. Surveyors used a high definition scanner to compose a three dimensional model of the Northside Drive exit ramp, but can say little else about the investigation.
Can you tell me anything at all about what you're doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just that we're surveying. That's all we're allowed to say really.
HOFF: Earlier this morning National Transportation Safety Board officials continued their own investigation by sending a bus equipped with cameras up the exit ramp at around 5:30 a.m. to see the exit from the bus driver's viewpoint. Investigators are looking at whether the driver inadvertently took the left hand exit thinking he was still on the interstate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Five of the crash victims are still in Atlanta Hospital. This weekend on a new "CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT," the inside story of that tragic Atlanta bus crash. A college baseball team's trip turned deadly. A tight-knit Ohio community shaken to its core. "Fatal Journey" airs Saturday and Sunday night at 8 p.m. Eastern.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.
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